Events & What’s Happening
Month-long community arts event with gallery openings, studio tours, live performances, and family-friendly art activities throughout Taos.
💡Check the schedule for free family workshops at local galleries where kids can make their own art.
Outdoor music festival at Kit Carson Park celebrating the summer solstice with live regional and national acts, local food vendors, and arts activities.
💡Bring a blanket and sunscreen; the grassy park setting is relaxed and great for families with younger children who may need to roam.
Traditional Native American powwow hosted at Taos Pueblo featuring intertribal dancing, drumming, and artisan vendors from tribes across the region.
💡Arrive early to find good viewing spots for the grand entry; children are welcome but keep them close and follow all posted etiquette signs.
One of the oldest arts festivals in the Southwest, spanning several weeks with juried shows, gallery walks, studio tours, and cultural events celebrating Taos's rich artistic legacy.
💡The free gallery walks and outdoor sculpture displays are easy to enjoy with kids of any age without worrying about fragile indoor art.
One of the most significant celebrations at Taos Pueblo, featuring traditional dances, a trade fair, food, and the historic pole climb competition on the eve of the feast day.
💡This is a deeply sacred event — explain its cultural importance to children beforehand, follow all visitor guidelines, and bring water and snacks as it can be a long day.
Annual celebration of fiber arts and sheep heritage held at Kit Carson Park, featuring live sheep, spinning demonstrations, weaving, and handmade wool goods from local artisans.
💡Kids love petting the sheep and watching the spinning demonstrations; the festival is compact and very stroller-friendly.
Holiday lighting celebration on Taos Plaza featuring farolito lighting, live music, luminarias lining adobe buildings, and community caroling.
💡Bundle up and arrive at dusk when the luminarias glow most beautifully; the farolito walk around the plaza is magical for young children.
Weekly farmers market on Taos Plaza featuring local produce, green chile, honey, baked goods, handmade crafts, and live music from regional musicians.
💡Go before 10am for the best selection and less heat; kids enjoy the live music and sampling local treats like fresh tamales.
Free weekly story time for young children at the Taos Public Library featuring bilingual English and Spanish stories, songs, and simple craft activities.
💡Ideal for toddlers and preschoolers; the bilingual format is a wonderful cultural experience unique to northern New Mexico.
Free ranger-led interpretive programs at the Rio Grande Gorge Visitor Center covering geology, wildlife, and Native history of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
💡Pick up a Junior Ranger booklet at the visitor center so kids can earn their badge while learning about the gorge ecosystem.
Taos Ski Valley offers weekend family programming including ski and snowboard lessons for children ages 3 and up, a dedicated kids' terrain area, and a children's ski school.
💡Book ski school lessons well in advance for holiday weekends; kids 12 and under ski free with a paying adult on select Sundays.
Planning Your Visit
Neighborhoods & Areas
Local Tips for Families
- 💡Taos Pueblo closes to outside visitors completely during certain ceremonial periods — the tribe does not always announce closures far in advance online, so call the Pueblo visitor line at (575) 758-1028 the morning of your planned visit rather than just checking the website.
- 💡The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on US-64 is free to walk and the 650-foot drop view is genuinely dramatic for kids — go before 9am to beat the tour van traffic and get the gorge in soft morning light rather than harsh midday glare.
- 💡Harwood Museum of Art on Ledoux Street offers free admission every Sunday — the permanent collection includes Taos Society of Artists works and a dedicated children's activity corner that runs weekend mornings.
- 💡Taos Ski Valley's Kachina chairlift operates in summer (typically late June through Labor Day) for scenic rides to 11,800 feet — tickets are around $25 per person and the alpine wildflower meadows at the top are accessible even for young children who can't hike the technical Wheeler Peak trail.
- 💡The Taos Farmers Market runs Saturday mornings June through October at Taos Plaza — arrive by 8:30am before the best tamale and green chile vendors sell out, and the craft vendors don't typically set up until after 9am if that's your focus.
- 💡For a green chile cheeseburger that locals actually eat, go to Lotaburger on Paseo del Pueblo Sur rather than any tourist-facing restaurant — a family of four eats for under $30 and the Hatch green chile is the real thing.
- 💡Kit Carson Park on Dragoon Lane, two blocks north of the Plaza, has a shaded playground and open grass that's almost always uncrowded — it's the only real dedicated kids' play space within walking distance of the Plaza and most visitors don't notice it.
- 💡If you're driving the Enchanted Circle — the 84-mile loop through Eagle Nest, Angel Fire, and Questa — time it to reach Eagle Nest Lake State Park around lunch, where kids can fish the stocked lake without a license if they are under 12, and picnic tables have direct mountain views.