This is a website about the community of Tres Orejas in Western Taos County New Mexico.

Tres Orejas is a small community located in western Taos County New Mexico. It is named for the small mountain behind it that has three peaks. In Spanish the word “oreja” means earlobe and its name in Spanish means three ears. The community itself is built on land that was subdivided into 1/4 acre lots in the early 1960s and is one of several communities in New Mexico built on antiquated subdivisions. These antiquated subdivisions did  not have to follow current subdivision regulations and development on them is spontaneous and unplanned. It’s doubtful the original subdividers had any plan, their intent, as far as can be discerned, was simply to subdivide the land and sell as much of it as possible. There was no water or other utilities in this area and the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge wasn’t even built in the early 1960s so access was difficult. Due to this, many of the original owners lost interest in their property and many of the 1/4 acre lots were being sold for very low prices at tax auctions in the 1970s. They were purchased by local hippies and others and by the late 1970s, a few hardy individuals started to settle on them. As property values started to rise in the 1980s and 1990s, these inexpensive lots became more attractive and the community has been growing slowly but steadily ever since.