Webb Canyon Trail

Webb Canyon Trail is a 9.9-mile, one-way backcountry route from Warm Springs to Moose Basin Divide. It follows Moose Creek through a glacially scoured canyon, then climbs into open basin country and steep switchbacks to the divide. The route gains about 3,300 feet and is a strenuous, remote traverse, not a loop or a casual day hike. Allow about ten hours for this one-way segment and plan your return or onward route before setting out; walking back to Warm Springs makes it roughly a 20-mile day.

The trail quickly reaches an unbridged ford of Berry Creek, then follows Moose Creek west beneath Owl Peak, Elk Mountain and Ranger Peak. The lower canyon has easier climbing beneath trees, but stream crossings and route-finding can be difficult. Expect to navigate with a map and compass or GPS rather than relying on a clear, continuously obvious tread.

The route leaves the trees and opens into Moose Basin, turns north, climbs steeply through a gully and switchbacks west to the divide. Cairns mark the upper route. A trip account describes a broad view from the divide, the high point of this line; the route ends there. The longer Owl Creek circuit is a separate extension and is not included in the 9.9-mile distance.

Reach Warm Springs by following Glade Creek Trail from Glade Creek Trailhead on Grassy Lake Road; add that approach to your trip because the 9.9-mile figure starts at Warm Springs. The precise access is remote, and the named start is described both as Warm Springs and as an area near a patrol cabin off Glade Creek Trail. Overnight stays require a backcountry permit, with limits for the northern canyons; specify Webb Canyon in the itinerary. Bears, including grizzlies, are common here. Pets are prohibited on park trails and in the backcountry.