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Built from Colorado Parks and Wildlife brochures, reports and maps for 2026-27
Colorado Hunting
739 public hunting places from the Pawnee and Comanche grasslands to the San Juans and the Flat Tops, a page for each of the 186 big game GMUs, 64 counties and 124 base towns, and all 66 CPW fee rows; every date, fee and acreage is traced to CPW or a federal land agency and was checked on November 5, 2026. The photo shows Maroon Lake in White River National Forest.
Photo: USDA Forest Service (CC BY 2.0)
Colorado game management units and season tools
Most Colorado deer, every moose, sheep and goat license and many elk, pronghorn and bear licenses come from the draw; 18 season rows can be bought over the counter instead.
| Season tool | What it holds |
|---|---|
| GMUs | 186 units, one page each |
| Season dates | 686 rows, 2,815 hunt codes |
| OTC licenses | 18 OTC season rows |
| Big game draw | Primary, secondary, leftover |
| Antler points | 97 GMUs with the point rule |
| CWD tests | 64 GMUs with mandatory elk tests |
| Duck zones | 5 duck zones, 3 goose areas |
| Turkey units | 149 spring OTC GMUs |
| Lion limits | 20 harvest-limit groups |
| Sheep and goat | 75 sheep and 16 goat units |
| Species | CPW 2026 dates and license notes |
|---|---|
| Deer | Archery September 2-30; muzzleloader September 12-20; first rifle October 14-18 (select GMUs); second October 24-November 1; third November 7-15; fourth November 18-22; plains rifle October 24-November 3 (unless noted in tables). |
| Elk | archery September 2-30; muzzleloader September 12-20; rifle October 14-18, October 24-November 1, November 7-15, November 18-22. OTC archery for residents west of I-25; nonresident archery elk west of I-25 and GMU 140 by draw only. OTC second/third rifle bull in listed GMUs. |
| Pronghorn | Archery August 15-September 20 (OTC either sex, bucks only August 15-31); muzzleloader September 21-29; rifle October 3-11 unless noted. |
| Moose | Archery September 12-30; muzzleloader September 12-20; rifle October 1-14 unless noted. Draw only; mandatory inspection within 5 working days; mandatory report within 30 days of season end. |
| Black bear | Archery September 2-30 (OTC add-on with deer/elk archery license); muzzleloader September 12-20 (add-on); September rifle (limited) September 2-30; plains OTC rifle September 2-November 22; regular rifle with deer/elk rifle seasons; PLO OTC rifle September 2-November 22. Mandatory inspection within 5 working days (unfrozen head and hide). |
Units, not counties, carry the Colorado big game seasons: the hunt code on a license spells out species, sex, unit, season and method, so start from the GMU and use the county pages to find it on the ground.
GMU and county overlaps are measured on the CPW GMU boundary layer and Census county lines. Sources: 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 20; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 35; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 53; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 58; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 62; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 68. Checked: numbers rechecked November 5, 2026.
Public hunting land, Colorado edition
Measured on the map layers, the 64 counties hold about 24,469,476 acres of hunting land open to the public: some 14,427,573 acres of national forest, 8,360,747 of BLM land, 571,147 of state wildlife areas and 954,650 of State Trust Land leased by CPW.
| Land hub | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Wildlife areas | 224 wildlife areas open to hunting |
| Trust land | 409 leased parcels |
| National forests | 12 forests, 32 ranger districts, 2 grasslands |
| BLM land | 10 field offices |
| State parks | 31 parks, 2 recreation areas |
| Wildlife refuges | 6 refuges |
| Federal land | Forest, BLM, refuge, park and military land |
| Access programs | Walk-In Access, RFW, STL access |
| Walk-In Access | Private land open on foot |
| Land map | 733 pins |
Everyone 16+ needs a hunting or fishing license (or State Wildlife Area Pass) on state wildlife areas and state trust lands. Another 120 places on the CPW and federal lists allow no hunting; the public land hub names each with the reason. Public land hub
Tile acres are the figure on each land record; county acres are measured from GIS polygons and are not official totals. Sources: CPW SWA finder; CPW State Trust Land finder; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 6. Checked: numbers rechecked November 5, 2026.
Map of Colorado hunting ground
733 places carry a map point, from State Trust Land sections on the Eastern Plains to wildlife areas along the Western Slope rivers. Larger dots mark units of 100,000 acres or more.
Colorado hunting open right now
Counted from the 686 CPW season rows. A species can have dozens of rows at once because each GMU group, license type and method gets its own line; the season pages break them out.
Open on November 5, 2026: 135 rows for 33 species
| Game | Rows open | First close | Last close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 35 | Nov 7, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| Elk | 35 | Nov 7, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Bighorn sheep | 16 | Nov 8, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 |
| Black bear | 5 | Nov 22, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 |
| Desert bighorn | 5 | Nov 30, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
| Ducks and coots | 5 | Jan 15, 2027 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| Dark geese | 4 | Jan 15, 2027 | Feb 14, 2027 |
| Pronghorn | 3 | Dec 31, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 |
| Geese | 2 | Jan 6, 2027 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| Prairie dogs | 2 | Feb 28, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Collared-dove | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Starling and sparrow | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Snipe | 1 | Dec 16, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 |
| Ground squirrel | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Beaver | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Chukar | 1 | Nov 30, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 |
| Cottontail | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Coyote | 1 | Mar 31, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 |
| Crow | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Dusky grouse | 1 | Nov 22, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 |
| Fox squirrel | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Other furbearers | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Prairie-chicken | 1 | Jan 31, 2027 | Jan 31, 2027 |
| Jackrabbits | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Light geese | 1 | Feb 14, 2027 | Feb 14, 2027 |
| Moose | 1 | Nov 22, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 |
| Mourning dove | 1 | Nov 29, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 |
| Pine squirrel | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Rails | 1 | Nov 9, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
| Sandhill crane | 1 | Nov 29, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 |
| Snowshoe hare | 1 | Feb 28, 2027 | Feb 28, 2027 |
| Ptarmigan | 1 | Nov 22, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 |
| White-winged dove | 1 | Nov 29, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 |
The next openers on the calendar
| Game | Season | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | Rifle either sex, RFW | Nov 6, 2026 | Dec 2, 2026 | |
| Elk | Rifle either sex, RFW | Nov 6, 2026 | Dec 2, 2026 | |
| Deer | Rifle doe, RFW | Nov 7, 2026 | Dec 2, 2026 | |
| Elk | Rifle cow, RFW | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 11, 2026 | |
| Bighorn sheep | Archery ram, resident | Nov 10, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 | |
| Deer | Rifle doe, RFW | Nov 11, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | |
| Elk | Rifle cow, RFW | Nov 11, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | |
| Quail | Season 1 | Nov 14, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| Pheasant | Season 1 | Nov 14, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| Abert's squirrel | Season | Nov 15, 2026 | Jan 15, 2027 |
Year-round small game rows run on the license year, April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 in the season table. Falconry rows stay on the species pages. Sources: 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure; 2026 Small Game & Waterfowl brochure; 2026 Colorado Turkey brochure; 2026-2027 Mountain Lion brochure. Checked: numbers rechecked November 5, 2026.
The 2025 Colorado harvest
CPW keeps no records book for trophies, but its surveys count the harvest: about 37,337 deer, 34,512 elk and 7,600 pronghorn in 2025, from 178,063 elk hunters and 81,385 deer hunters.
Deer, elk and pronghorn are survey estimates summed over CPW herd units; bear, moose and lion come from mandatory checks and reports. Sources: 2025 CPW deer harvest report; 2025 CPW elk harvest report; 2025 CPW bear harvest report; 2025 CPW statewide lion harvest report; 2025 CPW spring turkey report. Checked: numbers rechecked November 5, 2026.
Region by region: 64 Colorado counties
CPW runs the state from four regions, each with a service centre, and splits them again into numbered areas with area offices and area wildlife managers. Every county page names its region, area and nearest office, its GMUs with their shares, its duck zone and the public land inside it.
CPW Northeast Region
Adams · Arapahoe · Boulder · Broomfield · Clear Creek · Denver · Douglas · Elbert · Gilpin · Jefferson · Larimer · Logan · Morgan · Park · Phillips · Sedgwick · Washington · Weld · Yuma
CPW Northwest Region
Eagle · Garfield · Grand · Jackson · Mesa · Moffat · Pitkin · Rio Blanco · Routt · Summit
Region lines follow GMU boundaries; a county split between regions is listed under the region holding most of it. Sources: CPW Contact Us page. Checked: numbers rechecked November 5, 2026.
Where Colorado hunters meet, shop and shoot
57 hunting events are dated from November 5, 2026 on, mostly conservation banquets and hunter education classes, and 109 shooting matches are on the calendar. Across the five service directories there are 1,045 entries, CPW offices included.
| Date | Event | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 5, 2026 | CPW Hunter Education Course | Denver, Denver County | Class |
| Nov 5, 2026 | CPW Hunter Education Course | Aurora, Arapahoe County | Class |
| Nov 6, 2026 | CPW Hunter Education Course | Pueblo, Pueblo County | Class |
| Nov 7, 2026 | CPW Whitehorse SWA Youth Waterfowl Orientation | Brighton, Adams County | Class |
| Nov 8, 2026 | CPW Hunter Education Internet Conclusion Course | Denver, Denver County | Class |
| Nov 14, 2026 | CPW Bowhunter Education | Pueblo, Pueblo County | Class |
| Nov 14, 2026 | CPW Hunter Education Course | Grand Junction, Mesa County | Class |
| Nov 14, 2026 | CPW Hunter Education Course | Johnstown, Weld County | Class |
Game processors
25 processors and custom lockers.
Taxidermists
115 shops for an elk shoulder mount or a pronghorn.
Guides and outfitters
517 listings, most of them DORA-registered outfitters.
Gun and bow shops
370 gun counters, archery shops and outdoor stores.
CPW offices
18 offices, from Denver headquarters to the area offices.
Shooting ranges
149 ranges on file, 21 of them run by CPW.
Colorado wildlife you can hunt, and five you cannot
Elk and mule deer across the mountains and the Western Slope, whitetails and pronghorn on the plains, bighorns and goats above timberline, Merriam's and Rio Grande turkeys, and grouse, ptarmigan, pheasants and ducks. The protected pages (canada lynx, gray wolf, wild bison, lesser prairie-chicken and gunnison sage-grouse) explain why there is no season.
Black bear · Mountain lion · Desert bighorn sheep · Mountain goat · Abert's squirrel · Fox squirrel · Pine squirrel · Cottontail rabbit · Snowshoe hare · Jackrabbit · Wyoming (Richardson's) ground squirrel · Marmot · Prairie dog · Prairie rattlesnake · Common snapping turtle · Coyote · Beaver · Bobcat · Other furbearers · Ducks, mergansers and coots · Teal · Dark geese · Light geese · Mourning dove · White-winged dove · Eurasian collared-dove · Band-tailed pigeon · Crow · Starling and house sparrow · Wilson's snipe · Rails · Sandhill crane · Dusky (blue) grouse · Greater sage-grouse · Mountain sharp-tailed grouse · Greater prairie-chicken · Chukar partridge · Ring-necked pheasant · Quail · White-tailed ptarmigan · Canada lynx · Gray wolf · Wild bison · Lesser prairie-chicken · Gunnison sage-grouse
Colorado rules at a glance
Habitat Stamp first
Hunters 18 to 64 buy the $12.76 Habitat Stamp with their first license of the year; every license now carries the $1.25 search-and-rescue surcharge.
Draw dates
The 2026 primary draw took applications March 1 to April 7, the secondary draw ran June 18 to 30, and leftover and OTC licenses went on sale August 4.
Orange or pink
500 square inches above the waist plus a hat or head cover for anyone hunting deer, elk, pronghorn, moose or bear with a firearm license.
No bait
Bait is illegal for big game, lion, turkey, small game and migratory birds; furbearer bait of plant or animal matter is allowed.
Legal light
Big game from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; turkey, small game and waterfowl stop at sunset.
Sundays
No statewide Sunday restriction; a few wildlife areas limit hunting to set days of the week.
Hunter education
Required for anyone born on or after January 1, 1949, with a test-out for hunters over 50 and service members.
Wildlife areas and trust land
Everyone 16 and older needs a hunting or fishing license, or a State Wildlife Area Pass, to set foot on a wildlife area or leased trust land.
Sources: 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 5; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 4; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 15; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 13; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 14; 2026 Big Game brochure, p. 6. Checked: numbers rechecked November 5, 2026.
Colorado hunting questions
Does Colorado test elk for chronic wasting disease?
Yes. Elk only: heads from all elk taken with selected rifle hunt codes (green in the tables) in the GMUs CPW lists; free. No mandatory deer testing in 2026. OTC elk hunt codes not included.
Which Colorado GMUs have elk antler point restrictions?
97 GMUs carry the rule; the antler point page lists them and the exceptions.
Where do I find a game processor in Colorado?
The processor list holds 25 businesses by CPW region and county; CPW keeps no list of its own.
How many public hunting places does this Colorado guide cover?
This site has pages for 739: 224 state wildlife areas, 409 leased State Trust Land parcels, 12 national forests with 32 ranger districts, 2 national grasslands, BLM land and 10 field offices, 31 state parks, 6 refuges and the access programs.
Does Colorado set seasons by county?
No. Big game seasons and licenses run by game management unit and hunt code; there are 186 big game GMUs. County pages show which GMUs fall inside each county.
Can a nonresident buy an elk license over the counter in Colorado?
Elk: archery September 2-30; muzzleloader September 12-20; rifle October 14-18, October 24-November 1, November 7-15, November 18-22. OTC archery for residents west of I-25; nonresident archery elk west of I-25 and GMU 140 by draw only. OTC second/third rifle bull in listed GMUs.
When does Colorado rifle elk season open in 2026?
The rifle segments run October 14-18 in select GMUs, then October 24 to November 1, November 7-15 and November 18-22.
Can I hunt on a Sunday anywhere in Colorado?
No statewide Sunday restriction appears in the 2026 brochures, CPW regulation chapters read or C.R.S. Title 33; seasons run every day. Some State Wildlife Areas limit hunting to certain days (Chapter W-5/W-9 property rules, for example waterfowl only on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays on some SWAs).
Is baiting legal for Colorado deer or elk?
Illegal to hunt big game over bait (salt, minerals, grain, animal parts or other food), whether or not the hunter placed it; normal agricultural salt/mineral blocks excepted; food-scented sticks illegal for bear.
What does a Colorado resident pay for an elk license?
$70.40 for an adult resident elk license, plus the $12.76 Habitat Stamp for hunters 18 to 64; a nonresident elk and fishing combo is $845.16.
Plan a Colorado season
Start from a GMU for its seasons, hunt codes and harvest figures, from a county for its units, duck zone and public land, or from a town for the nearest wildlife area, shop and range.
Other photos on this page: Nicolas Henderson (CC BY 2.0); daveynin (CC BY 2.0); Jane Nearing (CC BY 2.0); Larry Lamsa (CC BY 2.0); Kimon Berlin (CC BY-SA 2.0); Michael Kwok (CC BY 2.0); Max and Dee Bernt (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Department of Agriculture (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Bob Denaro (CC BY 2.0); GlacierNPS (Public domain); ilouque (CC BY 2.0); YellowstoneNPS (Public domain); YellowstoneNPS (Public domain); Kimon Berlin (CC BY-SA 2.0); ShenandoahNPS (Public domain); fishhawk (CC BY 2.0).