Taos Ski Valley is the surprise no one tells you about until you go. High New Mexico desert at 2805 metres, dry Southwest powder that falls light and stays light, and a base village of adobe and pine built by a Swiss-French refugee in 1955. Above it rises some of the steepest patrolled terrain in North America.
Run counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Excellent · 835 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Taos Ski Valley, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Guests rate this hotel as excellent (4.6/5 from 835 reviews). It sits about 350 m from the slopes. A upper-scale option for Taos Ski Valley, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Excellent · 382 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Taos Ski Valley, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Excellent · 59 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Taos Ski Valley, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
The compact adobe-style base village offers true ski-in/ski-out at the Blake, St Bernard, Edelweiss and Inn at Snakedance. Beyond the village there is no resort sprawl. Taos town and its Pueblo culture sit 30 kilometres down the canyon road.
Ernie Blake, born Ernst Hermann Bloch in Frankfurt, came over from Europe, fought in the Second World War, then went looking for a mountain that could match the Alps. He found Kachina Peak in 1955 and built Taos Ski Valley around his own uncompromising standards. The little hut he put up on the Highline ridge still stands. So does his ethos. Al's Run is the first thing you see from the base, a vertical wall of moguls under the lift, and it sets the tone. Stauffenberg, Castor, Pollux, the West Basin chutes, these are runs that require commitment. The new Kachina Peak lift opens 12.481-foot terrain that was once a 45-minute hike. The base village still trades in adobe walls, pine ceilings and warm light, and the resort runs as a certified B Corporation. Drop down the canyon and the town of Taos itself is 30 kilometres away, where the thousand-year-old Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO site, continues its own continuous story. The white wine flag flies at the summit on bluebird days, the only American resort to do so. It is a serious mountain in a surprising place.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Taos Ski Valley offers 120 km of pistes across 14 lifts, from 2,805 m to 3,804 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Nov 27 to Apr 6, with a snow score of 88/100. The best conditions are usually from late January through February, while spring skiing in March and April brings longer days and softer afternoons.
The compact adobe-style base village offers true ski-in/ski-out at the Blake, St Bernard, Edelweiss and Inn at Snakedance. Beyond the village there is no resort sprawl. Taos town and its Pueblo culture sit 30 kilometres down the canyon road.
Taos Ski Valley has 120 km of marked pistes served by 14 lifts, between 2,805 m and 3,804 m of altitude.
Taos Ski Valley counts about 110 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
Similar style, different mountain.
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