An Enchanting Long Weekend in Northern New Mexico
As an avid traveler and outdoors lover, I’m ceaselessly baffled by the number of places I’m always seeing for the very first time. New Mexico was one locale that wasn’t on my radar for a long time but I’m glad we finally had a chance to explore it.
For my husband’s birthday, we decided to go on a road trip from our home just outside of Denver, Colorado to explore northern New Mexico, specifically around Taos and Santa Fe. It was roughly a 4 hour drive to Taos and about 5 and a half total back from Santa Fe. We arrived on a Thursday night and left on Sunday morning, which was just enough time to get a flavor of this enchanting state.
New Mexico has an incredibly rich cultural history, vibrant architecture, great food, welcoming people and beautiful landscapes. We visited in early May when spring was bringing everything to life — trees and flowers were blooming, hummingbirds were buzzing and the sun was warm and bright while evenings cooled down significantly.
Here’s a full itinerary of everything we did in New Mexico that I hope inspires your own adventures in the aptly named Land of Enchantment!
Itinerary Overview
This itinerary will cover one day in Taos and about one and a half days in Santa Fe, as well as recommended tips for sightseeing on your return trip to the Denver area. Finally, at the end I offer a few tips and suggestions of things I would do differently or want to explore on a return trip.
Below is a quick preview of what we’ll be getting into, but feel free to tailor as you see fit!
Evening arrival in Taos
Dinner at Orlando’s New Mexican Cafe
Breakfast at the Espresso Bar
Visit the Taos Pueblo
Lunch at Gutiz Restaurant
Hike Devisadero Peak
Drive to Santa Fe
Breakfast
Bandelier National Monument
Dinner
Meow Wolf
Breakfast
Explore Downtown Santa Fe
Depart
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Garden of the Gods
Manitou Incline
Day 1
We arrived in Taos in the evening and received a very warm welcome from our hosts at the Taos Valley Lodge. We made the drive from Denver and the trip itself was not too bad and there were plenty of gas stations and rest areas to stop along the way.
Checking into this beautiful motel was such a breeze and I can’t say enough good things about it. First off, it was super convenient. We had a fairly limited time to visit Taos during this trip, and Taos Valley Lodge was less than 10 minutes away from pretty much everything we wanted to do the next day — the Taos Pueblo, Taos Plaza, the Devisadero Trail, and incredible restaurants and coffee shops.
Even more convenient was being able to grab coffee and a treat at the Taos Valley Lodge Espresso Bar. It features a spacious indoor area that’s also perfect for teleworking and equally trendy and colorful outdoor patio where you can enjoy coffee and some mountain views.
The room itself was so cozy and we had spectacular views of the mountains right from our window which truly made this feel like a perfect basecamp for our adventures in Taos. It’s even pet friendly!
If you’re arriving in the evening, be aware that many restaurants in Taos will close at around 9pm and some even earlier. Luckily, we were able to swing by Orlando’s New Mexican Cafe which was recommended to us by a local as the best Mexican food in Taos — we had a delicious enchilada trio before turning in for the night.
Day 2
The next day started bright and early! We grabbed a breakfast at the Espresso Bar before heading over to Taos Pueblo.
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark and is the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. For over a thousand years, these adobe homes sat nestled at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains witnessing generations of Native American culture, religion, births and deaths as well as times of peace and violence.
As you walk through the Pueblo, consider thinking about the Red Willow people and everything they’ve overcome throughout the years, not to mention their resilience and adaptation to a rapidly modernized world while upholding ancient traditions and sustaining this community. Please respect that some areas are off limits to visitors given that they are — mind-bogglingly enough — still inhabited, private homes. In fact, over 150 live in the Pueblo full time.
There are plenty of buildings that you can walk into and often the interior itself as more fascinating to me than anything being sold inside. As you wander, you’ll see artisans selling hand-crafted jewelry, pottery, drums, and art pieces. I couldn’t resist purchasing a little clay bear with a deerskin medicine bag, porcupine quills and a macaw feather created by Pueblo artist Ben Romero. You can check it out and purchase it here, but it felt really special to meet the artist and buy it from his shop at Taos Pueblo.
Lunch
Afterwards, we headed to lunch at Gutiz Restaurant to split a savory and a sweet entree. Would highly recommend!
Devisadero Peak
This trip wouldn’t be complete without a hike especially since our pup, Nigel, had been cooped up all morning. So, we decided to set off on a hike dubbed a local’s favorite.
Devisadero Peak was 5.6 miles roundtrip with 1,335 ft of elevation gain. The trail is fairly sunny without much tree cover, so summer visitors should consider hiking in the early morning to avoid the heat. We lathered up on sunscreen and brought plenty of water for ourselves and Nigel. Overall it was a pretty nice hike with great panoramic views of Taos and the surrounding mountains!
Sipping Chocolate at Chokolá
After our hike, we were craving a sweet refreshment so we headed over to this highly recommended chocolate shop. Using ethically sourced beans with two simple ingredients — cacao and organic cane sugar — Chokolá creates masterful artisan chocolate bars and melted sipping chocolate.
We also bought some truffles to take home and enjoy later that were AMAZING.
Santa Fe
We then set off for the next leg of our trip: Santa Fe! We checked into The Sage Hotel in the evening and then walked downtown to grab some dinner. HOWEVER…we failed a little bit because we didn’t make reservations for dinner — it was a Friday night as well as Cinco de Mayo so the only place that could seat us was a really bumpin’ bar. We had to pay a $10 cover for a DJ that ended up coming on way after we had left and ate a couple tacos and chicken fingers while uninvited flashbacks of sloppy college bar life came over us in waves.
Despite all that, we were excited to be in Santa Fe and spend the following day exploring.
Day 3
We had another early start to our day! Our hotel had a somewhat mediocre continental breakfast but it did the trick in a pinch as we were eager to be off on our first adventure of the day.
Bandelier National Monument
Our appetite for ancient civilizations was clearly yet to be satiated, because we decided to visit the Bandelier National Monument.
Located about an hour from Santa Fe, the main attraction of Bandelier National Monument are the ancient Pueblo dwellings that have been around for thousands of years. Average visitors spend about 3 hours here but you could certainly stay longer!
We first hiked the Pueblo Loop Trail which starts right at the visitor center and is an easy 1.4 miles and is mostly paved. The trail takes you past various structures key to life amongst the Ancient Puebloans and up into several cliff dwellings that you can enter.
The Pueblo Loop then connects to the Alcove House Trail that you can tack on if you’re feeling extra adventurous. This cave is located 140 feet above the Frijoles Canyon and you climb four different ladders to get to the main level. My husband was able to make the climb with a cast on his right hand (he had broken his wrist mountain biking a few weeks prior) so if he can do it, I believe in you!
We ended our time at Bandelier by hiking the 3-mile Upper Falls Trail which follows along Frijoles Canyon and runs parallel to Frijoles Creek. It reaches a lovely viewpoint of the Upper Falls and you can also see the Rio Grande in the distance!
We had various snacks for lunch that day which isn't always ideal, but we got a bit carried away at Bandelier that by the time we got back to our hotel, it was nearly dinnertime.
Dinner
We grabbed dinner and dessert at El Callejon, which was a yummy Mexican spot in the heart of downtown Santa Fe.
Meow Wolf
To cap off our last evening in Santa Fe, we went to one of our absolutely favorite…experiences? Museums? Galleries? I’m not exactly sure what to call it, but if you’re a fan of anything out of the ordinary then you need to go to the Meow Wolf in Santa Fe! I think part of the fun is exploring it for yourself so I didn’t bring my camera or take many photos here. Tickets are about $42 per person on a weekend which is a little lofty for an “art gallery,” but once you meander about its 70+ immersive rooms, piecing together the puzzle of the House of Eternal Return, you’ll realize it is completely worth it.
Day 4
Today was our departure day and we tried did a bit of sightseeing downtown while Nigel waited for us at the hotel. Given that it was a Sunday, a lot of things were closed or opening a bit later in the day so our main takeaway was that we absolutely need to return and visit the many, many incredible art galleries and museums in Santa Fe!
Breakfast
We started the day with a little breakky. Walking distance from our hotel was this incredible little spot called Modern General and wowowow. I think this might have been my favorite meal of the whole trip. They had sweet and savory pancakes and various fresh squeezed juices as well as coffee. I ordered the supercakes and added a fried egg and avocado and Tim ordered the green chile cilantro corncake. We also got the lemon cakes to share. It was so, so good.
Downtown Santa Fe
After breakfast and before checking out of our hotel, we explored the beautiful architecture of colorful Santa Fe. We visited several churches and cathedrals, walked through the Palace of the Governors, and strolled through the Santa Fe Plaza to see the wares of various artisans.
Afterwards, it was time to set off back home! We needed to be home by early afternoon so we grabbed some deli sandwiches at Jimmy John’s, put on some podcasts on repeat and made the drive back home.
Bonus: Road Trip Side Quests
If you are road tripping from New Mexico to Denver and happen to have some extra time, I’d highly suggest the following excursions that are along your route:
Visit Great Sand Dunes National Park, which is only 2 hours north of Santa Fe if traveling by I-285. If you’re traveling during the summer or have pets, I would strongly suggest timing this so that you’re arriving either early in the morning or for sunset because the sand gets very hot.
On an alternate but faster route via I-25, stop by Colorado Springs to check out the Garden of the Gods at sunset and stroll around downtown Manitou Springs. If you have time, you could also hike the iconic Manitou Incline!
Things I Would Do Differently
This was our first time in New Mexico and while we had a great trip, there were just a few things I would do differently, which I’ll share below so that you don’t have to learn the hard way ;)
Spend at least two nights in Taos. It was very clear that one day was simply not enough to explore the area.
Hot springs! There are a few near Taos, like Black Rock Hot Springs, that would’ve been fun to check out.
Don’t miss the Rio Grande Gorge West Rim Trail near Taos, which we didn’t have time to do aside from a quick drive-by. I would especially love to go back and shoot photos at sunrise or sunset!
If going out to eat in Santa Fe on a weekend, definitely book dinner reservations in advance. It was so poppin’ on a Friday night and we weren’t able to get dinner anywhere good or reputable without having to wait over an hour (even for just two people).
Visit some of the art galleries and museums in Santa Fe, like the Georgia O’Keeffee Museum, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
Perhaps leave the pup at home. Maybe this would change if we were visiting during a slightly cooler season, but Nigel isn’t much of a desert dog and gets overheated easily especially on hikes without much tree cover. Furthermore, a lot of the sightseeing in or near Santa Fe (i.e., museums, churches, art galleries, the Bandelier National Monument) weren’t dog friendly.
New Mexico in the summer is likely better for higher elevation hikes that overlook beautiful alpine lakes, which were still too snowy or muddy and inaccessible in early May.
I hope you found this itinerary helpful! Leave a comment and share your thoughts or join me on Instagram @dashaslens for more adventures and tips!
