The Village of Arroyo Seco
The Village of Arroyo Seco is nestled in the shoulder of the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Taos County, New Mexico. A quiet little community punctuated by an abundance of natural beauty and creative enterprise, Arroyo Seco prominently features a nearly 200 year-old historic adobe church, La Santísima Trinidad, and a curving Adobe and tin mainstreet set in pastoral mountainside. Boasting acres of wetland, the village is populated with tall trees like Willow, Cottonwood and Aspen and a critical life-giving stream, El Rito del Arroyo Seco, separates the town from the current day Taos Pueblo Tribal land boundary. Taos Pueblo, to the south east of the stream opens up into acres of Sagebrush dotted with Juniper, grazing land along the foothills to Hwy 64 (Kit Carson Rd) in Taos.
The Church of the Holy Trinity in Arroyo Seco (ca. 1834) is the literal heart of the community and an excellent example of early 19th century historic mission churches of northern New Mexico. The church was built with a single nave and a choir loft above the massive wooden doors and entryway portal. The adobe construction features heavy local timber vigas and corbels and an altar housing an original bulto, a three-dimensional sacred carving, representing the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In 1965, to accommodate a growing congregation, a new church was built and the historic church is now used seasonally for Mass and Special Holidays and events. Learn more about La Santísima Trinidad here.
Arroyo Seco is about half of the way up the dead-end Highway 150 which leads from the junction of Highways 64 and 522 to it’s high elevation destination, Taos Ski Valley, steep and deep in the Carson National Forest’s Questa Ranger District. Close to breathtaking adventure and arts-and-culture-galore, Arroyo Seco is the perfect day or weekend layover on any traveler’s excursion. Check out our Virtual Reality Village to get to know the local businesses of Arroyo Seco and our News and Events pages to find out what’s happening soon.
