Join us on a guided thru-hike

The Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike will be leading the first guided thru-hikes in 2026, departing from Santa Fe Plaza and going all the way through to Taos Plaza. Each trip will be 11 days total. We will be averaging 11.2 miles and 2,500 feet of ascent per day.

Each group will have nine guests plus two guides. There are seven trips planned for the season, which begins the second week of June and continues through to mid September. All trips leave Santa Fe Plaza on a Monday morning then arrive in Taos Plaza the following Thursday in the late afternoon.

Trip schedules

Here’s our itinerary:

• Day 1. Santa Fe Plaza to field east of Winsor / Borrego intersection and north of Tesuque creek. 13.6 miles. 3,000 ft ascent, 1,500 ft descent.
• Day 2. Field east of Winsor / Borrego intersection and north of Tesuque creek to Lake Katherine. 11.7 miles. 4,900 ft ascent, 1,800 ft descent.
• Day 3. Lake Katherine to just short of Panchuela Campground. 10.2 miles. 900 ft ascent, 4,200 ft descent.
• Day 4. Just short of Panchuela Campground to to Pecos Baldy Lake. 8.4 miles. 3,400 ft ascent, 400 ft descent.
• Day 5. Pecos Baldy Lake to Truchas Lakes. 5.3 miles. 1,300 ft ascent, 900 ft descent.
• Day 6. Truchas Lakes to Bull Field. 12.7 miles. 2,200 ft ascent, 4,500 ft descent.
• Day 7. Bull Field to La Cueva Field. 12.5 miles. 3,300 ft ascent, 3,800 ft descent.
• Day 8. La Cueva Field to Trail 124/Forest Road 439A. 12.9 miles 3,000 ft ascent, 2,200 ft descent.
• Day 9. Trail 124/Forest Road 439A to Bernardin Lake. 9.0 miles 2,100 ft ascent, 2,200 ft descent.
• Day 10. Bernardin Lake to Three Canyons campsite. 14.9 miles 1,500 ft ascent, 3,000 ft descent.
• Day 11. Three canyons campsite to Taos Plaza. 12 miles. 1,700 ft ascent, 2,900 ft descent
  

Cost: $3,000. Tax deductible.

What’s included:

• An optional 30-minute Zoom call within a week after you’ve sent your down payment. This is so I can get to know you and your experience and capabilities, and so we can go over gear needs, training, and do a recap of what to expect. If you prefer, this can be done online by you watching a few short videos and completing an 8-question online form.
• Two one-hour recorded Zoom calls – the first two months before your departure date, then the second one month before departure. We’ll go over what to expect, last-minute training and packing, and anything else you might want to know.
• All the gear you’ll need. So a tent, backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, headlamp, water bladder, Nalgene, etc. Note that we cannot supply your boots or your clothes. But if you don’t want to invest $600-$1,000 in gear for this trip, then don’t. We’ll provide everything but your boots and your clothes. If you want to bring your own gear, that’s great, but please let us know what you’ll be bringing.
• Meals and snacks. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This won’t be fancy food, but we do have enough resupply points to vary our meals, and to have a nice surprise or two along the way. That said, most of the time breakfast will be instant oatmeal with some toppings plus Starbucks Via coffee. Lunch will be trail mix, protein bars and similar items. Dinner will be freeze-dried meals.
• As many creature comforts as we can reasonably afford you. So if you need extra socks, or want a slightly larger meal portion, or hiking poles, or blister pads, or even a sleep mask or sunscreen, we’ll do our best to get you what you need to make you happy. Fortunately, because of how many resupply points there are, we’ll have several opportunities to get specialized items if you need something. We want you to be happy and comfortable and have a great time.
• You can pack a duffle bag of things you think you might want, and we’ll bring it to you at four points along the route.
• A recommended reading list so you can have more context about what you’re seeing.
• Access to a Garmin Inreach Mini while we’re on trail. So if you really need to get a text out or receive a text while we’re in the woods, that can be done. Please do not abuse this. This is intended for critical communications, and not to be used more than twice a day. There is limited cell reception along the route.
• Accompaniment by two guides with Wilderness First Responder certification.
• The SF2T guidebook and a finisher t-shirt to show off your accomplishment.

What’s not included:

• Transport to Santa Fe Plaza and transport from Taos Plaza. I cannot offer you a drive to or from your hotel or house. There is good public transportation to Santa Fe Plaza. And you can take the Blue Bus from Taos to Santa Fe to free. There is also a private shuttle service available from Taos for $85. We can direct you to these services, but this is not part of the trip. You’ll need to pay for these extra services. Part of your onboarding materials for the trip include a list of all these services, with typical prices and contact information.
• Transport to and from any of the trailheads if you need to leave the trip. We can arrange a pickup for you, but you are responsible for paying that. If you have an emergency and need to get off the thru-hike before then, your best bets are from the Ski Basin (you can take the Blue Bus or an Uber from the Ski Basin to Santa Fe), at Panchuela Campground (Uber), or at Jack’s Creek Campground (also Uber). Private shuttle service is also available from Santa Barbara Campground, Agua Piedra Campground, and Rio Chiquito bridge.
• Your boots and the clothes you’ll wear on the trip.
• Anyone carrying more than a couple of pounds of your stuff. You will be able to pack a duffle bag of whatever you think you’ll need, so that should help to reduce your pack weight. Most of the gear we’ll provide will be ultralight. But you will be carrying your gear for the trip. Expect to be carrying about a 25-pound pack. We’ll do everything possible to keep your pack as light as possible, but there are no porters on this trip.
• Setting up and breaking down your tent, inflating your sleeping pad, and similar tasks.

TERMS

If we determine that you are unable to complete the full thru-hike by the time we get to the Santa Fe Ski Basin (so Day 2), you have to leave the trip. We cannot risk everyone else’s safety or risk us falling behind if you are not physically able to complete the trip. Note that once you have paid your deposit, we are available to give guidance on how you train for the thru-hike. While that guidance may help, if you aren’t at least reasonably fit two months ahead of when we leave, you may not have enough time to be fit enough to do the thru-hike. We define “reasonably fit” as able to do a 7-mile hike with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain with a 20-lb pack on your back a sea level.

By securing your spot on this guided thru-hike, you agree to follow our directions while we’re on the trail. If you decide to leave the group, we are not responsible for what happens to you. If you become uncooperative or hostile to staff or the other group members, you will be brought to the next trailhead and offered a ride (that you will pay for) to wherever you wish to go, but you will not continue on the thru-hike with the group. If you are drunk or high on the thru-hike, that will also be grounds for ending your participation on the thru-hike.

You will need to get a health history form completed by your doctor. This form will be sent after your initial deposit is made.

You will need to sign a liability waiver. This will be sent after your initial deposit is made.

PAYMENT TERMS

You must put at least 50% down to secure your spot.

Your trip must be paid in full no more than one month before our departure or you will lose your spot and half of the funds you have paid to date.

CANCELLATION POLICY

• 80% refund on what you have paid so far if you cancel three months before the day your trip leaves Santa Fe Plaza, midnight US MNT time.
• 50% refund on whatever you have paid so far if you cancel six weeks before the day your trip leaves Santa Fe Plaza, midnight US MNT time.
• 25% refund on whatever you have paid so far if you cancel two weeks before the day your trip leaves Santa Fe Plaza, midnight US MNT time.
• No refund after one week before the day your trip leaves Santa Fe Plaza, midnight US MNT time.

Questions?

Email contact@santafetotaos.org with any questions. If it makes more sense for us to talk on a Zoom call or a phone call, we’ll set that up for whenever is convenient for you, even if it’s a weekend or early evening.

The Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike operates under permits from the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests.

Anti-discrimination statement

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution, The Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike, is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, and American Sign Language) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. 

To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD 3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, which can be obtained online, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by: 

mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; email: program.intake@usda.gov.