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Rio Grande River

As NM 68 traverses its climb from Espanola to Taos, it follows the Rio Grande River within the Rio Grande Canyon for about 15 miles. This is the only region with frontage on a large river - all other Taos area rivers are just mountain streams. While much of this land to rugged for settlement, communities have formed where there is sufficient flat land to place them. The combination of lower elevations and high canyon walls give this area a warmer climate than Taos and make it excellent for apple orchards, vineyards, and tree farms. Each season is special here. Spring greets you with flowering fruit trees, summer provides lush cottonwoods and rafting trips down the river. In fall the cottonwoods turn bright gold. Hundreds of Bald Eagles winter in the canyon due to the ice-free river. You can almost always see them when driving along the highway in the winter if you know where to look. Pinon and Juniper line the canyon walls with cottonwoods providing a continuous ribbon of green along the river.

Boundaries between the communities are not difficult to discern because the rough terrain separates each of them and highway signs make it pretty obvious which community is which.

Please note that many listings in these areas do NOT appear in the Taos County MLS as as many listings are with Santa Fe area real estate companies which list in another MLS. Contact John if you are looking for something in this area, but cannot find it in the MLS/IDX Website. He has access to the Santa Fe MLS.

Click on any shaded area of the map to see information. Clicking outside of the shaded area will return you to the MLS map page.

Maps and content Copyright by John Kejr

Distance to Taos: 20 -40 Minutes

Distance to Taos Ski Valley: 40 minutes to 1 hour

The Taos MLS divides this area into five MLS zones:

Dixon (17A)

Dixon is the one Rio Grande River community that is not technically on the Rio Grande River. It lies about one mile up the Rio Pueblo on state highway 75 from the Rio Grande. Here art galleries mix with orchards and vineyards with many old adobe buildings. Dixon is actually one of the worlds' highest elevation commercial grape growing regions. The old town forms the heart of the Rio Grande River towns with the largest population, churches, a communal grocery store and radio station.

Embudo (22A)

This zone occupies the lower portion of the Rio Grande Canyon from its intersection with NM 75 to the canyon's entrance at Velarde. A bridge over the river by the Embudo Station Restaurant provides access to properties on the north side of the Rio Grande.

Pilar (31A)

Of the Rio Grande River towns, Pilar is the only zone of this region in Taos County (the others are in Rio Arriba County) and marks the place where the NM 68 finally begins climbing out of the canyon when traveling from Santa Fe to Taos. Highway 570 heads north continuing up the Rio Grande for a short distance leading to the Rio Grande Canyon State Park and eventually crossing the river and climbing out of the canyon near Carson. Art studios and rafting and other river recreation instead of agriculture tend to dominate this area more than those downstream.

Rinconada (38A)

This village of orchards and tree farms sits on NM 68 east of the junction of NM 75 and west of the Rio Arriba County line. All Rinconada properties sit on the south side of the Rio Grande River. Fruit stands line this section of the highway during the harvest season.

Velarde (51A)

Velarde sits at the south portal of the Rio Grande canyon. Here the highway leaves the Rio Grande and instead contours above it on the hillside slope above the town. When heading south on NM 68, you are in Velarde once the highway widens to four lanes. This agricultural community features long narrow fields and orchards. As this is the southwesternmost zone of the Taos MLS, properties farther to the the south and west sometimes are included here though they may not be in the actual community of Velarde. Several of these communities can be seen on the map above.

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