Taos - American Southwest - page 203

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2 GETTING AROUND

With offices at the Taos airport, Enterprise ( & 575/751-7490 ) is reliable and efficient.
Other car-rental agencies are available out of Albuquerque. See “Getting Around,” in
chapter 9, for details.
PARKING Parking can be difficult during the summer rush, when the stream of tour-
ists' cars moving north and south through town never ceases. If you can't find parking on
the street or in the plaza, check out some of the nearby roads (Kit Carson Rd., for
instance); there are plenty of metered and unmetered lots in Taos.
ROAD CONDITIONS Information on highway conditions throughout the state can
be obtained from the State Highway Department ( & 800/432-4269 ).
BY BUS & TAXI
If you're in Taos without a car, you're in luck because there's local bus service, provided
by Chile Line Town of Taos Transit ( & 575/751-4459 ). It operates every half-hour
Monday to Saturday 7am to 7pm in summer, 7am to 6pm in winter, and on the hour
Sunday 8am to 5pm. Two simultaneous routes run southbound from Taos Pueblo and
northbound from the Ranchos de Taos Post Office. Each route makes stops at the casino
and various hotels in town, as well as at Taos RV Park. Bus fares are 50¢ one-way, $1
round-trip, $5 for a 7-day pass, and $20 for a 31-day pass.
In addition, Faust's Transportation ( & 575/758-3410 ) has a taxi service linking
town hotels and Taos Ski Valley. Faust's Transportation also offers shuttle service and
on-call taxi service daily from 8am to 5pm (special arrangements made for after hours;
Sun by appointment only), with fares of about $10 anywhere within the city limits for
up to two people.
BY BICYCLE
Bicycle rentals are available from Gearing Up Bicycle Shop, 129 Paseo del Pueblo
Sur ( & 575/751-0365 ); daily rentals run $35 for a full day and $25 for a half-day
for a mountain bike with front suspension. From April to October, Native Sons Adven-
tures, 1334 Paseo del Pueblo Sur ( & 800/753-7559 or 575/758-9342; www.nativesons
adventures.com), rents front-suspension bikes for $25 for a half-day and $35 for a full
day. It also rents car racks for $5. Each shop supplies helmets and water bottles with
rentals.

8

Warning for Drivers
En route to many recreation sites, reliable paved roads often give way to poorer
forest roads. When you get off the main roads, you don't find gas stations or
cafes. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended on snow and much of the
unpaved terrain of the region. If you're doing some off-road adventuring, it's wise
to go with a full gas tank, extra food and water, and warm clothing—just in case.
At the higher-than-10,000-foot elevations of northern New Mexico, sudden sum-
mer snowstorms are not unheard of.