good towns to stop between Denver and Santa Fe (Pueblo: best city, hotels)

[mkwensky]

I'm planning a trip to Santa Fe in late October. Are there nice towns near the halfway point where one can find decent hotels to spend the night? Aside from Trinidad most of the cities in between don't look that appealing. Thanks.

[bluescreen73]

On the I-25 corridor? Not really. Las Vegas is probably the best city between Pueblo and Santa Fe, but it's more like 4/5 of the way there.

If you wanna take the back way (US-285), you can overnight in Salida and hit up Great Sand Dunes National Park on day 2. The Rio Grande Gorge is right outside Taos, too.

[NW Crow]

Hotels?

I am not sure what hotels Red River or Taos NM have. Motels, resorts, bnbs sure. Probably some hotels.

Not everybody makes distinctions between hotels and motels. Some still do.

Some motels surely in Cimarron. If not going to do anything but sleep, I might check Cimarron. Or Angel Fire.

[zenith32]

Trinidad is really the only place between Pueblo and Santa Fe that's worth anything along I-25. Raton and Las Vegas *might* have halfway decent hotel accommodations but I'm more curious as to why you'd need a hotel between Denver and Santa Fe. It's barely a 6 hour drive with really nothing at the actual "halfway" point (Trinidad and Pueblo being the closest viable options unless Walsenburg or Colorado City blew up in recent years).

[Westerner92]

Unless you're trying to get there as quick as possible, I'd recommend going the 285 route. It's much prettier, more interesting, and it doesn't add much to your drive time if at all. Salida, Great Sand Dunes, Taos, all make for great side stops that would be interesting for someone who's interested in Santa Fe to begin with.

[davebarnes]

Another vote for the 285 route.

[SunGrins]

I suggest you stay in historic hotels along the way. The St. James Hotel in Cimarron is a historic gem founded by Abraham Lincoln's chef. Taos has some very interesting historic hotels (Sagebrush Inn & La Fonda on the Plaza). Las Vegas has Hotel Castaneda (1st Harvey House hotel - restored) and The Plaza (No Country for Old Men film site). Even Walsenburg has an interesting old hotel dating back to the coalfield mining war days (The Plaza). The memorial to the Ludlow Massacre s north of Trinidad. I suspect Trinidad has an old historic hotel but I never stayed there.

[baycurious123]

We drove from Denver to Santa Fe. We made a right at Walsenberg so we could check out the Sand Dunes, and then went south from there down 285. Maybe I've been sheltered, but I don't think I've ever seen such a series of grim and desolate places. Walsenberg was bad enough, but some of the places as we got into northern NM looked 3rd world.

[emm74]

It's only a ~6 hour drive from Denver, so I'm not sure why you need a halfway point to stay. But If I did want to make a stop, I'd make it in Taos, which is well worth a visit in its own right.

[mkwensky]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

One question - is 285 more dangerous to drive at night or in adverse weather conditions?