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The Atlas/New Mexico/High Road to Taos (NM-76)

High Road to Taos (NM-76)

The High Road to Taos is a 56-mile National Scenic Byway connecting Santa Fe and Taos through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains via a string of Spanish colonial villages. The core of the route follows NM-76 through Córdova, Truchas (an 8,000-foot weaving village), Las Trampas, and Chamisal before picking up NM-75 through Peñasco and NM-518 into Ranchos de Taos. The route climbs from high desert scrubland to pine-forested ridges at over 8,700 feet, with panoramic views across the Jemez Mountains. Key stops include the Santuario de Chimayó, the National Historic Landmark 18th-century adobe church at Chimayó, and numerous working artist studios.

30 mi
Length
0
Verified stops
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High point
Scenic
Road type
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// Nearby & related
RouteNew Mexico
5.9/10
Billy the Kid Scenic Byway (NM-48 / US-380)
New Mexico
The Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway is an 84-mile loop through Lincoln County in south-central New Mexico. The circuit connects the mountain resort town of Ruidoso (via NM-48 north through the Sacramento Mountains and Lincoln National Forest) with the historic Lincoln town site via US-380 — the same road where Billy the Kid made his 1881 jail break from the Lincoln County Courthouse. Sierra Blanca Peak (11,981 feet) dominates the western skyline. US-70 along the southern leg cuts through the Mescalero Apache Reservation past the Inn of the Mountain Gods and Ruidoso Downs racetrack. The byway is accessible at Ruidoso Downs via a visitor center on US-70.
22
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RouteNew Mexico
5.7/10
Chama River Canyon — US-84 / NM-17
New Mexico
The Chama area anchors two complementary motorcycle roads in northwestern New Mexico. US-84 north from Abiquiú follows the Chama River through Georgia O'Keeffe's painted-cliff country — the red and ochre canyon walls inspired decades of her work — past Ghost Ranch and up to the Old West town of Chama (7,800 feet) at the Colorado border. From Chama, NM-17 (which becomes Colorado State Highway 17 at the state line) climbs northeast over Cumbres Pass (10,022 feet) through the same high-mountain meadows that the narrow-gauge Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad traverses on 64 miles of track between Chama and Antonito, Colorado. The pairing of US-84's canyon drama with NM-17's alpine pass makes Chama a natural overnight base for a two-day northern New Mexico loop.
10
miles
StopNew Mexico
El Santuario de Chimayo
New Mexico
Built in 1816 of hand-packed adobe, El Santuario de Chimayó is a National Historic Landmark and the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the United States, drawing nearly 300,000 visitors per year. Tucked into a hillside village on the High Road to Taos (NM-76 corridor), the twin-towered church and its courtyard are immediately identifiable. Inside a small adjoining room, a hole in the floor contains what pilgrims call sacred healing soil. Motorcyclists riding the High Road use Chimayó as a natural rest and photo stop — parking is steps from the church and the village has several artisan galleries and weavers nearby.