Hike 15/41: Fishing the Flat Tops

After several years of owning our place in Kremmling and daydreaming of the Flat Tops Wilderness, an area extolled by some of my coworkers as one of the coolest places they’d ever been — we decided to plan a day trip. Well one day trip turned to multiple, and the ease of access from our basecamp made me do more research. I wanted to Revive my quest to hike, fish, camp, or hunt all of Colorado’s federally designated wilderness areas. So far I’ve done fairly well. But fishing the Flat Tops Wilderness seemed like a no brainer.

About the Flat Tops Wilderness

The Flat Tops Wilderness Area was designated in 1975, and encompasses 230,829 acres within its boundaries. This is Colorado’s second largest Wilderness Area, and the high alpine topography is dotted with over 110 lakes making it a backcountry angler’s dream. After a 1919 trip to Trappers Lake within the region to survey it for the US Forest Service, Arthur Carhart appealed to his then superior Aldo Leopold that the area must be protected as wilderness.

Fishing the Flat Tops

I recently had a few days to myself while my wife and kids were out of town. Being the person that I am, I decided to put together a list of approximately a thousand things for house chores and recreation that I thought I might be able to get done. While I had a ton of work do be done on our camp, I also recognized the need for my own particular brand of relaxation. That is, getting up super early, driving a ton, and letting the wilderness and mountain air wash over me. I had the dogs with me, so I still needed to be somewhat responsible. Throwing my gear into the truck, off I went.

Stubbornness

I drove from our place to Yampa, CO and decided that I knew where I was going. I figured I could get to the Flat Tops Scenic Byway (Routt County Road 8) by way of how I knew how to get to the Flat Tops. That was incorrect. I flung myself down RCR7 and ended up at the Upper Stillwater Reservoir before realizing what I’d done. Not one to waste an opportunity to fish despite the goal being Trapper’s Lake I rigged my rods both spinning and my Tenkara setup. I thought about how stubborn I was during the morning hatch, and had plenty of bites and one feisty rainbow that I just couldn’t get to land.

The Upper Stillwater Reservoir (or Bear Lake, depending on map) has Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout stocked and has good shore access along the roadside with several wide spots to pull your truck out and walk down to the bank. According to the Colorado Fishing Atlas, Brookies and Mountain Whitefish can also be found at the lake. If this was where I wanted to stop my weekend adventure and hang out here and fish all day, or hike from the same general area to the Mandall lakes. Between Upper Stillwater and Yamcolo reservoirs there is a trailhead that sends a trail near Mandall Creek. From there you can access a series of half creative names.

I say this because it’s Mandall Creek, Slide Mandall Lake, Black Mandall Lake, Twin Mandall Lakes, Mud Mandall Lake, assuredly there are others — but my map doesn’t name them.

Back On Track

Embarrassed at my misstep but with nobody but the dogs to judge me, I turned back around and headed to Yampa. Surely RCR7 and 8 eventually connected, I thought to myself. They did not. I made it all the way back into town, topped off on gas, and went down another side street to link up with Routt County Road 8 where I truly began my journey.

The Flat Tops Scenic Byway bisects the wilderness area along the northern third going from Yampa to Meeker. The dirt road is generally passable by a sedan and doesn’t have any ground clearance issues. On my drive towards Trappers Lake I stopped at Dunkley Pass and Ripple Creek Pass for some sight seeing. During fall colors this past year I noticed far fewer people on the drive to Dunkley than I did anywhere along the I-70 and 285 corridors making this a nice change from the hustle and bustle if you have a local place to stay.

Trappers Lake

Trappers Lake is a welcome sight as you drive in from the scenic byway. You really can’t see much of it until you’re on top of it though. The turn off the scenic byway marks the half way point, and an access road takes you closer to the lake and several campgrounds, including one we were to stay at over Labor Day. I parked at the Outlet trailhead and did a little hike amongst paddleboarders and kayakers getting their gear ready. While the trailhead seemed full, it was later in the day and the crowd had dispersed. It never felt crowded during my time there.

Old Dog

Unfortunately for us, it was getting somewhat hot and exposed with the high sun, and Abbey was having difficulty as we hiked. She’s getting up there at twelve and I always keep a close eye on her behavior. Unfortunately she was stumbling kind of a lot, and was having difficulty walking behind or beside our younger setter Lily.

We managed a hike to Coffin Lake and allowed for some dog swimming, wary of any sort of algal blooms that might be present. Not wanting to have to carry a nearly 75lb dog back to the truck we decided that the driving, hiking, and fishing would be enough for the day. We had a long drive back — as the turn for Trappers Lake is equidistant on the Flat Tops Scenic Byway. 41 miles to either Meeker or Yampa.

Staying There

Now, with the dogs and gear in the truck, I probably could have stayed. I have some reservations for a camp site near Trappers Lake later on in the season at Shepherds Rim campground. Unfortunately for me, I was under-geared for actual camping at elevation for the night, and I still had chores to do.

Trappers Lake has several campgrounds available, and the Flat Tops region itself has a ton of camping options from boondocking, dispersed, and more official USFS campgrounds.

Getting There

With as large as the Flat Tops Wilderness Area is, it’s somewhat easy to get to it. There’s a scenic byway, known as the Flat Tops Trail, that cuts the area in half and traverses 82 miles from Yampa to Meeker.

Coming from Denver the drive takes approximately 3 hours (~170 miles).

1. Head west on I‑70 towards Glenwood Springs.
2. Take Exit 157 onto CO‑131 North (toward Steamboat Springs).
3. At Yampa, follow signs for the Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway (County Road 17/8).
4. Stay on the byway across Dunckley Pass (~9,763 ft) then Ripple Creek Pass (~10,343 ft).
5. You’ll cross through Trappers Lake and continue toward Meeker. Total byway distance is about 82 miles, with ~40 miles gravel

Coming from Grand Junction is about a 2-hour (~120 miles) drive following these directions:

• Take I‑70 east to Rifle, then exit onto CO‑13 north through Meeker.
• At Meeker, join the Flat Tops Scenic Byway (County Road 8).
• Continue ~52 miles on CR 8 until you see signs for Dunckley Pass/trails and forest access

A Note On Services

A special note on services is deserved here. The Flat Tops Wilderness area is hours from anywhere, and in the mountains weather can pop up at any time. Making sure that you have enough water, gas, and food is paramount. Make sure to fill your tank in Yampa or Meeker before you begin your journey, and consider filling extra gas cans depending on the duration of the trip and how much driving you intend on doing while in the mountains. Putting your car or truck in and out of four wheel drive chews up gas, and services are a long way off.

Resources

• Wilderness.net entry for the Flat Tops Wilderness
• USFS Information
• Hiking the Flattops – Causeway Lake Trail by Al Marlowe