Horse Thief

Horse Thief Campground, located at Trappers Lake in the White River National Forest, offers a natural setting for stock users adjacent to the Flat Tops Wilderness. The campsites are set aside for stock users only, with corrals, long spurs for large trailers, and an RV dump just up the road. The Flat Tops Wilderness area provides miles of riding within this historic wilderness area. At an elevation of 9,700 feet, the campground has 7 single sites with corrals and long spurs to accommodate large trailers up to 60 feet. It is equipped with picnic tables, fire grates, vault toilets, trash disposal, bear boxes and potable water, and there is a dump station within the Trappers Lake campground complex. Electrical hook-ups are not available. Limited shade is available, so shade shelters are recommended. Trappers Lake is known as the Cradle of Wilderness. At approximately 302 surface acres, the lake contains a strain of native cutthroat trout, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife operates a spawn collection station at the Cabin Creek inlet during May and June. The lake lies completely within the Flat Tops Wilderness, so motorized and mechanized travel and any kind of wheeled cart are prohibited — that includes bikes and game carts on the trails, and motorized boats and wheeled carts for boat transport. The surrounding country holds many pothole lakes and glacier-carved mountains, with access to trails and wilderness areas. Wildlife frequent the area, and moose, elk, deer, marmots, pine marten and an abundance of birds may be seen. Fishing access includes Trappers Lake, Little Trappers Lake, Wall Lake, Fraser Creek and Lake of the Woods; trail access includes Little Trappers Trail #1814, Carhart Trail #1815, Trappers Lake Trail #1816, Wall Lake Trail #1818, Island Lakes Trail #1842, Chinese Wall Trail #1803, Deer Lake Trail #2021, South Derby Trail #1857 and Himes Peak Trail #1877.