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.
Taos Ski Valley is a ski-in/ski-out resort (most of the village is genuinely on the snow) in United States, in the Sangre de Cristo. The village sits at 2805 m and the lifts top out at 3804 m, with 120 km of pistes and 14 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 88/100, and the season usually runs Nov 27 → Apr 6.
How we score and classify resortsRun 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, New Zealand and Chile; 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 · 839 reviews
A long-standing favourite in Taos Ski Valley, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Guests rate this hotel as excellent (4.6/5 from 839 reviews). 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 · 383 reviews
One of the highest-rated places to stay in Taos Ski Valley, with guests singling out the service and comfort.
Excellent · 59 reviews
Strong value for Taos Ski Valley, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
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.
Everything on our site connected to Taos Ski Valley: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Taos Ski Valley offers 120 km of pistes across 14 lifts, from 2805 m to 3804 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. Snow is usually most reliable in the heart of that window, deep in winter, while the closing weeks bring longer days and softer afternoon snow.
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 2805 m and 3804 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.
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