Wagon Mound can be found in northeastern New Mexico, on US Interstate 25, exit 387, 103 miles east of Santa Fe and 74 miles south of the Colorado border 

The town of Wagon Mound sprouted at the foot of the Wagon Mound, often touted as "the last great natural landmark on the Santa Fe Trail." The Cimarron Cutoff went through here before joining with the Mountain Branch near Watrous, about 20 miles further south. Las Vegas is about 40 miles south from here and Santa Fe is about 60 miles beyond that. But the volcanic outcroppings and lava palisades are a great natural landmark that can be seen from 60 miles away to the north and east. When the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad came through in 1881, this was a natural place to build a town. And Wagon Mound may be the only incorporated town in all of Mora County.