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Ranchos and Talpa

Since this zone also includes Llano Quemado, it should probably be called Ranchos, Talpa, and Llano Quemado.  More than thirty years ago, you would have had no trouble identifying each of these nearby but distinct villages.  Today, however, these ancient communities have been engulfed in the "Taos Sprawl" and have no distinct boundaries.  The cores of each village are still distinct - each with its own church or chapel, and sometimes a plaza, surrounded by numerous old adobe homes.  It is in the newer areas between these villages where boundaries are less identifiable.

This region is centered on the  Ranchos de Taos plaza.  On both sides of the road, it extends north along NM 68 slightly beyond the intersection of NM 518, and south along NM 68 to the unnamed arroyo just before County Road 110 (leading to Vista Linda, the armory, country club, and UNM Taos).  It lines NM 518 until it enters the Little Rio Grande Canyon.  It includes all roads leading off of West Romero Road and Cuchillo Road and NM 240 to the west until they start entering irrigated valley lands.

The Taos MLS divides this area into four MLS zones:

Llano Mesa (28A)

This is the one zone in the region that is not built around an old village.  Consider it as West Romero Road,  Cuchilla Road, and the streets that lead off of them.  These highlands overlook the Ranchos valley from the south and extend west until you come to irrigated valley land of Los Cordovas.  The housing here is eclectic with homes of all styles and price ranges located quite close to each other.  This is considered one of the most affordable regions close in to Taos.

Llano Quemado (28B)

This zone covers the highlands overlooking the Ranchos Valley (from the south) located east of NM 68 and extends south  towards the Picuris Mountains, but does not include any areas west of where County Rd. 110 joins NM68.  Views from the Llano Rim overlooking the Ranchos valley are impressive.  This main road through Llano Quemado is also know as Hot Springs Road for the Ponce de Leon Hot Springs that used to be a thriving resort in the area.

Ranchos de Taos (36A)

The world-renowned and much photographed San Francisco de Asis Church and its surrounding plaza mark the heart of the Ranchos de Taos zone.  Properties with commercial uses line Highways 68 and 518.   The historic core of Ranchos is unmistakable, but new areas are harder to define.  The Ranchos de Taos zone extends north to just beyond the intersection between highways 68 and 518, South on 68 to the Llano Rim, West along Lower Ranchitos Road (NM 240) for a very short distance until irrigated valley land dominate, and east until you come to Talpa.  Defining the boundary between this zone and the Talpa zone is pointless because neighboring listings are often found in either zone.

Talpa (43A)

The old village of Talpa sits where the Rio Chiquito and Little Rio Grande leave the mountains and enter the Taos/Ranchos Valley.  Other than highway 518, many of the roads going through this town resemble goat trails that meander along ditches and squeeze between houses with room for barely one vehicle to travel and become quite challenging when encountering a vehicle coming the other direction.  Tourists and artists have not discovered Talpa in the same numbers that they have Taos and Ranchos de Taos.  With many very old adobe homes, it really is authentic New Mexico.

The Talpa zone ends on the east where it enters the foothills.  In general, if most people access the area from NM 518, the property is in Talpa.  If they come from Este Es Rd, or Weimer/Maestas Road, they do not fall into this zone.  With vague boundaries, properties listed in Talpa should often belong in other zones, and properties in other zones should be listed in Talpa.

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