the topography, drivable roads, current trails, and surface ownership. The maps are field checked and updated every few years, keeping them current. Each Trails Illustrated map incorporates eight to twelve USGS quads and is printed on durable plastic at a cost about one-fourth that of the survey quads covering the same area. The scale is 1:40,000, making a conveniently sized, weather-resistant map that fits in your pocket.
Each trail description in this guide lists the NGS TI map for that section.
Computer users who own map software can print maps to use on trails. NGS also publishes digital maps on CD-ROMs. These maps are available on a state basis for a reasonable price.
Maps included in this guide are intended to inform the reader of the wilderness area and its trails. The scale is not suitable for wilderness navigation.
Hiking the Flat Tops Wilderness Area
Because the Flat Tops Wilderness is large, it’s a great place to get away from it all, by foot or horseback. Whether you plan a day hike or an extended backpack trip, you’ll be able to find a trail that gives the experience you seek.
First of all, keep in mind that whichever trail you take, expect an ascent. With few exceptions, count on climbing at least a thousand feet to reach the plateau. One trail, 1825, ascends nearly 4,000 feet.
Once you’re on top, though, the hike or horse ride is easy. The plateau is nearly flat and in some areas, you can hike several miles with no significant change in elevation. That doesn’t mean it’s absolutely level, though. Be aware of the contour interval. It’s 40 feet, and as one hiker said, it can hide a lot of 39-foot anomalies.
If you’ve never used one, try taking a hiking staff. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the stability it gives when carrying a loaded backpack on rough, uneven terrain. Flat Tops trails are usually pretty good but in some places, cobbles and occasional boulders litter the trails. You will also appreciate a staff on steep trails. Using one can help you avoid a fall should you stumble on a rough section of the trail.
What should a hiker wear on the Flat Tops? That all depends on the season, but for summer, shorts and T-shirts work fine while walking. Nights on the plateau can get cool, though. If you live in the lowlands, it probably will seem cold. Carry long pants and a jacket for evenings in camp and a water-repellent parka and pants for rain. A baseball cap or boonie hat will protect your head from the sun and sunburn. Use sunscreen on exposed skin. The sun burns faster at high altitude.
Good sturdy boots are essential to enjoying your Flat Tops hike. You don’t need heavy-duty climbing boots but you will need good support for carrying a heavy pack. Some of the new lightweight models should work fine here as long as they fit snuggly and provide good traction on wet clay soils. Gore-Tex® or similar liners will help keep your feet dry while crossing shallow streams and in the showers that occur frequently on the Flat Tops. Good water-resistant boots also allow you to practice low-impact hiking. Wilderness rangers recommend that you go ahead and slop through the mud on the trail. Walking on the trailside vegetation to keep dry contributes to erosion of the path.
Flat Tops Wilderness Trails
TRAIL DESCRIPTIONS
The trails are grouped by road access. Descriptions begin east of Meeker, in the northwest part of the Flat Tops.
For each trail, the description gives a brief synopsis of each trail. The destination tells what you’ll find along the way and at the end of the trail. Distances given for trails are one way and are approximate. Time required for hiking a trail is not included as there are too many variables for an estimate to have meaning.
Elevations are given for the trailhead and trail end. In some cases, neither point is the high or low elevation for the trail so this is also included when it occurs somewhere else on the trail. GPS coordinates are given for each trail using both UTM and Latitude/Longitude (Lat/ Lon). The bold type 13 for the UTM coordinates refers to the part of the UTM grid used in the Flat Tops.
Directions to the trailheads tell how to get there from the primary county or state road used as the heading for each section. Road designations vary depending on the source. All road numbers in this guide are from the 1991 White River National Forest map, the most recent edition. Road designations used on current Trails Illustrated maps, both paper and digital, show the latest road numbers or names. All trailheads are marked with signs. At wilderness boundaries, visitors are requested to sign the registers.
One point to keep in mind is that trails change over time. The Forest Service constructs new ones and abandons others. For this reason, always use the latest edition of any map.
The wilderness has a wide variety of trails, with distances varying from less than one-half mile to more than 25 miles. Difficulty varies with terrain but only a few have long, steep ascents. Trail 1825, the Oyster Lake Trail, begins about a mile south of Buford, and climbs more than 4,000 feet in the first 6 miles. From there to its junction with the Wall Lake Trail 1818, the hike is nearly level.
Another long trail also beginning south of Buford is the South Fork Trail 1827. From the South Fork Campground 10 miles south of Buford, it follows the South Fork of the White River to its headwaters. From the trailhead to the next point accessed by Forest Road 600, the trail climbs only a few hundred feet in 13 miles. For its entire length the trail follows a deep canyon, broad in some places, with a few short steep sections. For most of the way it’s an easy hike. Until, that is, you pass the Doe Creek Trail. From there it isn’t maintained so expect to find a few obstacles to get around.
Backpackers in search of other long hikes can do so by combining a few connecting trails. A person can begin near Sweetwater Lake on the south and go from there to Ripple Creek Pass on the north side by taking several connecting trails. Study wilderness maps to select a combination of trails to give a hike of a desired distance and destination.
For the person more interested in fishing rather than hiking more than a few miles, take the short hike from Forest Road 205 (the road to Trappers Lake) to Lake of the Woods. It’s less than a half mile to some good brookie fishing. From Forest Road 900 west of Yampa a mile hike leads to Smith Lake. Stream fishermen will want to take Forest Road 600 to the Meadows to cast a fly in the South Fork. From the parking area it’s only a couple hundred yards to the river. From there, fish up- or downstream. Anglers will find many other short hikes in this guide.
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RIO BLANCO COUNTY ROAD 8
Trail descriptions begin at the town of Meeker, west of the wilderness, in Rio Blanco County. One mile north from town heading toward Craig on State Highway 13, go east on Rio Blanco County Road 8. This paved road follows the White River through ranch country and is the primary access to the north side of the wilderness. The Forest Service has designated the road between Meeker and Yampa as a Scenic Byway. Readers are advised to refer to maps in this guide or preferably the NGS Trails Illustrated maps while reading the trail descriptions.
From Meeker, head east 18 miles on County Road 8 to Buford just past County Road 17. Go south on County Road 17 a mile to County Road 10 to access the longest trail in the wilderness, the Oyster Lake Trail 1825. Turn east on County Road 10, which will lead south 9 miles to end at the South Fork Campground. Here backpackers and anglers can hike Trail 1827 along the South Fork of the White River. Between these two trails hikers can take four shorter trails that lead to the Flat Tops plateau.
Buford is an old community established more than a century ago. All that’s left is the Buford Lodge, which is now permanently closed. East of Buford, Rio Blanco County Road 8 follows the North
