Snowfall: 309 inches
Area: 1,294 acres
Vertical Drop: 2,612 feet
Web: skitaos.org

Every year that Taos didn't allow snowboarding, they fell deeper into a Rip Van Winkle sleep. Sure, locals and aging Texans still made the trip, but despite Kachina Peak's 12,481-foot summit, Taos was off the national radar. No more. When Taos opened up to snowboarding last spring, it opened the resort to out-of-state families again. This is a good thing. You shouldn't let one of the last great mom-and-pop resorts fade away. The winters can be feast or famine, but the green-chile breakfast burritos are always a feast, and once the storm track sets up in December, you'll know whether the snow will follow suit.

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Hit it right and you'll be choking on the lightest and driest snow that falls in North America. Just don't expect to be pampered; the base village still has a mining-camp vibe, like Deadwood in winter. But we call that character.

Get Taos snow reports, mountain maps, and more from Away.com.