Arroyo Seco is a census-designated place in Taos County near Taos, New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, Arroyo Seco had a population of 1,979. Arroyo Seco's economy is based on tourism and services to residents of retirement and vacation homes.
Arroyo Seco has a post office, with the ZIP code 87514. Arroyo Seco's elevation is 7,634 feet.
Arroyo Seco was settled in 1804, on a Spanish land grant made on October 7, 1745. The Church of the Most Holy Trinity was completed in 1834 and has recently been restored.
Overlooking Arroyo Seco stands Lucero Peak, a rock formation. Housed in the Peak is a cave that is sacred to the local Native American population of Taos Pueblo. The cave inspired D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Woman who Rode Away" after he visited it in May 1924 with Mabel Dodge Luhan, her husband Tony, and Lawrence's wife Frieda.
As of the 2020 Census, there were 1,979 people, 924 households, and 1,148 housing units. The median age of the CDP was 55.2, with men being 55.8 and women being 54. The most reported ancestries were Mexican (17.6%), English (13.2%), Spanish <small>(including Spaniard and Spanish American)</small> (11.2%), German (8.9%), Irish (8.8%), and Scottish (3.8%).
It is within Taos Municipal Schools, which operates Taos High School.
Arroyo Seco's annual Fourth of July parade is locally popular.
The words "She wrote her name there on my windshield, Just to remind me where she was from' Tina Louise, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico, 1971" in the Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen song "Tina Louise" from their 1976 album Tales from the Ozone. Arroyo Seco is also mentioned in the title of the Fleet Foxes song "I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar" from their 2017 album Crack-Up.