Northside Health & Fitness Center

This facility is not up to the standards of a large urban gym in a good neighborhood. However, it is a reasonably good facility, considering that Taos is not a wealthy community.
When I visited Taos in July 2014, Northside was reasonably clean. The facility has indoor & outdoor pools, an outdoor hottub, and two exercise rooms. Most of the stationary machines are old Cybex equipment, and there are plenty of older upright bikes and treadmills. Pieces of newer equipment are a Freemotion cable machine; 3 Precor recumbent bikes; and 3 Precor stepper/​ellipticals. There are some types of equipment large gyms have which this doesn’t: e.g., there are no arm-​crank aerobic machines.
Taos has two major gyms, Northside and one on the south end of town. Both of them charge just under $ 13 for a single-​day admission. I didn’t have time to check out the gym to the south.

It is not a fancy spa, but a local run health club that has a great indoor pool, really hot steam showers and an outdoor hot tub! there is weights and classes as well, but I did not use them. If you are here for the skiing and you need to tend to your aching back and legs, this is the place for you! There are daily rates or, for a slight discount you can get a 7, 15 or even 30 day pass. No expiration. It is also on your way into Taos so you can come off the slopes, relax a bit then use the facilities to shower and get ready for dinner. I found everyone to be nice that works there and very helpful.

This is a substandard fitness center, which can use considerable improvement. There is too much weight equipment in too little space and the area feels cluttered. Little attention is given to critical details– weights are not returned in order, swiss balls are deflated, straps are broken on the rowing machines, restrooms are generally dirty, and it feels dark and cavernous inside. After your workout, the hot tub hardly looks inviting because of its sickly green color. Northside also makes it difficult to put a freeze on your membership, as they will not do it for more than a month at a time, which is bad news if you plan on being out of town for an extended period of time. The staff isn’t particularly welcoming or friendly.
A couple saving graces for Northside are the quality yoga instructors and the pleasant outdoor pool in the summer. I continue my membership to Northside begrudgingly, as I live closer to the north end of Taos and it is inconvenient for me to go to Taos Spa and Tennis Club, which is a much nicer facility, on the south end of town.
Any gym is better than no gym, but it is too bad Taos is not large enough to have other options.