Taos.

Taos is the third leg of the New Mexico boutique triangle — Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Taos. The independents are deeply specific: Mabel Dodge Luhan House (where D.H. Lawrence stayed), El Monte Sagrado (a sacred-circle eco-resort), Historic Taos Inn (1936), Hacienda del Sol (an 1804 adobe). Adobe vernacular runs every page.

What this looks like

Taos sits at 7,000 feet in the high desert north of Santa Fe — 70 miles up the Rio Grande Gorge by way of the High Road or the more direct River Road. Three pieces: Taos Plaza and the historic adobe core (Mabel Dodge, Taos Inn, Hacienda del Sol, Palacio de Marquesa); Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and continuously inhabited Native settlement of 1,000+ years, two miles north; and Taos Ski Valley at 9,200 feet, twenty miles up Route 150. The architecture in the historic core is overwhelmingly adobe — earth-toned, low-slung, vigas, kiva fireplaces, courtyards. The town is smaller and rougher than Santa Fe (population 6,000 vs. 84,000), more counter-cultural, and the design crowd tends to prefer it for exactly that reason.

The standouts

• Mabel Dodge Luhan House — where D.H. Lawrence and Georgia O'Keeffe stayed, seventeen rooms in Mabel Dodge Luhan's original 1922 estate.
• El Monte Sagrado — an eco-resort built around a sacred-circle pond, eighty-four themed rooms, the Taos sustainability flagship.
• Historic Taos Inn — built 1936, forty-four rooms, Doc Martin's restaurant, the Adobe Bar's red-or-green-chile crowd.
• Hacienda del Sol — an 1804 hacienda once owned by Mabel Dodge Luhan, thirteen adults-only rooms, kiva fireplaces.
• Palacio de Marquesa — eight rooms in a restored adobe, adults-only, named for the eight Taos women in residence.

When to come / who it's for

Three seasons. Ski season runs late November through early April at Taos Ski Valley — Kachina Peak terrain, Hike-To-Highline access, one of the steeper inbounds resorts in the lower 48. Summer (June through early September) is the second window — the Taos Pueblo is open most of the year (they close for ceremonial periods), the rafting on the Rio Grande Gorge runs May through August, the Taos Pueblo Powwow is the second weekend of July. Late September through October is the sweet spot — cottonwoods turning gold along the Rio Grande, lower rates, peak Earthship-and-art-gallery weather. Spring is windy, dry, and the only season to deprioritize. The region rewards three to four nights; combine with Santa Fe (75 minutes south) for a longer New Mexico loop. Couples and friends primarily; older families do well at El Monte Sagrado and the larger inns.

Nearby / what else

Taos Pueblo itself — a UNESCO site and the continuously inhabited Native settlement at the base of the sacred mountain. The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge — the seventh-highest cantilever bridge in the U.S., ten minutes west of town. The Earthship Biotecture community on Route 64, an off-grid sustainable-architecture community open for tours. The Millicent Rogers Museum for Pueblo and Hispanic Southwest art. The High Road back to Santa Fe through Chimayó (the Santuario pilgrimage church) and Truchas. For dinner: Lambert's of Taos, Doc Martin's, Love Apple, Orlando's New Mexican Cafe. For breakfast: Michael's Kitchen, the Bavarian at the ski valley.