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Located in the L.T. Murray Wildlife
Area, Joe Watt Canyon is west of Thorp,
WA in the rain shadow of the Cascade
Mountains,
Managed by the Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife
Joe Watt Canyon is a
popular horse camp area and entry point for
horseback access into the area’s 106,400
acres.
Trails in the area are a lattice work
of abandoned road bed, green dot roads, and
game trails, and can be rocky. Numerous elk
trails crisscross the hillsides and offer
access deeper into the wildlife area.
Area vegetation - Slopes with northern
exposures have stands of Ponderosa pine,
Douglas fir, and Grand fir. The drier
southern facing slopes host communities of
grass and shrubs.
Wildlife – Being an elk feeding
station this area is home to a large number
of these magnificent animals. Birders have reported
spotted owls, golden eagles and numerous
species of woodpeckers.
Sites to see - Hunting camps are
scattered across the area with some being
quite elaborate and others more
rudimentary. An abandoned line cabin
can be seen in Joe Watt Canyon proper.
Vegetation ranges from the lower
elevation shrubs and bunch grasses into,
then to higher elevations with denser stands
of timber, mostly, and some western larch.
Grasslands interspersed with rock outcrops
and shrub-steppe communities dominate
hillsides in transitional zones.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Vehicle Permit is required.
Facilities Information:
Off-road parking, turn-around, and horse
camp area available
inside the elk fence gate. No restrooms. No
potable water. Water is available, seasonally, from
Watt Canyon Creek
Other Information:
Access gates are locked each winter and the
area is closed to all public access for the
protection of wintering elk. The closure
begins upon start of supplemental
feeding, typically in early to mid-December,
and reopens May 1.
Getting Here:
Travel approximately 0.75 mile South from
Exit 101 on Thorp Highway to right on Thorp
Cemetery Road. Follow for approximately 3
miles. Left onto Watt Canyon Road. Travel
past the end of the pavement, across the
canal, and up to elk fence. Use the gate to
the right (North).
CLOSE GATE BEHIND
YOU. Parking and camping areas are located
to the left in the first meadow.
  
 
Information on horse
trails, horse camps and camping and hiking paths for horseback riders, hikers,
and mountain bikers
in the Joe Watt Canyon, LT Murray
Wildlife Area near
Thorp, Cle Elum, and
Ellensburg
Washington
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