Clear Creek County Hunting

Which GMUs cover Clear Creek County

CPW sets big game seasons by game management unit, and Clear Creek County holds parts of 3; GMU 39 alone takes in roughly 78% of it. Each GMU crosses the county edge somewhere. Map shares are approximate; the brochure lists each boundary road and creek, and those govern.

The four-point (or five-inch brow tine) bull rule covers GMU 38 for all elk seasons. None of the county's GMUs requires CWD sampling this season; voluntary testing remains available. Lion hunters in Clear Creek County watch group 4 (limit 28) and group 5 (limit 19), because the season ends early in any group that hits its limit. Shed antler and horn collecting is closed on public land west of I-25 from January 1 to April 30. The spring OTC turkey list includes GMUs 39, 38, 46.

GMU shares from the CPW GMU boundary layer over Census county lines; boundaries in the 2026 Big Game brochure GMU descriptions; point rule from brochure p. 36; CWD units from brochure p. 41; lion groups from the 2026-2027 Mountain Lion brochure; turkey lists from the 2026 Turkey brochure; shed closure from brochure p. 12. Checked November 5, 2026.

Mapped public ground for Clear Creek County

Roughly 181,682 acres of Clear Creek County are public land open to hunting on the CPW and federal layers (71.9% of the county); the biggest owner category is USFS forest and grassland. Trust land outside the CPW access program is off limits, which is why the starred State Land Board total is larger than the public trust figure. Starred rows sit outside the public total: national parks and most state parks do not allow hunting, and military land opens only under base rules. Treat these acre counts as map measurements rather than official totals.

Clear Creek County public tracts

Next-county ground for Clear Creek County

• Golden Gate Canyon State Park17 miles, state park, Gilpin County
• Crooked Top STL17 miles, state trust land parcel, Park County
• Ralston Creek SWA19 miles, state wildlife area, Jefferson County
• Sulphur Ranger District20 miles, ranger district, Grand County
• Mcarthur Gulch STL21 miles, state trust land parcel, Park County
• Ptarmigan STL22 miles, state trust land parcel, Grand County

A current Colorado hunting or fishing license (or the SWA Pass) is required for anyone 16 and up on SWAs and access-program trust land. Each SWA and trust parcel posts its own dates and rules, shown on the cards and land pages.

Acres from the CPW managed properties layer (SWA and STL), USGS PAD-US 4.1 (Forest Service, BLM, refuges, parks, military) and the BLM field office layer; places from the CPW SWA finder, the STL finder and each land page; access rules from the CPW property pages. Checked November 5, 2026.

CPW numbers for Clear Creek County

Area wildlife manager Scott Murdoch oversees CPW Area 1, which takes in the bulk of Clear Creek County. Moose hunters bring the head or an incisor to a CPW office within five working days of the kill.

Clear Creek County base towns

Census also maps these places in Clear Creek County:

• Empire324
• Silver Plume188
• Blue Valley
• Downieville-Lawson-Dumont
• Echo Hills
• Floyd Hill
• Pine Valley
• St. Mary's
• Upper Bear Creek
• Upper Witter Gulch

Listed in Clear Creek County: 2 gun and outdoor stores and 2 outfitters and guides. Not listed: game processors and taxidermists. Hours change in season and directory listings age, so confirm by phone; outfitter rows show the registered mailing town only.

Mounts near Clear Creek County

Clear Creek County outdoor stores

Clear Creek County guide services

Offices and area wildlife managers from the CPW Contact Us page and the CPW area layer; towns and places from the 2024 Census gazetteer; outfitters from the DORA licence data; other services from store locators and Yellow Pages listings. Checked November 5, 2026.

Clear Creek County legal shooting light

The CPW brochures print Denver sunrise and sunset tables with town offsets; the times for Clear Creek County here are worked out with the NOAA solar formula for its own location.

The light goose conservation order runs to half an hour after sunset.

Hours rules from the 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure and the Small Game and Waterfowl brochure; sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Mountain Time); checked November 5, 2026. Legal hours for every county.

Around Clear Creek County

County centres closest to this one, with three Colorado-wide guides.

Clear Creek County reminders for 2026-27

Get permission before hunting private land in Clear Creek County, and read each SWA or trust parcel page for its own rules.

Sources: 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure, CPW hunting, Census and the sources in each section. Checked November 5, 2026.