Arthur H. Carhart had a sudden realization as he camped at Trappers Lake, deep in northwest Colorado’s White River National Forest. A U.S. Forest Service surveyor there to document the placid pool for future resort developments, he was watching its waters reflect an amphitheater of unusually flat-topped peaks like a polished mirror when the thought occurred to him: Perhaps this pristine place should not be developed at all.

In December 1919, just weeks after his epiphany at Trappers Lake, Carhart wrote in a memorandum to his supervisor: “Time will come when these scenic spots, where nature has been allowed to remain unmarred, will be some of the most highly prized scenic features of the country.”

Carhart championed the cause of wilderness preservation his entire lifetime. The perceptive idea, like a seed planted at Trapper’s Lake, grew nationwide. By the 1930s, it branched into the establishment of Forest Service “primitive areas,” a temporary proclamation of some tracts, including Trappers Lake, as off-limits to road or building construction.

In 1964, Congress passed the Wilderness Act, giving permanent protection to chosen areas. Carhart lived long enough to see the day in 1975 when Congress granted such protection to the 235,230-acre Flat Tops Wilderness surrounding Trappers Lake, whose tranquil waters inspired his dream of protected wilderness areas more than a half-century earlier.

 

Trappers Lake, now revered as the “Cradle of Wilderness,” birthed Colorado’s place in the nation’s pantheon of public lands. Motorized travel is prohibited in the wilderness, making it a bit ironic that the easiest way to access it involves driving one of the state’s most ruggedly beautiful roads – the Flat Tops Trail Scenic and Historic Byway. This 82-mile route passes over two rarely visited mountain passes amid a vast landscape of subalpine forest decorated with the sparkling golden adornments of autumn splendor, sheer silvery cliffs dusted with early-season snow and a mosaic of lichen-accented alpine tundra.

Only about half of the distance is paved. Though passenger vehicles can make the gravelly trip in dry conditions, the road may be impassible after rain or snowstorms. Driving takes between 3-5 hours, not counting side trips for backcountry hikes, stays in rustic lodges and cabins or exploration of the byway’s bracketing gateway towns of Yampa and Meeker, where travelers should make sure to fill up – there are no gas stations anywhere else on the byway, and cellphone service is spotty.

Flat Tops Trail is a “working byway” dotted with active mines, timber-producing woodlands and most notably rangeland for local sheep and cattle ranchers. Motorists may encounter livestock wandering onto the road or horseback riders rounding them up. Abundant deer and elk also frequently cross the curvy mountain switchbacks, suggesting the region’s reputation as a hunting hotspot is earned.

The route begins in the Routt County town of Yampa, near the confluence of the Bear River and Phillips Creek. These combine to form the Yampa River, the longest free-flowing, dam-free river in the state. The area’s waterways likely inspired railroad engineer Edward L. Berthoud to name the region Egeria Park after a Roman water deity.

On Main Street, the Yampa-Egeria Museum occupies a historic bank building, complete with its original vault and photographic displays detailing the town’s deep agricultural roots, as well as its lumber harvesting and coal mining backgrounds. Nearby is the Old West-style false-front Montgomery’s General Store, where a cashier might use an antique hand-crank cash register to ring up the snacks and supplies travelers buy for the journey ahead. On the next block is Crossan’s M&A Market, a century-old building recently renovated into Yampa’s Town Hall, where a visitor center offers maps and up-to-date road condition reports.

Drivers embark on County Road 8 (which may also be marked as County Road 17 near the intersection of State Highway 131) in Yampa’s north end. The byway cuts westward into White River National Forest, with the road climbing about 20 miles to the first major pullout at 9,764-foot Dunckley Pass. A short hike leading to a photogenic overlook is a great opportunity for passengers to stretch their legs or savor a picnic among quaking aspen groves ablaze with yellow foliage framing the far-reaching panoramic views.

As the byway makes a southerly straightaway, two peaks appear on the horizon, their uncharacteristically triangular shapes making them stand out from their flat-topped neighbors. To the west is Pagoda Peak, which is, indeed, shaped like an Asian temple. To the east is the equally aptly named Pyramid Peak, which has a pointed prominence resembling an Egyptian monument. Before the byway suddenly curves northward, a short spur diverts to the Pyramid Guard Station. The Civilian Conservation Corps built this Forest Service office in 1934. The log-walled buildings, including a dwelling, barn and blacksmith shop, are definitive examples of rustic architecture.



Forest Service surveyor Arthur H. Carhart coined Trappers Lake’s nickname “Cradle of Wilderness.”
A Jeep is parked at Antlers Cafe & Bar in Yampa. Trapper’s Lake Lodge owner Becca Nielsen
hangs shirts with the help of her herding dogs.

The road veers back westward as it ascends 10,343-foot Ripple Creek Pass. An overlook here has a sweeping vantage of the White River Valley and the verdant Flat Tops Wilderness Area. Ochre aspen stands coating gentle slopes below the turnout sway in the cool breeze as the distant, white-capped Little Marvine Peaks gleam in the sun. Forest Road 205 detours 8 miles to Trappers Lake just below the pass and Ripple Creek Lodge, an outpost for elk hunting and trout fishing tours.

In August 2002, the Big Fish and Lost Lake fires, caused by lightning, burned more than 22,500 acres – almost 10 percent of the wilderness area – and an original lodge near the lake. The Forest Service planned to demolish the remaining 19th- century cabins, but two sisters bought the property in 2005, rebuilt the lodge and preserved the cabins. Today, now under new ownership, Trappers Lake Lodge and Resort still offer cabin rentals, non-motorized boat rides and a restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The area is an ideal basecamp for easy day hikes, such as the 5.5-mile Arthur H. Carhart Trail encircling the lake. Though burned spruce skeletons linger, carpets of tenacious pink fireweed bloom even in the crisp fall temperatures around Trappers Lake, mixing with orange-hued Gambel oak and chokecherry leaves.

Longer trails lead to other geological features deeper in the wilderness, including the Chinese Wall, a 7-mile-long escarpment of banded basalt resembling a natural Great Wall of China, and Devils Causeway, a narrow, vertigo-inducing ridge with 800-foot drop-offs that connects two plateaus. As legend has it, early cowboys blindfolded their nervous horses to lead them across the traverse, which is only 4 feet wide at its narrowest point. Contemporary visitors can choose to hike from Trappers Lake as part of an up-to-30-mile loop. Blindfolds are not advised.

Back on the byway, Marvine Campground offers further opportunities for wilderness exploration. This is the limit of road maintenance from Meeker in winter months. As such, snowmobiles may be the only motorized way to travel farther, while miles of groomed, corduroy trail and natural powder on the Marvine Snow Trail are perfect for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Before the snow flies, this area attracts horseback riders from the guest ranches surrounding the community of Buford. Most visitors here travel into the wilderness from Meeker, the quaint town 22 miles west. 

Meeker is a hub of history, which visitors can explore at the White River Museum. Occupying an original late-1800s U.S. Army officer’s quarters, the museum displays such rare artifacts as guns used in an 1896 bank robbery, a Victorian wreath made of human hair and a mounted two headed calf. More artifacts await at the Meeker Hotel & Cafe, where guests can examine a cavernous century-old lobby whose walls are mounted with massive trophy elk and mule deer, as well as biographies of past visitors, including President Theodore Roosevelt.

One of Colorado’s most unique annual events, the Meeker Classic Sheep Dog Championship Trials, is held in town every fall. About 135 teams compete on a 600-yard obstacle course, testing the dogs’ ability to maneuver sheep in a calm, controlled manner while handlers guide the dogs with a series of commands. Only 12 teams vying to be crowned top dog will make the finals.

With more than 350,000 acres of National Forest and wilderness, the Flat Tops remain a veritable “choose your own adventure” of public land experiences that would make Carhart proud. No matter the method of travel, hiking from the heart of the wilderness at Trappers Lake, or driving the region’s backbone of the Flat Tops Trail, natural treasures abound. Anchored by the friendly rural towns of Meeker and Yampa, featuring herding dog competitions and historic museums, this home on the range remains wild and free.


Rolling mountainsides are covered in fruiting shrubs and aspen in fall foliage
near an overlook at the summit of Dunckley Pass.