Our summer 2014 Colorado/Wyoming trip went to the Flat Tops in northwest Colorado after starting in the Snowy Range of Wyoming. The Flat Tops were new territory to explore for us.
http://www.wanderthe...theast-wyoming/
The Flat Tops are a less popular Colorado destination with good day hiking infrastructure (campgrounds, trails, and roads between them) but are a 3-4 star destination for scenery. Highlights of the Flat Tops include the Flat Tops Scenic Byway which is a very good road with only mediocre views, Trappers Lake which has catch-and-release wild Colorado Cutthroat Trout and is the cradle of wilderness preservation, and the popular Bear River Valley west of Yampa with the Devils Causeway trail and several reservoirs. Most campgrounds did not fill during our two week visit but could be very busy on weekends.
We traveled down to the town of Meeker west of the Flat Tops to resupply and then headed east on the Flat Tops Scenic Byway. Traveling west-to-east on the Scenic Byway reduces washboard on the journey because the west side climb out of Meeker is the longest paved part of the Scenic Byway which is always two full lanes and mostly unpaved good road. The Scenic Byway provides easy access to the Flat Tops for lots of activities (hiking, fishing, horse riding, hunting, etc.) but is not especially scenic.
Our first destination was Trappers Lake whose large campground did not fill on weekends, is relatively flat, and mostly sunny. A National Forest staff member recommended preservation instead of development after a Trappers Lake visit and the idea evolved into the Wilderness Preservation Act. Trappers Lake has a pure strain of wild Colorado Cutthroat Trout and is the source for stocking other Colorado Lakes. Insect and fire damage to the surrounding forest has reduced the scenic pictures but the encircling cliffs are more visible. After several days of good lonely hiking in the Trappers Lake basin we continued east on the Flat Tops Scenic Byway with a hike on the Lost Lakes Peaks trail and a stay at the primitive Vaughn Lake Campground.
The town of Yampa at the east end of the Scenic Byway was a good place for lunch and a turn west up the Bear River valley to Bear Lake Campground which did not fill on weekends, is flat, and mostly sunny. The Bear River valley is more popular than the Trappers Lake basin with lots of popular dispersed camping, several reservoirs and campgrounds, and the notorious Devils Causeway trail. Angel's Landing in Zion NP or the Knife's Edge in Baxter SP (Maine) are better knee-knockers but Devils Causeway is a good local thrill. Climbing many of the 14's in Colorado would also be a better knee-knocker than the Devils Causeway (if you have enough oxygen in your lungs).
The most popular picture in the Flat Tops of Trappers Lake and the valley cliffs:
Hiking up the Stillwater trail out of the Trappers Lake basin had this view of Little Trappers Lake and Trappers Lake in the back. Our camper is the white dot right of center at the right edge of the trees (zoom or a big screen works best) at our campsite which had the best view ever for us. This site was in the back of the last campground loop on the right while entering the Trappers Lake campground complex and is quickly taken once empty.
This is a view on top of the Flat Tops via the Wall Lake trail out of Trappers Lake. Wall Lake, our destination, is below and left of Trappers Peak in the center of this picture.
Hiking off trail on Flat Top Mountain above Bear River (west of Yampa) we met three young men who inquired "where was the Devils Causeway?". This picture shows where we pointed, center right saddle on the opposite side of the Bear River valley. Two of the young men then gave the third (leader?) a dirty look. Having been lost once many years ago, we had a map, compass, and GPS.
Vaughn Lake campground was a quiet midweek spot to spend a night while traversing the Flat Tops Scenic Byway with no traffic after 5pm after spending the day hiking the Lost Lakes Peaks trail. Vaughn Lake is as primitive as possible and still be called a campground. Our site:
Much of the high country is meadow or low growing bushes and a great place to wander off trail for your own unique vista, Flat Top Mountain (highest peak in the Flat Tops) west of Yampa above the Bear River valley:
The Flat Tops are a good hiking destination with good road access and moderate to low summer crowds. Fishing the Trappers Lake basin for wild Colorado Cutthroat trout (catch-and-release) is very popular but we did find a few spots where the fish rarely meet people.
Edited by iowahiker, 09 January 2015 - 01:32 PM.
