Shop in Taos

The Shape of Shopping Here

Taos shopping starts around the Plaza and Bent Street, but the mood is different from a normal mountain town. Leather, trading-post history, weavings, pottery, jewelry, and outdoor gear all live close enough together that you can walk from one version of Taos to another in a few blocks. One storefront leans Pueblo and regional art, the next leans hiking and rafting, and then you hit textiles or sheepskin. Few towns keep that mix this close to the surface.

Places Worth a Detour

• El Rincon Trading Post—Trading post · old Taos — Established in 1909 and still introduced as the oldest Indian curio shop in Taos. If you want one stop that immediately tells you this town has a longer retail memory than most resort towns, start here.

  This is the history-and-object lane, not a quick logo-tee stop.

• Overland Sheepskin & Leather—Leather anchor — Overland has been part of Taos since the 1970s, and the leather-and-sheepskin side of town still feels real here. This is the stop for coats, hides, and that sturdier high-desert version of shopping that fits Taos better than souvenir browsing does.

  Now just north of the village in El Prado, so it is more of a deliberate stop than a Plaza wander-in.

• Taos Mountain Outfitters—Plaza gear shop — Right on the Plaza, TMO keeps Taos tied to hiking, climbing, rafting, and actual mountain days. It changes the read immediately: this is a town where gear belongs beside silver and pottery.

  Best if the trip mixes shopping with trails, river time, or a gear fix before heading out.

• Starr Interiors—Weavings — A strong Taos category in one stop: Zapotec weavings with real depth behind them. This is where the textile side of town starts feeling serious rather than decorative.

  Better if you want rugs, textiles, and house pieces with some weight to them, not little carry-out gifts.

• Common Thread Textiles—Bent Street textile stop — Bent Street suits this kind of shop: hand-woven, tribal, antique, and new textiles in a setting that feels more like Taos than chain-retail New Mexico. Good if you want fabric, trims, and color instead of another Southwest gift store.

  A better browse if you are the kind of person who actually slows down for textiles.

• Chimayo Trading Del Norte—Regional-craft detour — Out in Ranchos de Taos next to St. Francis Church, which already makes this feel different from a Plaza lap. Native American art, Pueblo pottery, Navajo weavings, and historical pieces give it the 'go there on purpose' kind of pull.

  Best folded into a Ranchos detour, not as a between-lunch-and-coffee errand.

How to Browse Taos

Start on foot if you want the Taos where everything overlaps: Plaza, Bent Street, Kit Carson Road, and a few blocks where gear, textiles, trading-post history, and art all touch each other. If the trip is more object-heavy than walk-heavy, add El Prado for Overland and Ranchos de Taos for Chimayo Trading Del Norte. The town gets flatter when you try to separate it into neat lanes.

Common questions

• Is Taos mostly galleries and jewelry shops?—No. That is part of it, but Taos also has real outdoor retail, old trading-post history, leather, and strong textile lanes. The mix is better than the stereotype.
• What feels most specifically Taos?—Usually some combination of trading-post history, weavings, leather, Pueblo- and regional-art lanes, and the fact that a real gear shop sits right on the Plaza.
• Should I stay around the Plaza, or do I need a car for the good shops?—Start around the Plaza and Bent Street first because that is where the walkable mix is best. Use the car for El Prado or Ranchos de Taos once you know which lane you want more of.