Yampa
Gateway to the famed Flat Tops Mountains and the Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway, Yampa began as a hunting camp in the 1880s. Freight wagons and stagecoaches were prominent in town. Later, agriculture and a booming lumber industry in the forests surrounding Yampa kept life buzzing.
Did you know that you can watch cowboy polo played on a historic downtown street?
In Yampa, our Fourth of July is a hard riding celebration featuring cowboy horse polo—where riders and horses pursue the ball down historic Moffat Avenue.
The Egeria Park region encompasses the town of Yampa, and the community of Toponas to the south. A visit here will take you back in time to a slower paced way of life that endures today as ranching and agriculture continue to be our mainstays.
If you enjoy scenic drives, Yampa is the east portal to the Flat Tops Trail Scenic and Historic Byway, a one-of-a kind “working” byway, where you might find yourself in a herd of cattle or horses, or a flock of sheep as they are moved from pasture to pasture by ranchers and sheepherders.
Did you know that Yampa is the gateway to Flat Tops Scenic and Historic Byway?
In Yampa there is plenty of opportunity to do your “own thing”—whether that’s quiet walks around the historic town or hiking, biking, horseback riding, cross country skiing, or snowshoeing on the trails in the surrounding forests.
EVENTS AND CELEBRATIONS
Fourth of July Celebration: Yampa’s Historic Moffat Avenue, built double-width to accommodate freight wagons and stagecoaches, cattle and sheep drives, rodeos and horse races, remains a dirt street and now hosts cowboy polo and other 4th of July events.
CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE
Yampa Egeria Museum: Stop by the restored 1904 bank building. Then take a historic walking tour of the old opera house, the 1902 Antlers Hotel and Cafe, the Royal Hotel (home of Rufus the resident ghost) and the jail.
MOUNTAINS & PARKS JOURNEYS
- Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway
- Buffalo Pass Journey
- Hahns Peak Gold Journey
VERY “LOCAL” PLACES
- Montgomery’s General Merchandise, established in 1890, it’s one of the oldest continually-operating general stores in Colorado.
- Antler’s Café, a local gathering place for almost 100 years and it’s on the Register of Historic places.
- The Royal Hotel, built after Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. came to Egeria Park on a hunting trip in 1900 because he wanted to stay in a hunting lodge.
- Yampa-Egeria Museum, originally a bank, it looks much the same today as when it opened for business in 1904.
- Penny’s Diner and The Oak Tree Inn–Open 24 hours a day seven days a week. (Access this modern diner on your schedule—not someone else’s! 970.638.1000)