Which route to choose for Taos to Albuquerque?

Hi everyone, For our leg from Taos to Albuquerque, we have two options with roughly the same mileage and driving time: Either the light blue route (NM 518 then NM 76) or the dark blue route (NM 68), which would let us visit the Embudo Gas Museum. We’d love to stop at the Chimayó Sanctuary if it’s worth the small detour. We’ll have already taken NM 518 from Las Vegas to Taos. Which route is prettier and has the most points of interest? Afterward, we’ll take the Turquoise Trail between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Thanks for your input! Marcalamar :)

Hi Martine from the South..

Check this out (day of 08/16) starting from Albuquerque, then by clicking on the calendar on the right for the following days to Taos and back south:

https://blogs.crespel.me/usa2011/2011/08/16/

At the bottom of the page under "présentation" on the blog, you’ll find various files including the Visits Program.

See you!

Hi Jean from the North. 🙂 Thanks for your post. I’d checked out your blog (I’m a VF old-timer and I know you always give great tips), but since I’m not tech-savvy, I couldn’t figure out how to move from the page and see what I wanted. With your latest link, hallelujah, I made it! I’ll study this carefully. Tent Rocks sounds tempting, but it’d mean a detour for us. Plus, if I suggest a hike to my hubby in the middle of a 300+ km leg (Taos to Albuquerque), he’ll leave me on the side of the road in the middle of NM 😉 (he’s the only driver, and we’ll be in the last third of our road trip). Still, I’ll look into all of this. Have a great weekend, Jean from the North! Marcalamar 🙂

Hi Martine,

Could you give more details about your plans before and after?

The historic centers of Taos and especially Santa Fe are worth seeing... in addition to Taos Pueblo and Tent Rocks, which has reopened (but you need an access permit—check their website). Not to mention the Chimayó Sanctuary*...

See you,

Hi 🙂 We’ll be starting from Phoenix and heading south on a 21-night loop: Gold Canyon, Tucson (3 nights), Bisbee, Lordsburg, Las Cruces (these last two to break up the legs), Alamogordo, Roswell, Tucumcari, Las Vegas (we wanted to take the small towns along Route 66), Taos (2 nights), Albuquerque (via the Turquoise Trail), Gallup, Holbrook (2 nights), Sedona (3 nights), and back to Phoenix. We picked Albuquerque over Santa Fe to balance the distances, but I’ve planned a day trip to see the sights in Santa Fe. It’s tough making choices and leaving some spots behind, but I don’t drive at all, and the mileage adds up quickly between stops. Still, I keep telling myself that no matter the route, we’re going to have an amazing time—and we’re so lucky to be able to do this.

Have a great day (it’s all gray skies here today)! Marcalamar 🙂

Hi everyone! 🙂

After racking my brain for hours, I finally adjusted our overnight stays, which will let us slow down and really soak in the sights in this part of New Mexico. Since we only have 120 km from Las Vegas before Taos, we’ll have time and will arrive early in Taos, where we’d planned two nights. However, the next leg was long—all the way to Albuquerque—with two great cities to visit and tons to see in between. With our cancelable bookings, I moved one night from Taos to Santa Fe. I hated the idea of just breezing through Santa Fe. Coming from Las Vegas, we’ll do the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge loop to the Classical Gas Museum, taking the West Rim Road and following the Rio Grande, then visit old Taos in the late afternoon. After our night there, we’ll explore Taos Pueblo early, then head to the Chimayó Sanctuary via the scenic High Road to Taos (so we’ll have taken both routes). After that, we’ll head to Santa Fe for a relaxed visit. The next day, we’ll take the Turquoise Trail as planned. At one point, I considered stopping at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, but it seemed complicated with timing constraints (reservations required with the Native Americans AND the BLM), and I read there can be long waits for the pilot car. So I’m skipping it, even though it’s a tough call! It’ll make for a more relaxed day, which DD will appreciate, especially with so much to see along the way. Have a great evening, everyone! Marcalamar 🙂

Hello, thanks for sharing your itinerary—it gives me some great ideas! I’m heading there in a few months, and apart from Santa Fe, I hadn’t really looked into much yet!!!

Hi there, I recommend Ghost Ranch if you have the time (an hour north of Santa Fe). I’ve been there twice for the landscapes—I camped both times.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.ghostranch.org/&ved=2ahUKEwiVhrri15WNAxVVVaQEHey2BvYQFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3_ZQjiSjuPQP5_fczvIbjY

Good evening everyone 🙂 To Dennis: good luck with the prep! To Fran38: thanks for the info. We won’t have time to go there, but the idea might help others. Marcalamar 🙂