Leisurely drive through southern Colorado...is Taos worth the detour? (Santa Fe: hotel, restaurant)

[lmcintyre1s]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are taking a road trip this spring and the last leg of it will have us travelling through southern Colorado (no set route yet, looking like Durango over to the Sangre De Cristos then north). I have Taos on my list of places to see at some point, but I'm not sure if its worth the detour. I like natural sites and history...is it worth heading to Taos, or should I save it for a trip where I'm specifically going to New Mexico? I plan to make a several day trip to only New Mexico sometime in the near future.

Thanks for the input!

[Brian_M]

I've been in that area for about 4 weeks in the past year, we were looking to move near Alamosa and vacationed in Santa-Fe. IMHO, if you're going to be in NM in the near future, save the drive. Spend your tie exploring Durango, Pagosa Springs, stop for pizza and beer in Del Norte, drive into the Great Sand Dunes and then head north.

For NM, do Santa Fe, Taos, Ojo Calliente, Valles Caldera (Longmire cabin, but just a pretty place), Bandelier, etc...

[lmcintyre1s]

Originally Posted by Brian_M

I've been in that area for about 4 weeks in the past year, we were looking to move near Alamosa and vacationed in Santa-Fe. IMHO, if you're going to be in NM in the near future, save the drive. Spend your tie exploring Durango, Pagosa Springs, stop for pizza and beer in Del Norte, drive into the Great Sand Dunes and then head north.

For NM, do Santa Fe, Taos, Ojo Calliente, Valles Caldera (Longmire cabin, but just a pretty place), Bandelier, etc...

Thanks for the response!

I've also got ABQ on my list (Breaking Bad fan lol), Alamagordo area, maybe some others.

[CptnRn]

I suggest you save Taos and Santa Fe for a longer trip sometime in the future For a brief visit in SW Colorado I suggest you visit the Mesa Verde National Park. It is one of the best park museums I've seen and very interesting ruins to walk through. https://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm

Video https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view...44D3B74E6201AB

[rwjoyak]

Originally Posted by Brian_M

Spend your tie exploring Durango, Pagosa Springs, stop for pizza and beer in Del Norte, drive into the Great Sand Dunes and then head north.

If you're going to stop for beer anywhere along there, I suggest Pagosa Brewing just south of Pagosa Springs. Very good craft beer selection, excellent bar food and a big outdoor patio for hanging out if the weather is decent. Much better than anything we found in Del Norte.

[rwjoyak]

If you're going to be driving US160 from Durango to Pagosa Springs, I suggest a short detour along the way south on CO 151 to see Chimney Rock National Monument (Chimney Rock National Monument - Official Site and https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanju...telprdb5390324). This is a relatively new national monument, which we haven't visited, but the online reviews (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti..._Colorado.html) are very good. Not in the same class as Mesa Verde, but we try to see as many of these ancient pueblo sites as possible - they're all good and don't disappoint.

Heading north from Pagosa Springs on US 160, be sure to stop on the way up Wolf Creek Pass at the overlook. Great views from there.

Continuing north and then east on US 160, the Old Spanish Trail Landform Sculpture (http://www.museumtrail.org/uploads/4...il_article.pdf) sits on the right side of the highway between Del Norte and Monte Vista. A bit of a hidden gem if you're into history and finding interesting photo subjects.

I agree with seeing Great Sand Dunes NP, it's an awesome place. If you're looking to spend a night near there, a great choice is Great Sand Dunes Lodge (Great Sand Dunes Lodge: Lodging in Mosca Colorado), just outside the park. It overlooks the sand dunes so you get to see them at sunset and sunrise right from outside your hotel room, if you don't want jump in the car at those times of day. There's also a decent restaurant just downhill from the lodge.

Calling this a lodge is an overstatement, but we found the rooms and rates decent. Given the lack of other housing/eating choices near the park, this is definitely the best.

The San Luis Valley, in which the NP is located, is a bit of a hidden gem. It's huge, so can take quite a bit of time to drive across. But depending on the time of the year, there are some really interesting vistas there. See the attached photos I took with my phone on a trip through there this last August.