Northern New Mexico

– NOBO from Santa Fe Plaza to Taos Plaza –

Miles

Days

Co. High Points

Vertical feet

About the Santa Fe to Taos Thru-Hike

The Santa Fe to Taos (or SF2T) hike is a relatively new adventure using existing trails through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Northern New Mexico. Pam Neely created this backcountry route over a period of 10 years, and she published the first edition of the guidebook in 2025. This 132-mile hike is broken into six sections, allowing access to the route every 18-26 miles so that it can be easily section-hiked or thru-hiked.

The SF2T route begins at the Santa Fe Plaza and ends at Taos Plaza, taking hikers through the Santa Fe National Forest, the Pecos Wilderness, and the Carson National Forest. This is a high-altitude hiking route, with a low point of roughly 7,000′ elevation and a high point of 12,000′ elevation. As a result, hikers are limited to a relatively short hiking season from mid-June to early October when the snow has melted and water is abundant.

In addition to thru-hiking the SF2T, I also detoured off trail to climb a few of New Mexico’s county high points – Santa Fe Baldy (the highest point in Santa Fe Co. at 12,624′ elevation) and Truchas Peak (the highest point in Mora Co. and Rio Arriba Co. at 13,107′ elevation). My trail journal, packing list, and itinerary are detailed below, along with some of the resources I used to make this thru-hike a success.

Trail Notes

19 Things You Should Know Before Hiking from Santa Fe to Taos

Oct 29, 2025 | Santa Fe to Taos

I love northern New Mexico. There are so many unique things to enjoy in the Land of Enchantment: the hatch chiles, the contemporary art and museums, the Pueblo Revival architecture, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the cities of Santa Fe and Taos... It's all such a...

Santa Fe to Taos Packing List

Oct 21, 2025 | Gear, Santa Fe to Taos, Southwest US

I thru-hiked the Santa Fe to Taos (SF2T) trail in early October. This made it my first autumn hike in a very, very long time. The last one was the Uinta Highline Trail in September 2020, when a polar vortex and blizzard nearly spelled catastrophe for my physical...

Planning my SF2T Thru-hike

Oct 25, 2025 | Santa Fe to Taos, Southwest US, Trail Journals

I stumbled upon the Santa Fe to Taos (SF2T) thru-hike quite by accident. But once I'd discovered it, I couldn't get this trail out of my mind. I love spending time in Santa Fe and Taos. Plus, I love the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the autumn with their bold colors....

My (Very Unwise) SF2T Itinerary

Oct 17, 2025 | Santa Fe to Taos, Southwest US

When I began planning my Santa Fe to Taos (SF2T) thru-hike, I relied heavily on Pam Neely's SF2T guidebook and the different itineraries she provided in the chapter near the end of the book. I was thrilled to take on this newly developed route this because the autumn...

SF2T Thru-Hike – Day 1

Oct 2, 2025 | Santa Fe to Taos, Southwest US, Trail Journals

Thursday, October 2, 2025 Start: Santa Fe Plaza (mile 0) End: Campsite near Santa Fe Ski Basin (mile 19) Distance hiked: 19 miles Daily gain/loss: 7,447 vertical feet Detours: none Day 1 of the hike took me from Santa Fe Plaza up to the Santa Fe Ski Basin. I started...