Colorado trails · Vallecito Trail
Vallecito Trail
A 18.2-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 4,536 ft of climbing, topping out at 12,497 ft. Reaches Hunchback Pass and other pass/spring destinations. Managed by USFS Columbine Ranger District.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 56% of the ascent, between mile 12.2 and mile 18.3. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Hunchback Pass (pass)
- Soda Spring (spring)
Heads up
Getting there
Vallecito Trail access. 37.47772, -107.54441 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:12 a.m., the sun rises at 6:39 a.m. and sets at 7:40 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:07 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 01 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 36.5-mile round trip works out to roughly 18 h 03 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Vallecito Horse Route 1 + Vallecito Trail — 1.3 mi loop, 248 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Endlich Mesa Trail — 3.6 mi
- Needle Creek Trail — 8.9 mi
- Middle Fork Trail — 21.9 mi
- Ute Creek Trail — 22.3 mi