Late Night Arrivals
If you will be arriving late at night please plan ahead with us, call or email during business hours to make sure you are able to navigate the arrival on your own.
This is the main entrance Walkway to all condos.
Signage at the base of the three story building will help you find your condo
Check In is 4pm and Check Out is 11am. Any deviation from the set Check In and Check Out requires approval and is not always a possibility. We do our best to accommodate all special requests.
Early Check In
Ski In/Ski Out
In the Winter, when there is adequate coverage, and when Taos Ski Valley runs their Ski School beginner lifts and gondola, we are fully ski out. When all of those conditions are not met, there are alternatives to get to the slopes. Please do not walk up or down the ski trail, as it negatively impacts the snow surface for our skiing/boarding guests. Our Ski In trail is open when the season starts. If you are a beginning skier or boarder please do not use the Ski Out, and Ski In with caution.
Not Enough Snow Coverage: When there is not enough snow, the Ski Out is closed. We determine this and if the sign is not up by the ski out, it is closed. If the ski out is closed we suggest driving to the main lot and parking via attendant for TSV shuttle service to the base, or, if you prefer not to Drive, you can walk down the driveway and Firehouse road.
No Lifts Running: Until mid December, or after mid March, lifts may not run from the Children’s Center (Ski School). The ski out may still be open, but will require a short walk from the end of the ski out trail around the Children’s Center pickup and drop off loop and up to the main road/parking lot where a shuttle stops every few minutes. The shuttle will drop you at the entrance to the Base area, ticketing, shopping and lifts. Lifts run all day, TSV determines how late, but they keep them running til around 8 during peak season.
The Ski Out terrain would be considered a Black Diamond run in that it is un-groomed, and requires solid control of your skis to navigate the top pitch, carefully cross the lower Kandahar road, and then continue behind the village offices to where you start to lose momentum naturally and can either take a quick turn left, remove your skis and walk to the shuttle, or keep skis on and duck walk or side step up the pitch to enter the run out of the beginner hill right along the hillside.
The Ski In is accessed off of Whitefeather - our big wide front side Green run - just before you return to the main resort base at lift 1. You will be coming down the last straight away returning to the base and on your left is a roped off entry to Upper Snow Bear Road, which is not marked as such. This is a closed section of the mountain because it does not return to the base, but Snow Bear guests are authorized to use this trail to get back to the condo. There is a post on the right side of the entrance and it has a green ski run sign that says Whitefeather, that, and the rope, are the only obvious cues that you’ve found it. The ski in is not often groomed and can be chunky due to Snow Cats, but this would be considered a blue in terms of the pitch and width. Always ski in control, as there is occasional up hill snow mobile traffic, and once you get close to the snow bear, cars turning into or out of our upper parking lot.
2 guests entering the Ski Out trail from the Parking Lot
Early Morning before the plow came through
The Gondolina is another good way to get around the Valley. The Gondolina will take guests from the Children’s Center/Ski School to the Entrance to the base area, letting you out next to the Edelweiss, and the Snakedance, with just a few more steps to shopping, and the Blake Hotel and Spa. TSV manages this feature and its hours are not always consistent or well advertised, so check with someone in TSV uniform about the schedule while you are on the mountain.
Gondolina
Parking/Lots
Snow Bear has access to one parking lot. One Car per Condo is allowed in this lot. If you have additional vehicles you will need to shuttle from the Taos Ski Valley public parking areas down the hill.
Always watch for cross traffic on the roads coming and going in the area of the Snow Bear, there are dozens of snow mobiles that go up and down each day, and can come out of no where so exercise caution as well as snow cats going up and coming down early in the morning and after the resort closes.
Full Parking Lot at the Snow Bear: Park facing Diagonally into the mountain
Late Season View of Upper Parking Lot and Snow Bear Road
Watch out for Snow Cats!
Taos Ski Valley is small. Bring food with you or pick up what you need from the Town of Taos before you come up if you plan to prepare meals in the room. The town of Taos is a 30 minute drive from the Valley on a clear day. There is also a natural foods market, Sol Food, and package bar, Abe’s Cantina, in Arroyo Seco 15 minutes from the Valley open 7 days – call for hours. If you forgot something, or want to pick up a snack or package beer wine or spirits in the valley, Bumps Market on the ground floor of the Snakedance Inn will have you covered. Don’t expect to find what you want to make a meal, but you might be able to pick up a basic that you forgot to grab. Hours vary, open 7 days year round, but often closes before dark. A recent new offering, CId’s Market has a Ski Valley Bodega with drinks, specialty foods and some grab and go options like quiche, pies and sandwiches. They will be doing made to order items during the ski season.
Taos Ski Valley offers a nice selection of restaurants and Aprés Ski spots. American cuisine in the base area at Rhoda’s, a TSV joint which is open year round for lunch and dinner. Many local favorites have closed over the past few years. We do not currently have a pizza joint, Tims/Stray Dog has closed up shop, and the St. Bernard is being remodeled after the passing of Jean Mayer in 2020 and the operation has changed hands and now is part of the Taos Corporate offerings. Try the dining room/bar at the Snakedance Inn, or make reservations at the Bavarian (4WD necessary in winter - the Bavarian is 2 miles up Twining Rd from the base area on the mountain’s backside, so go there while you’re skiing if you don’t have 4WD or call the restaurant for shuttle service during ski season). Fine dining during dinner hours in the Valley is offered by the Bavarian, the Saint Bernard (MAY BE CLOSED for some or all 2021 Season) (book your spot way ahead, dinner is 6:30 every night and you enjoy European multi-course service with the whole dining room). Great bar too! Edelweiss Lodge’s Blond Bear Tavern is the pick for a romantic dinner with white linens, they also have a great early breakfast joint, Café Naranja, if you’re looking for fresh squeezed OJ, espresso drinks, and eggs or french toast. Open till 11am most days. 192 at the Blake is a blend of fine dining and casual, open all day you can pop in for coffee or tea, pizza for lunch, and a broader menu for dinner. Full Bar, cozy living room area and traditional dining area all within the same great room with an open kitchen. There is a fun smoothie/bowls spot on the new plaza off Thunderbird Rd (near Cid’s) when you are looking for light and fresh.
Food, Drink & Provisions
Most of the year, the Valley is pretty quiet in the evenings, but during the peak season (Mid December to Mid March) you can find live music, dance, the occasional film happening in the evenings. TSV frequently puts on events.
Entertainment
Cleaning Up
Rooms are not equipped with cleaning supplies. If you have an issue requiring clean up beyond paper towel and sponge or broom and pan in the unit, please let us know and we can help by scheduling a midterm clean or supply what you need during business hours. Please do not use bath towels.
There is guest Laundry in the Condo Complex on the bottom floor of the three story building (opposite the Vail entrances). You may use the washer, dryer at no cost. Please be respectful and keep the space clean for other guests. BYO consumables.
Laundry
There are trash cans for guest use which are emptied daily or as needed. In the winter they are located under the stairs on the ground floor of the 3 story building. There is some recycling at TSV, corrugated cardboard and glass can be separated. Please leave recyclable glass in the unit, Cardboard can be broken down and placed behind the trash cans. We are working on getting recycling pickup and hope to have it going soon.
