Webster Pass

Coming from the south by way of 285, we used CR 60, in Grant, to access the forest. This was a great trail! Rig is a stock 1999 TJ on modest 30" all-terrain tires (all 4 kicks are new). Made it to the top of the pass using Handcart Gulch (FS 121). Sign at the intersection of Hand Cart Gulch and Red Cone says the trails are for experienced drivers only. Chunky rocky road makes for slow going in a few places. Very interesting scenery, much different than Georgia Pass and Boreas Pass. The area has been adversely impacted by mine run off and activity over the years in several areas and has a distinct moon-scape feel to it in places. Water is obviously very tainted by mine run off, do not allow animals to drink this. We posted up at the base of Webster Pass and waited for a few groups to come down. This was a very solid suggestion from a patrol that had just come down from the top. Sign at the bottom of Webster Pass warns that full-sized vehicles should not attempt to ascend Webster Pass. Word of caution - visibility once on the road is limited and there is no place to really turn around if you lose your nerve, or to allow for passing vehicles until you hit the top. When the trail guides all say its a narrow shelf road to the top of Webster Pass, they mean it. Near the middle of the ascent there is a long section of solid living rock wall on one side and an absolutely no-fucking-around drop on the other. Very sobering, but not the scariest thing I've been on, in this area. Be on point, none the less, on the ascent up to the top. Spectacular view at the top with a nice view of Red Cone and Radical Hill, easy, but bumpy trip down the back side of the pass into Montezuma (FS 285) to finish out the trail. 1-70 back into Denver. I would not have done this trail as a novice driver. That being said, Webster Pass is a very worthy adventure. If you've got a few moderate trails under your belt and are confident in your skills and your rig, this trail is lots of fun, interesting and challenging, but very navigable terrain for a stock 4x4. Keep the rubber to the road, roll safe. ~Rob J.

The snow drift is fully melted now so the trail is accessible all the way through. We came from the southern side and the trail head had a sign saying that it was closed seasonally. Ignore this if you come from the south, it's clearly been forgotten about. This is probably my favorite trail I've done yet. I run a stock 2008 4runner limited and it did just fine. There are some large rocks but with a bit of creativity you can easily get over them. There is a mud pit, likely from the recent rains, about a quarter way up the trail on the south side. It's big enough to get stuck but we didn't have issues with it. Views are incredible, the narrows are harrowing, and the there was a fair amount of wild life on the trail (moose, deer, rodents). 5/5

The snow cornice is not yet melted out. Dirt bikes have made a path through and probably within a week ATVs will get through. With a bit of shoveling, they could start getting through now. I expect another 2-3 weeks before full size vehicles can get through.

Point 9 still impassable as of 7/1/18. Fun trail, we took it from the south end and went up the narrows until we couldn't go further due to snow drift. Pretty easy trail from waypoint 16 - 9 (since we did it in reverse of how it's listed here, coming from 285). There are a few spots to turn around on the narrows - but it'd be tight if you ran into oncoming traffic. Some beautiful views. While on the trail, did see a few Jeeps bogging through the creek (off trail), and some shattered glass bottles at one of the camp sites. Keep that up and you get trails closed down for yourself and the rest of us. Tread lightly and leave places better than you found them.

As of 6/24/18 there is still snow blocking the trail at point 9. This is a problem for ATVs UTVs or dirt bikes without plates wanting to start from the 285 side trail head as you can't complete the Red cone / Webster pass loop. The only option is to return the wrong way (illegally) on the one way Red Cone trail.

The gate on the north end has been opened and the trail is mostly snow free to the summit. Just beyond the creek crossing there are a couple remaining snow drifts that shouldn't be an issue for any modified rig. Those should be melted out soon. The south side is still impassable at the very top due to the snow cornice. Going to be several weeks, if not a month before it is melted out. Up to that point, the trail is clear. The washouts just after the first switchback is very narrow. Itncould present a challenge for wide rigs. There is substantial resource damage to the sides of the trail due to illegally driving off trail. Please stay on the trail and do not attempt to drive off reaching mud bogs.

The seasonal gate on the north side is locked. The south side has no gate. Snow wheeling is possible, but use caution and don't go alone.

Summit County has had a couple of snow storms now. Most trails that go above treeline are blocked with snow. The image is a drone shot taken a couple hundred feet above the water crossing at waypoint 6. I didn't go up, but there is a decent amount of snow on the switchbacks and the summit. The descent from Red Cone is also snow covered.

Trail was open and clear. Description current. We ran from the southern end north. Only unexpected "obstacle" was a dog in the road chasing vehicles (s/he was with some nearby campers but apparently decided road-guard duty was more fun). :0)

That last snow drift has melted significantly, while I took Red Cone to Radical Hill, a Jeep or Tacoma could fit through the drift.

I drove up the south side of Webster today, from 285. You can tell they've been getting a ton of rain up there. The trail is wet, muddy in a couple of places, and the stream is running high. Just below the switchbacks (between WPs 11 and 12), I met a group from Mile High Jeep Club finishing up a fence project. They said the cornice was still blocking the last 50 feet or so and that the cornice snow is very hard packed and icy. From where we stood, we could see people walking out onto the cornice. It may yet clear, but in my experience, when snow hangs on this long, it becomes like a block of ice; impossible to dig, dangerously slippery, and VERY slow to melt. My advice: Do Red Cone, head down to Montezuma and then come back over Georgia Pass. Or just enjoy the rest of Summit County's many trails! P.S. We finished the day by going down to Jefferson for a Train Wreck Burger at the Hungry Moose Caboose! Highly recommended!! (See pics!)

Totally under snow drift at top still

Mile High Jeep Club did a work day in partnership with the Forest Service clearing snow to open the trail. As of this date, the trail is open from Montezuma to the summit from the north, but a very large snow cornice blocks the trail south of the summit. Some large snow drifts remain, but the work done this weekend will help them melt quickly. The water crossing at WP 6 is very deep, but still passable if you take your time and push a good bow wave.

The northern end of Webster pass remains closed. Another foot of snow was added last week. Snow has been plowed into the trail at the last private drive (waypoint 2). There is 4-6 feet of rock hard plow snow blocking the trail. I have not visited the southern trail head yet.

Decided to take a night run with a few guys to check out some new lights on the LJ. We drove up the south side of Webster Pass and made it in a little over 2 miles from the split with Red Cone. This was just past waypoint 14 and the Handcraft Gulch mine shaft. All of the rigs in our group were on 37s, with dual lockers, running single digit tire pressures so we could float on the top of the snow. Because it was night, the snow was hard so it was fairly easy to stay on top of the snow. When getting out of the Jeeps, we easily sunk in the snow to our waists. The beginning of the trail was a mix of smaller drifts and then dirt for short periods, but that only lasted about 3/4 of a mile. It then turns to solid snow. With a few weeks of warm weather, it could potentially be dry all the way to the point we made it.

Due to the unusually late onset of winter, Webster is still easily passable. The the last couple of switch backs on the north side of the summit have a couple of inches of packed snow. The deep water crossing (WP 6) was crusted with ice, but nothing to worry about. The forest service will be closing gates on November 23rd, so there's only one weekend left.

This is a great and iconic trail. Enjoy it but PLEASE stay sharp! The narrows are a thrill, but must be respected! A Jeep tumbled off the narrows this weekend. Fortunately it hung up on a tree a few yards down. If it hadn't, it's a good 300 foot slope to the bottom. Reports are that the drive and passenger walked away without a scratch. Driver is a 20 year wheeling veteran, but was in a brand new truck. I was alerted to this by some members of Colorado FJ Cruisers who say they came on the scene soon after.

I joined Mile High Jeep Club's trail clean-up run. The trail is open from Montezuma to the summit from the north. At the summit, the south side is blocked by a very large snow cornice, over 15 feet thick. It will be a couple more weeks before snow breaking is possible.

This is a fun trail that can be done with a full-sized pickup truck. I would recommend driving it in the south-to-north direction, because the south approach has long extremely narrow switchbacks with poor visibility to spot other vehicles on their way down. Meeting another vehicle head-on in this area is no fun, but typically the uphill vehicle would have the right of way. The worst portions lack enough space to pass even a small ATV for hundreds of feet, and there were some spots where the outer treads on my tires were hanging over the edge of the roadway. Whereas the "scary" driving is on the south (Handcart gulch) side of the trail, probably the biggest challenge are the two uppermost switchbacks on the Montezuma side, which are cut very deeply, with too narrow a radius to tackle in one pass. They required 4x4 for me in both directions. Also, I have never run this trail and not seen moose in Handcart gulch!