Arroyo Hondo is a traditional northern New Mexico farming village on NM-522 north of Taos. It has no significant commercial activity for visitors. The village is the place name most associated with the turn for the gorge access road that leads down to the John Dunn Bridge, the Taos Box rafting put-in, and the Black Rock Hot Springs.

The Hondo-Seco acequia system here is one of the oldest still-functioning water systems in the region. The village sits at the mouth of a canyon where the Arroyo Hondo creek comes down from the mountains to the east, a different drainage from the Arroyo Hondo canyon that NM-150 follows north toward Taos Ski Valley.

The John Dunn Bridge road turns west off NM-522 near Arroyo Hondo and descends to the Rio Grande. John Dunn was an early Taos entrepreneur who built a toll bridge at this crossing in 1908 to transport ore from the Twining mines (now Taos Ski Valley) to the railroad at Servilleta. The modern bridge replaced the original but carries the name.

The bridge area is where most rafting outfitters running the Taos Box take out after the river trip. Black Rock Hot Springs are a short walk south along the river from the bridge. The road down is paved but narrow and steep. Passenger cars can make it in dry conditions. After rain or snow the road can become impassable. High clearance is helpful.

• Rafting Guide
• Hot Springs
• Rio Grande Gorge

Arroyo Hondo is 9 miles north of Taos on NM-522. The John Dunn Bridge road turns west off NM-522 just past the village. There is no gas station or services in Arroyo Hondo. The nearest fuel is in El Prado south of town or in Questa north.

• Rafting
• Hot Springs
• Things To Do