This loop was hiked by Mark Wetherington in 2017
The Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Loop is a 56-mile trail in southeast Washington best hiked over 4-5 days. It features wildflowers, forested canyons, ridge walks, and solitude—a nice change of scenery from the rock and ice of the Cascades. This loop is hikeable earlier in the season than much of Washington’s high country.
Region: Pacific West (Umatilla National Forest, Southeast Washington)
Distance: 56 miles (4-5 days)
Physical Difficulty: Difficult
- Cumulative total climbing in certain areas can be punishing if done in a day
- Sections of trail through burned areas
- Infrequently maintained sections of trail that can be overgrown and/or faint and hard to follow
Logistical Difficulty: Moderate
- Limited water on ridge sections
- Unsigned junctions and faint sections of trail
- No permits required for hiking this trail
Elevation (average): ~4,000 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 9,550 feet
Permits: Other than a Northwest Forest Pass for parking at the trailhead, there are no permits required for this hike. That said, always practice Leave No Trace and do your part to preserve the wilderness experience for other users.
Hiking the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Loop
If you’re looking for an excellent long-weekend adventure in Washington at its peak when much of the Cascadian high country is still melting out, then look no further. A bit of the trail even dips into Oregon, so you can revel in the accomplishment of having hiked in two states on a single trip. The Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness is about as uncrowded as it gets for outdoor recreation in the Evergreen State, so be ready for solitude and to follow indistinct trails to unsigned junctions at times. There are few sections of this trail where you can really zone out and go on autopilot, but you’ll be rewarded with lovely wildflowers, forested canyons, and great views.
This trail isn’t for everyone. If you’re only into “epic” mountains, prefer well-maintained trails, and are looking for the same outdoorsy Instagram shots that everyone else is posting, then you might want to skip this one. But if you want solitude, beautiful-yet-subtle scenery, and the chance to explore a unique landscape, you’re in the right place.
Starting from the Panjab Trailhead, you follow the Panjab Trail uphill for 5.5 miles and steadily gain 2,500 feet of elevation. Some sections of this trail can get muddy and as you near the top you’ll need to stay diligent to not get sidetracked by trails leading to outfitter camps (this area is popular with elk hunters in fall). This trail emerges into the forest in a large and beautiful meadow, but there are little navigational clues to direct you. By hiking through the meadow in a southeasterly direction, you will eventually cross another trail and stumble upon the junction with the trail to Dunlap Spring in the Indian Corral area. These landmarks should help you gain your bearings and, until hiking up to Smooth Ridge from Fairview Bar (not that type of bar), most of the navigation should be pretty straightforward.
Continuing east on a well-defined trail, you pass several springs to keep your water reserves full. Clover Spring is especially scenic, as are others later in the loop, as it has been routed to flow into a hewn-out log. Most of the springs are easy to find and are either trailside or have obvious side trails. Options for camping along this section are relatively plentiful and the views are expansive on a clear day.
After Sheepshead Spring, make a sharp turn to the south at an easy-to-miss-junction toward Crooked Creek. Although signed, the sign is small and so weathered that it blends into the tree. Descend this trail for several miles (it is steep and offers little shade, so it is probably best to go down rather than up). When you’re almost to the bottom, a small arch off to the side offers a geological point of interest.
Crooked Creek provides good fishing for native redband rainbow trout, so if you brought along a rod you might consider camping here to maximize your time. Otherwise, the trail continues downstream to the Wenaha River (the ford of Crooked Creek can be challenging early in the year, but a bridge is planned to be installed soon). The next few miles of trail are still recovering from the 2015 fire and aren’t very scenic. The burnt terrain and scorched trees waiting to fall also make this an undesirable location to camp, so planning to camp before or after this section is best. The trail climbs up from the river to Smooth Ridge and then makes its way back toward the Panjab Trail passing numerous springs, meadows, and a side trip to Oregon Butte Lookout.
How to get to the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Loop
Nearest City: Pomeroy, Washington (32 miles)
Trailhead here
The Panjab Trailhead is easy to find and is accessible earlier in the hiking season than alternative trailheads for this loop. The road leading to the trailhead is a good gravel road and any passenger car can drive it with no concern. Since this is a loop, you’ll end up back at your car, so there are no shuttles or road walks to contend with.
This trailhead is far away from any population centers, but wherever you’re coming from you’ll need to be on Hwy. 12 to access one of the roads leading to the trailhead. The most straightforward way (and quickest, if you’re coming from the west) is to take Hwy. 12 to the junction with the Tucannon River Road. This is roughly 23 miles west of Pomeroy. Once you turn onto Tucannon River Road from Hwy. 12, follow it for 32 miles and take a right at a fork onto Forest Road 4713. This road leads to the trailhead after another three miles.
When to Hike the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Loop
Mid-to-late June is an ideal time to hike the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Loop. This is when I hiked it, and it was ideal. Wildflowers are blooming, temperatures are relatively mild, and few other people are out enjoying the wilderness trails (the area is popular with elk hunters in fall, but otherwise sees little recreational use). The only downside is that since you’re hiking early in the season, you’ll likely be hiking before trail crews have been able to do much work so be prepared for some downfall in places (especially recently burned sections).
Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Loop Trail Terrain
From muddy uphill climbs to lovely strolls through wildflower-packed meadows, and pleasant forest walks to dusty and sunbaked descents, this trail has a mix of everything. Although several spots leave much to be desired in the trail conditions category, the sections that aren’t ideal are usually over before they become too annoying. The most frustrating sections are those through recently burned areas (faint / indiscernible trail, downfall, etc.), but the Umatilla National Forest and the Washington Trails Association have been working to restore these trails so hopefully conditions will improve as time goes on.
Logistics: Land Management, Water, Gear
What Type of Land: The trail is within the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness and is managed by the Umatilla National Forest. Junctions are often unsigned and trail maintenance often leaves a bit to be desired.
Water: Crooked Creek, Melton Creek, and the Wenaha River are reliable water sources. Along the ridgetop sections, there are several springs that allow you to keep water carries to a minimum. Most of these are marked on maps, sometimes signed, and generally easy to spot, but you will want to make sure you don’t inadvertently pass them by if you’re running low on water as it can often be several miles between them.
Special Gear: Gaiters are useful on this trail in the overgrown and burned sections. Otherwise, no special gear is required—although you might consider packing some extra patience in case you lose the trail and have to retrace your steps!
Know Before You Go
Navigation: Aside from having general backpacking skills, you’ll likely want to have intermediate navigational skills for the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Loop. A paper map is sufficient, but a GPS might save you some frustration in areas where the trail grows faint or disappears altogether in a burned section.
Additional Resources
The Washington Trails Association’s online hiking guide: Perhaps the best place to look for information on recent trail conditions. They also organization trail work in this area to help improve the conditions–and after hiking this trail, I’m guessing you’ll agree that most sections need some improvements!
Pomeroy Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest: A good resource for checking on trail conditions, road conditions, and closures.
