explanation
Section 1 thru-hike route
Section 2 thru-hike route
Section 3 thru-hike route
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
complete the thru-hike in two weeks
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The Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike goes from the Santa Fe Plaza all the way to Taos Plaza over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. It is 132 miles long, spans four counties – Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Mora, and Taos – and crosses the Santa Fe National Forest, The Pecos Wilderness, and Carson National Forest. The full route has 35,000 feet of cumulative ascent and descent, as both plazas are at 7,000 feet elevation.

The route is over ten years in the making, scouted and refined by Pam Neely beginning around 2014, and then first completed as a thru-hike in 2018. It has been refined several times to optimize safety and access to water. It is still being refined, with a new alternate route to be announced later this year.

Upcoming Events

November 6th: I’ll be “tabling” at the ORD Pitch Fest in Albuquerque

Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike Finishers

Congratulations to everyone who finished the thru-hike in 2025! If you finished the thru-hike, but:

  1. Haven’t sent me your trip report and/or
  2. Would like to be included on this page.

Send me an email (contact@santafetotaos.org) or use the contact page. There’s a free gift in it for you…


    Maps and route

    See Gaia GPS maps documenting every step of the thru-hike. Or see the route page and individual section pages for details on the route and turn-by-turn directions for the route.


    Presentation at the Los Alamos Mountaineers monthly meeting at the Los Alamos Nature Center Planetarium, Tuesday, October 28th

    Huge thanks to the Mountaineers and the Nature Center for this opportunity.


    Plaza to Plaza in 52 photographs

    Each photograph is from one of the 50 subsections that make up the route.

    Santa Fe Plaza
    Enchanted Small Falls along the Santa Fe River Trail
    Along the Santa Fe River corridor trail, Section 1-2 of the Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike
    Chasing Dreams abandoned car in Arroyo Polay
    View from Little Tesuque Trail, Section 1-4.
    oaks in Juan Canyon, Section 1-5
    S1-6 Winsor Trail and Big Tesuque Creek
    Along Winsor Trail, Section 1-7
    Along Winsor Trail, Section 1-7
    S1-9 Going up Winsor Trail
    S2-1 Be Here Now sign going up Winsor Trail
    S2-1 Be Here Now sign going up Winsor Trail
    View of Truchas Peaks from the saddle en route to Lake Katherine, Section s2-3
    Lake Katherine in the Pecos Wilderness, Section 2-4
    S2-5 New views along Skyline Trail
    S2-6 Coming down Cave Creek Trail
    S2-7 End of the climb up Dockweiler Trail
    Dockweiler Trail
    S2-9 Pecos Baldy Lake
    S3-1 Trailriders Wall
    S3-2 Skyline Trail
    S3-3 Lower Truchas Lake
    S3-4 Santa Barbara Divide
    S3-5 Middle Fork Trail with Truchas Peaks in the distance
    S3-6 Rio Santa Barbara
    S4-1 Indian Canyon
    S4-2 Trail up to Ripley Point
    S4-2 Trail up to Ripley Point
    S4-4, Comales Trail
    S4-5 Rio del Pueblo
    S4-6 Interpretive trail off Rt 518
    s4-7 La Cueva Field
    S4-8 view from La Cueva Cutoff Trail
    s4-9 View from Forest Road 442
    S5-1 view from Forest Road 442
    S5-2 view from FR 442 after the burn
    s5-3 intersection of Forest Road 440 and the connector
    S5-4 Forest track along the connector
    S5-5 Forest Road 438
    s5-6 Bernardin Lake
    S5-7 Forest Road 478
    S6-1 Rio Chiquito Bridge
    S6-2 Forest Road 437
    S6-3 Forest Road 437
    S6-4 Entrance to Drake Canyon
    S6-5 view of Taos Mountains from unnamed trail
    S6-6 El Nogal
    S6-7 view from Kit Carson Road
    Taos Plaza
    Santa Fe Plaza
    S1-3 Chasing Dreams beyond Arroyo Polay Trailhead
    View from Little Tesuque Trail, Section 1-4
    oaks in Juan Canyon, Section 1-5
    S1-6 Winsor Trail and Big Tesuque Creek
    Section 1-7 Along Winsor Trail
    Section 1-8 Field near Winsor / Borrego intersection
    S1-9 Going up Winsor Trail
    S2-1 Be Here Now sign off Winsor Trail
    Section 2-2 Climbing toward Puerto Nambe on Winsor Trail
    Section S2-3 View of Truchas Peaks from the saddle en route to Lake Katherine
    S2-5 New views along Skyline Trail
    S2-6 Coming down Cave Creek Trail
    S2-7 End of the climb up Dockweiler Trail
    2-8 Dockweiler Trail toward Rito Perro
    S3-1 Trailrider’s Wall
    S3-3 Lower Truchas Lake
    S3-4 Santa Barbara Divide
    S4-2 Trail up to Ripley Point
    S4-3 Jicarita Peak from Ripley Point
    S4-6 Interpretive trail off Rt 518
    S4-8 view from La Cueva Cutoff Trail
    s4-9 View from Forest Road 442
    s5-1 View from Forest Road 442 before burn
    s5-2 View from Forest Road 442 after burn
    S5-3 intersection of Forest Road 440 and the connector
    S5-4 Forest track along the connector
    S6-1 Rio Chiquito Bridge
    S6-4 Entrance to Drake Canyon
    S6-5 view of Taos Mountains from unnamed trail
    S6-7 view from Kit Carson Road
    Taos Plaza
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