Free & Cheap Things to Do in Taos

Iconic Landmarks

A steel arch bridge soaring 565 feet above the Rio Grande Gorge — the seventh-highest bridge in the US, completed in 1965 about 10 miles northwest of town. Pedestrian walkways flank both sides, and the rest area on the west rim has parking, picnic tables, and trailhead access for the West Rim Trail.

Address: US Highway 64 (West of Taos), Taos, NM 87571

Tip: Free 24/7. Wind picks up by mid-morning — go at sunrise for calmest conditions and the best light on the gorge. The bridge sways slightly when trucks cross, which surprises first-timers but is normal. Walk to the center for the most dramatic 800-foot view straight down.

History & Culture

The 400-year-old heart of Taos — a tree-shaded adobe-fringed plaza ringed with galleries, jewelry shops, restaurants, and the historic 1934 Hotel La Fonda. Free Thursday-night summer concerts on the gazebo bandstand draw locals, and the surrounding blocks of Bent Street and Ledoux Street pack more galleries per square foot than almost anywhere in the Southwest.

Address: Taos Plaza, Taos, NM 87571

Tip: Park free on side streets two blocks off the plaza — meter spots on the plaza itself are tight. Most galleries open 10am–5pm; First Friday Art Walks run year-round with extended evening hours. The bronze statue in the center commemorates Padre Antonio José Martínez.

Historic Sites

The massive adobe Spanish Colonial church completed in 1816 — its sculptural buttressed back wall has been photographed by Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams and painted countless times. A National Historic Landmark in the village of Ranchos de Taos, about 4 miles south of the Taos Plaza.

Address: 60 St. Francis Plaza, Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557

Tip: Church and adjacent gift shop are open Mon–Sat 9am–5pm and Sun 9am–4pm. Weekday mornings are quietest for photography. The buttressed back wall is best at golden hour — the parking lot off Highway 68 is the closest access. Active parish, so respect any services in progress.

Parks & History

A 19-acre downtown park two blocks north of the plaza, formally renamed from Kit Carson Park to Red Willow Park in late 2025 with Taos Pueblo's approval. The historic cemetery within still bears the Kit Carson name and holds the graves of Kit Carson, Padre Antonio José Martínez, Mabel Dodge Luhan, and Governor Charles Bent.

Address: 211 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571

Tip: Open daily 9am–8pm April–October, 9am–5pm November–March; closed Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year's Day. The cemetery sits at the north end of the park behind a low adobe wall — pick up a self-guided map of notable graves at the Taos Visitor Center. ADA-accessible paths throughout.

Quirky Landmarks

The visitor center for Mike Reynolds' off-grid Earthship homes — passive-solar structures built from rammed-earth tires, glass bottles, and aluminum cans, set on the high mesa just west of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. Walk through a working Earthship to see how water, power, food, and waste are handled with no utility bills.

Address: 2 Earthship Way, Taos, NM 87571

Tip: $9 self-guided tour daily 9am–4pm; skip the $22 guided 4pm option unless you want extra depth. Allow 45–60 minutes. The mesa is windy — bring a jacket even in summer. Combine with the Gorge Bridge — they're both on Highway 64 west of town.

Arts & Culture

Taos's principal art museum, founded in 1923 inside an 1860s adobe compound a block off the plaza on historic Ledoux Street. The permanent collection spans the Taos Society of Artists, Hispanic santos and retablos, and a striking octagonal Agnes Martin gallery built to house her seven near-monochrome paintings.

Address: 238 Ledoux Street, Taos, NM 87571

Tip: $15 adults; 18 and under free; free Sundays for Taos County residents. Open Wed–Sun 11am–5pm; closed Mon–Tue. Plan 60–90 minutes — the Agnes Martin room alone deserves 15 quiet minutes. Adjoins UNM-Taos so student art events and lectures are frequent.

Arts & Culture

A sprawling adobe museum 4 miles north of town founded around socialite-collector Millicent Rogers's personal trove of Native American jewelry, pottery, weavings, and Hispanic santos. The Maria Martinez black-on-black pottery collection and the Navajo silver-and-turquoise galleries are highlights of one of the Southwest's finest decorative arts museums.

Address: 1504 Millicent Rogers Road, Taos, NM 87571

Tip: $20 adults / $15 students 7–18 / free for kids 6 and under. Open 10am–5pm daily; closed Wednesdays. Allow 90 minutes — the Maria Martinez room is the slow-down spot. Free on-site parking. Combine with a drive out to the Gorge Bridge — both are northwest of town.

Parks & Nature

A 243,000-acre BLM-managed monument where the Rio Grande cuts an 800-foot gorge through the high-desert Taos Plateau. The two main visitor zones are Wild Rivers (rim hikes and steep river-bottom trails north of Questa) and Orilla Verde (mellow river-level picnicking and put-ins south of Taos near Pilar).

Address: Taos County, NM (Visitor centers at 2873 NM-68 and 1120 NM-378)

Tip: Day-use is free along most of the monument; $5 per vehicle at developed Wild Rivers and Orilla Verde Recreation Areas. Wild Rivers' rim drive has eight overlooks — La Junta is the must-see. Bring layers and water; high-desert sun is intense and there's no shade on the rim trails.

History & Museums

The preserved adobe home of Ernest Blumenschein, the co-founder of the Taos Society of Artists whose 1898 broken-wagon-wheel arrival kicked off the Taos art colony. The 1797 building is filled with the Blumenschein family's original paintings, European antiques, and Spanish Colonial furniture, on historic Ledoux Street a block off the plaza.

Address: 222 Ledoux Street, Taos, NM 87571

Tip: $12 adults / $8 seniors / $5 children. Open Mon–Sat 10am–4pm and Sun 12pm–4pm, weather permitting. The $12 combo SaverCard with Hacienda de los Martinez is a small savings if you want both museums. Allow 45 minutes; no food or drinks inside.

Historic Sites

The combined homes and studios of E.I. Couse and J.H. Sharp — two founding members of the Taos Society of Artists — on a 2+ acre campus a few blocks east of the plaza on Kit Carson Road. Docent-led tours walk through Couse's studio (still set up as he left it), the Lunder Research Center inside Sharp's home, and the back-garden workshop of Couse's son Kibbey.

Address: 146 Kit Carson Road, Taos, NM 87571

Tip: Free admission, donations welcome. Tours by reservation only, generally 10am or 2pm Mon–Sat — book online at couse-sharp.org/tour. Allow 90 minutes. Couse's studio with its north-facing skylight is one of the most intact American artist studios anywhere — worth the reservation.