4 | Flat Tops Trail

Length: 82 miles. Driving time: 2 hours.
Gravel Sections Closed in Winter

This byway cuts through the heart of the original White River Plateau Timberland Reserve, set aside in the late 19th century as the second unit of what eventually became the National Forest system. Two decades later, in a foreshadowing of the 1964 Wilderness Act, development of any kind was banned around Trapper’s Lake (the “Cradle of Wilderness”). The area’s long-standing history of preservation and multiple-use land management makes for pristine scenery and superlative wildlife viewing. Yet this remains very much a “working” byway, dotted with active mines, and ranches.

• Main Town: Yampa, Meeker
• White River National Forest
• Flat Tops Wilderness Area
• Routt National Forest
• White River, Trappers Lake, and many other small lakes and streams

Wildlife: Elk, deer, bear, wild horses, snowshoe hare, marmots, pika, weasel, bluebird, woodpecker, eagle