High Road to Taos Scenic Drive

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An image of the book: Scenic Highways and Byways

National Geographic's Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways

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Pressing into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains past 13,000-foot [3,962-meter] peaks, this route is the most scenic between Santa Fe and Taos. The small, isolated mountain towns sprinkled along the way retain the flavor of the early Spanish settlers who came here four centuries ago. CONTINUED

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From Española on U.S. 84, Rte. 76 cuts east about 9 miles [15 kilometers] to Chimayó. Its adobe Plaza del Cerro is probably the Spanish Southwest’s only surviving fortified plaza. Just north of the plaza, Ortega’s Weaving Shop (+1 505 351 4215. Closed Sun.) carries the beautiful wool products of a family that has been weaving for eight generations. Pilgrims travel from all over the Southwest to visit the Santuario de Chimayó (+1 505 351 4889), legendary as a center for curing the sick. The sanctuary has five colorful sacred paintings on wood, while a room off the sacristy features a hole from which cure seekers pull handfuls of earth to rub on their bodies. Don't miss the famous Rancho de Chimayó (+1 505 351 4444. Open 7 days a week. Labor Day–Mem. Day), a restaurant in a 19th-century hacienda-style building.

From Chimayó, Rte. 518 climbs into forest past Cordova. A road curves south to the tiny hillside town; signs invite you to visit artisans who carve figures from aspen and cedar. After climbing nearly 7 more miles [11 kilometers], the route cuts through Truchas, once a Spanish outpost high on a mesa beneath 13,102-foot [3,993.5-meter] Truchas Peak. With views of the Rio Grande Valley, Truchas was the setting for Robert Redford’s film The Milagro Beanfield War. As you enter town, the adobe building with the cross serves as the meeting place for the Brotherhood of the Penitentes, a secret religious society famous for their self-flagellation rites.
From Truchas the High Road to Taos enters the Carson National Forest and, for the last 35 miles [56.3 kilometers], winds up and down through forests, past several small towns. The highlight of this leg is the tiny town of Trampas, about 8 miles [12.9 kilometers] northeast of Truchas. The San José de Gracia Church, built in the late 1700s, remains one of the most beautiful of colonial-era churches. At Peñasco follow Rte. 75 to Rte. 518. The end of the High Road is Ranchos de Taos, where you can visit San Francisco de Asis (+1 505 758 2754), the 18th-century mission church that captivated painter Georgia O’Keeffe. You can complete the drive by taking Rte. 68 to Taos, an artist colony with a square surrounded by adobe buildings.