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Webster Pass and Radical Hill offer a lot of incredible views and some fun and
scary driving. The trail travels from the valley near Montezuma over the top of the world
to Grant (285). Webster Pass offers lots of fun driving through Pike National Forrest and
some white knuckle switchbacks as you near the top of Webster pass. Radical Hill, across
the valley from Webster Pass offers some tricky rocks and then a steep, exposed hill climb
before cresting out atop Teller Mountain. The trail is rated moderate (and scary) but
there are some large rocks that can cause worry if you are not careful. Webster Pass is
usually closed until August due to its VERY narrow trails being clogged with snow.
The trail shown can easily be driven as a day trip from the Front Range and takes
approximately 3-4 hours. There are plenty of trails near Radical Hill for exploration as
well as Red Cone Pass near Webster for those of you who are looking for even more
adrenaline.
We started Webster after a nice night of camping in the national forest near Hall
campground and the trailhead. While there was a lot of people in the area, the
aspen groves and rushing stream nearby made for a good night.
Early that morning we met up with some drivers who had driven up from Denver and
started up the trail. The road starts off meandering through alpine forest. There are
several branches (one of which leads off to Red Cone) but for the most part they
seem to come beack together.
The road passes old abandoned (and not so abandoned) mines and mining camps and there
are tailing piles and mining remenants everywhere. Even the banks of the stream flowing
near the trail are stained to match the rocks in the area ( lots of reds and yellows).
Eventually, the trail start heading up... quickly. This is where the fun really begins.
The trail cuts across and up the side of the mountain. There are some tight spots with
a little bit of a lean to them. The passenger side of the vehicle gets some great views...
if they can look up from watching the tire roll on the edge! As you reach the top you get
a great view of both sides of the pass as well as Red Cone.
Heading down the west side of the pass is an easy dirt road with no real challenges but great
views. At the thee way interscetion at the bottom, go left to head up Radical Hill.
The road is rocky (with some fairly large ones to climb over) and heads steadily upwards.
Eventually you reach a false summit with a great view of the road ahead and the canyons and
cliffs below. This is a great place to stop and grab a bite to eat.
From here there is only one way to go... straight up! The road
switchbacks up the front of a very craggy face. The road is comprised of old boulders
and fist sized rocks that can slash
a tire (I know...)
 Finally, just as you reach the top, the road takes a 90 degree
turn to the left and up (you really don't want to go straight). This section can get very
rutted and moguled up. It makes for a good pucker factor!
But once you are on top, you are on the top of the world! The views are beautiful
panoramas for a full 360 degrees. We even managed to get close to some of
the locals!
After checking out the sights we headed down easy roads out to Montezuma and then home.
- Take highway 285 south from Denver.
- Just passed mile marker 207 (Grant) you will see County Rd. 60 heading northwest. Take
CR60.
- Follow CR60 for approx 4 miles. You will pass several areas of private property and
Handcart campground. Keep going!
- You will come to a large intersection where there are usually vehicles parked. One
branch (120B) takes you to Hall campground and up to Gibson Lake. The other branch will
take you to Webster Pass (121) and Red Cone Pass(592).
- Shortly after the parking area the road will split again with the left branch heading to
Webster and the right going to Red Cone. (There is also a second access point to the
Webster Pass road further up the Red Cone trail)
- Follow the signs and arrows to Webster Pass!
- The downhill side of Webster is pretty straight forward... go down.
- You will encounter a 3 way intersection. Going right will take you on to Montezum and
going left will take you up Radical Hill onto Teller Mountain and (eventually) onto St.
John's Ridge.
- From the top of Radical Hill, follow the signs toward Deer Creek Canyon and Montezuma to
get out!
Click here for a ZOOM IN of the Webster Pass and
Radical Hill TOPO!
Click here for an altitude profile of Webster Pass and
Radical Hill trail.
This trail is covered in Volume 1 of the Pass
Patrol books.
Websites on hotels often not only host the details of
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but also have details on various flight deals.
The airline deals these sites offer manage comfort of
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in tariff of a hertz car rental.
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