Vallecito Mountain is a 12,643-foot summit in northern New Mexico in the Taos Mountains of the Sangre de Cristo range, about 12 miles northeast of Taos and near Wheeler Peak. The state's 14th-highest summit, it stands on the boundary of Wheeler Peak Wilderness and Carson National Forest. Its steep profile rises more than 3,400 feet above Lucero Canyon in just 1.7 miles, and runoff from its slopes feeds tributaries of the Rio Grande. Its Spanish name means “little valley.” At this elevation, it has an alpine climate with cold, snowy winters, cool to warm summers, and frequent late-summer thunderstorms.