The Yampa Valley Trail runs from Duffy Mountain to Echo Park. It is completely within the boundary of Moffat County and it hugs the south side of the Yampa River. It was built in the 1980s and marked every 1/4 mile. Its high point is Juniper Mountain. It also traverses Cross Mountain and 12 mile Mesa, before dumping out on The Yampa Bench Road. It is also completely on BLM land. There is a lot of wildlife and very few people on this route.
This route is very runnable. The elevation gain is moderate.
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TMA 3 Implementation Maps Yampa Valley Trail (blm.gov)
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I’ll be attempting this route tomorrow evening from Craig to Dinosaur!
I had to drop at mile 92, right before the entrance to Dinosaur National Monument so the route is over 120 miles. I was having some calf pain that gradually got too bad to even walk it out. But I definitely want to try again! This route is very rural and exposed to the elements. Pretty much no water access so it’s not something to try unsupported. There were multiple sections where route finding skills were necessary, and I hit just about all of them in the dark. I didn’t see anyone on trail the entire time, and even on the road sections I think I only saw one car, so it’s very “out there.” Also fyi the start (or finish) point is at Echo Park campground, about 4 miles farther than the gpx shows. https://strava.app.link/7fHxRVhrFNb