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Adoption Status: ADOPTED
11,981 acres (18.7 square miles)
How to get there
Dome Peak roadless area is located 6 miles NW of Burns and
10 miles SSW of Yampa on the east side of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. There
are three public access points for the unit.
- To
reach the southern part of the RA, take the Derby Mesa Loop Road (Eagle County
Road (CR) 39) NW from Burns. Take a right on North Derby Road (FS 610; high
clearance or 4WD required), which penetrates the RA and ends at Stump Park at
an information kiosk, passing a few primitive campsites, and the Winterhawk
Outfitters camp on the way. From Stump Park you can hike the Sunnyside Lakes
Trail (1861) to the N and NE, passing below Dome Peak. You can also enter the
Flat Tops Wilderness Area here.
- To
reach the middle portion of the RA, bear right on Eagle CR 43 about 1.5 miles
up CR 39 from Burns. This becomes Routt CR 3. Take a left on CR 3A (about 5
miles from CR 39) toward Cedar Creek, for about 2.5 miles, and then a right on
North Cedar Creek Road (FS 615). This road penetrates the RA, passing several
hunting camps on the way, and ends a closure sign in a large meadow on the
North Fork of Cedar Creek. You can hike the Ute-Sunnyside Trail (2034) NE to
Sunnyside Creek and then NW to the northern boundary of the RA.
- To
reach the north boundary of the RA, approach from Gardner Park Reservoir (from
Routt CR 7 via Yampa, or Routt CR 3B via Trapper). From the reservoir, take FS
915 south past Harper Reservoir to the White River National Forest boundary.
From here, you can access either the Sunnyside Lakes Trail or the Ute-Sunnyside
Trail.
- The
USGS 7 1/2’ quads for the Dome Peak RA are Orno Peak, Trapper, Burns North, and
Dome Peak.
Setting
The terrain consists of a broad, uplifted volcanic plateau
covered with stands of Engelmann spruce (mostly beetle-killed in the 1950s),
large aspen patches, and open park-like meadows. Dome Peak is the easternmost
extension of the Flat Top Mountains, and its rocky, rounded form dominates the
area. The unit is drained by the steep-walled valleys of Sunnyside Creek, North
Fork Cedar Creek, Cedar Creek, Cabin Creek, and Dry Fork Cabin Creek. There is
an exposed formation of columnar basalt on the slope NE of Dry Fork Cabin
Creek. The creeks support riparian vegetation with cottonwoods, willows, and
alders. The elevation ranges from 8000 feet at Dry Fork Cabin Creek to 12,172
on Dome Peak.
What’s special about it?
The Dome Peak RA provides a mid-elevation buffer to the
higher Flat Tops Wilderness, allowing wildlife access to the Colorado River,
and a migration corridor leading east toward the Gore Range. This area is used
by deer and elk as summer range. There is a high degree of adventure and
solitude to be experienced in this area, and it has remained in a relatively
natural state, being adjacent to wilderness and far from a population center.
The Dome Peak RA is most popular as a hunting area in the
fall, as evidenced by the many hunting camps located along roads in the area.
There is also excellent fishing here, as Sunnyside Lake is stocked. The unit
has outstanding opportunities for horse packing and hiking. There is also rock
climbing potential on columnar basalt outcrops in the Dry Fork Cabin Creek
area.
Potential threats
The perennially proposed Dome Peak timber sale is within
this RA, and if executed, would significantly alter the natural character of
the landscape with road construction and clear cutting. There is heavy
motorized use on the Stump Park and Cedar Creek roads during hunting season,
and, because of the park-like terrain, a high potential for illegal off-road
motorized use. Some routes are closed only with a small plastic sign, and there
is little or no policing of motorized encroachment. The Colorado Army National
Guard routinely performs helicopter training landing excercises in the area
causing significant disturbance to wildlife and quiet use values.
Other info
This area is part of the Sunnyside cattle allotment, and
some stock ponds and fences may be found. Conservation groups have identified
an additional 506 acres of roadless area adjacent to Dome Peak RA. The Dome
Peak RA is one of nine roadless areas adjacent to the Flat Tops Wilderness
Area. These combine to form a roadless complex of over 342,000 acres (533
square miles), the largest in Colorado.
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