The Flat Tops Trail Byway and the Devil's Causeway start near Yampa

From the town of Yampa in southern Routt County, the Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway climbs west toward Meeker across high, open country. It is a designated state byway, but do not picture a smooth interstate. Long sections are gravel, the route tops high passes, and it is not plowed or maintained for ordinary cars in winter. Plan it as a summer-into-fall drive, roughly from when the snow clears until it returns, and watch the weather.

The same high country holds one of the area’s well-known hikes, the Devil’s Causeway. It is a narrow neck of rock that connects two parts of the Flat Tops plateau, left behind as glaciers carved the land around it. At its tightest the path across is only a few feet wide with long drop-offs on both sides. People do cross it on foot, but it is genuinely exposed, and it is no place to be in wind, rain, or lightning. Horses cannot make the crossing.

The common approach is from the Stillwater Trailhead area, reached by gravel forest road southwest of Yampa, and the hike sits inside the Flat Tops Wilderness, so wilderness rules apply.

Before driving the byway or hiking to the causeway, check the road’s seasonal status and trail conditions with the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest.