Absolutely stunning forested area with tons of great hiking trails minutes from Taos. Even after heavy snow it wasn’t difficult to reach one of the entrances and park at a trailhead. The hiking trails here are absolutely breathtaking and should not be missed!
Fair warning though! The trails are pretty long and extensive, I definitely recommend taking a picture of the trail map and just being honest with your abilities and the weather. We didn’t complete a full trail and doubled back when we felt it was the right time. Just have fun!
The chapel really is beautiful, but whoever is currently managing it is doing it a huge disservice. There are signs posted encouraging quiet but they blast bored narration and canned “heavenly” music over the speakers so loudly most visitors can’t help but speak up to be heard over it.
There is very little history to read otherwise, so I feel for the $5 a person entry fee they should have personal headsets for those interested in hearing the history to preserve the peace of the location, like many museums offer. Instead the whole set up feels very much intended for you to cough up your money to get in, make you feel like you’ve seen enough in a few short moments and then shuffle you straight in to a very chincy gift shop (there is no other way out)
This location is very beautiful, but those managing it do their best to detract at every step of your visit.
Pretty good food with an unbeatable view. The staff was friendly and attentive, their decorations for Halloween are hilarious 😂
Almost passed this place by on a route up the coast, well worth the stop! The beach is beautiful, sand is soft, and there is good hiking that doesn’t take very long while still being stimulating! The views are absolutely gorgeous!
The gathering place feels like something straight out of the future. It’s masterfully designed, no matter what path you take before long you’ll stumble on a pretty breath taking vista that has had so much thought put in to it.
With many large, beautifully constructed playgrounds surrounded by perfectly manicured trees and flowering plants I hope that when I have kids I can bring them back here someday (partially so I have an excuse to climb around myself!)
But this is also the perfect place to take your shoes off and walk a small pond-side beach, feed the beautiful coy fish, and take in the many sculptural rock and water displays.
There are also walking and cycling paths moving through the length of the park, making this the perfect place to get some exercise in, even at night! The Gathering Place is surprisingly well lit at night considering how big it is. It feels very safe!
We never saw any performances when we visited, but this also feels like the perfect place to see a musical performance or have a picnic. I really wish we had something like this back in Texas. A must see!!