High Road to Taos

There are two ways to get to Taos from Santa Fe. The “Low Road” follows the Rio Grande Valley past Espanola, into the Rio Grande Gorge and up onto the Taos mesa. The second route, which is much less direct, is the High Road. Anybody with some time to explore what northern New Mexico is really like should plan a trip on the High Road.

The High Road is special because of its range of features, both cultural and geological. During the roughly two-hour drive one will cross four distinct climate zones and see the remains of Pueblo, Spanish and modern Anglo dwellings. If northern New Mexico had a flavor, the High Road gives the explorer just about the perfect taste.

The trip starts in Santa Fe and descends into the Espanola basin of the Rio Grande Rift. To the left is the Jemez Mountains, really the remains of the giant Jemez Volcano. If it happens to be the weekend, the Santa Fe Flea Market should be open for anybody interested in the many tapestries and local folk art. The High Road quickly turns right onto Highway 503 to Chimayo. During the late spring and summer the segment of road is engulfed in the foliage of the many cotton wood trees that line the valley road.

Just after the Sacred Heart Church, one of the many remnants of Spanish culture, the road emerges from the cotton woods and enters the badlands. This area is mostly a barren, rock-sculpted expanse that is the result of ash accumulation from the many volcanoes in the area. The entire Espanola basis was previously underwater and the ash and sediment built up in thousands of layers of varying densities and hardness. This variation in the rock creates differential erosion, the result being oddly shaped formations lining the road.

The High Road passes the town of Chimayo. Each year during Easter thousands of pilgrims make their way to the Santuario de Chimayo, a church built by Don Bernardo Abeyta between 1813 and 1816. Legend tells us that Abeyta was very ill when a vision led him to the site of the church. Shortly thereafter he was cured. To this day, pilgrims visit the site to collect the holy dirt samples from a hole in the floor of the church.

The Highroad then make a break for the high-mountain town of Truchas, passing through the pinon-juniper woodland and entering a predominantly ponderosa forest. Truchas is a budding art village, perched high on the meas overlooking much of northern New Mexico. Some may recognize the picturesque village from Robert Redford’s movie the Milagro Beanfield War.

From Truchas the High Road passes a number of small northern Mexico Villages. Here many people live as they did hundreds of years ago, collecting large piles of firewood to last the winter, growing vegetables in the short growing season with the help of the Ancient acequia (ditch) system which was laid down by the recipients of the first Spanish land grants. Las Trampas, for example, was founded by twelve Spanish families in 1751.

After passing through Penasco, the High Road continues uphill and into the Alpine zone, characterized by small clusters of aspen trees, ferns, and Douglas Firs. As one rounds the pass, a breathtaking view of the Taos plateau and Wheeler Peak can be seen.

After a quick descent, the traveler find themselves thrust out onto the Taos plateau!