This year’s Winter Guide comes right on time. The days are shorter, the air is chillier and, as of the time of this writing, snow was finally in the forecast. Those of you who long for the pure, piney solitude of first tracks on the Taos steeps can use our updated, improved ski grid to branch out to other locations (Sipapu usually opens first!) or explore some of the top local destinations for great snowshoeing. If you’re less thrilled about traipsing around in the cold, at least learn how to bundle up—or just cozy up at one of Santa Fe’s welcoming bars for some inner-warming libations. Finally, if you do nothing else, read Anicca Cox’s soaring tribute to winter in northern New Mexico—an homage to the truly incomparable magic of a Santa Fe winter.

—Alexa Schirtzinger