Taos is shit for Aspens. You want to drive up to the Santa Fe Ski Area and then you want to make the Jemez loop through Los Alamos, up into Jemez Springs and then back down into Albuquerque. Other than the Gorge, Taos don't look like much.
THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK Taos is fuck'n'gone from anything. Also touristy-spensive. You'll have a much cheaper adventure if you stay in Espanola, which is halfway from Taos and Santa Fe but also a crime-ridden shithole. But hey - Back when there were 9 low rider magazines in the United States, the only two that weren't Espanola were mastheaded in Albquerque. Take that, Los Angeles.
There is no off-season. Taos is 24/7/365 tourism. As is Santa Fe. Don't for a minute think it has ever been otherwise. There are two ways to get to the parts of Colorado that actually matter. The obvious one is I-25 - the Shotgun - which is heavily policed by some of the shittiest cops in creation. The lesser choice is 285, which is almost untraveled by anyone. You want the 285. It starts with a 1-lane bridge out of Espanola. Back before Google one had to have a carefully-annotated map. Nowadays, it's no sweat. That will give you a back-of-beyond view of rural New Mexico that you won't get anywhere else this side of the 64. You will notice a stretch of road out of Monte Vista that stretches straight and unbending for more than 40 miles. If you see a cop in Center, you can rest assured you will not see one again - he's the only one in 100 miles.
Things near Taos: - Taos Pueblo Things near Albuquerque: - Santa Fe - Tesuque - Abiquiu - Los Alamos Cheapest hotel in Espanola on Kayak: Rodeway Inn, $45 a night Cheapest hotel in Taos on Kayak: Don Fernando, $69 a night Look - I hate New Mexico. I avoid it at all costs. But I really fucking hate Taos. I know two people who were murdered in Espanola, but you're better off staying there. Proximity to Colorado is a null issue; anything outside the Triangle of Awesomeness (cornered by Aspen, Leadville, Denver) is moot anyway because it's New Mexico with white instead of brown assholes.
Ended up taking highway 285 from Antonito to, I think, Tres Piedras. The best stretch was actually a little mountain road west of 285 into Colorado out of Chama. Did a loop there. Didn't get as far south as Espanola/Santa Fe -- wanted to go into Colorado backroads etc. Stayed outside of Taos, above it at about 9300 feet, near the ski area. No skiing right now so it was reasonably cheap. Went into Taos once out of misguided curiosity, hated it, reminded me of every little tourist shitheap (ever been to Sanibel?) I've seen. But didn't stay in-town so not a loss.
I didn't take enough pictures. I'm not a picture-taker really, and fall color doesn't stand out on iphones. And my phone died on my best hike, to a place near Wheeler, which meant I lost track of time, which meant I had to run three miles over rocky ground with a pack on in order to make the first pitch of the Cardinals game. Chama was beautiful, if I go back (and I will because I want to do the train daytrip that leaves from there) I'll be staying in Chama.