Huerfano County Hunt Planner

Which GMUs cover Huerfano County

CPW sets big game seasons by game management unit, and Huerfano County holds parts of 5; GMU 85 alone takes in roughly 40% of it. The county contains all of GMU 861. Map shares are approximate; the brochure lists each boundary road and creek, and those govern. The county mixes plains ground (GMUs 128, 133) with foothill and mountain units.

The four-point (or five-inch brow tine) bull rule covers GMUs 85, 861 for all elk seasons. None of the county's GMUs requires CWD sampling this season; voluntary testing remains available. Lion hunters in Huerfano County watch group 15 (limit 47) and group 20 (limit 22), 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 85, 84, 128, 861, 133.

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 Huerfano County

Roughly 223,041 acres of Huerfano County are public land open to hunting on the CPW and federal layers (21.9% 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.

Huerfano County public tracts

Smaller areas: Bear Creek STL, Black Mountain STL, Blue Spring STL, Bustos Flat STL, Little Sheep Mountain STL, Maitland STL, Pine Arroyo STL, Rattlesnake STL, South Gardner STL, The Hogback STL, Tinaja Canyon STL, Turkey Ridge STL, South Middle Creek STL, Huerfano SWA.

Just over the Huerfano County line

• Aguilar Tv Hill STL28 miles, state trust land parcel, Las Animas County
• Foster Gulch STL28 miles, state trust land parcel, Custer County
• Sakariason STL30 miles, state trust land parcel, Las Animas County
• Upper Red Cliff Ranch SWA30 miles, state wildlife area, Custer County
• Great Sand Dunes National Preserve31 miles, national preserve, Saguache County
• Spanish Peaks SWA31 miles, state wildlife area, Las Animas 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 Huerfano County

Area wildlife manager Mike Brown oversees CPW Area 11, which takes in the bulk of Huerfano County. Moose hunters bring the head or an incisor to a CPW office within five working days of the kill.

Trailhead towns of Huerfano County

Census also maps these places in Huerfano County:

• La Veta869
• Gardner

Listed in Huerfano County: 1 taxidermist, 1 gun or outdoor store and 8 outfitters and guides. Not listed: game processors. Hours change in season and directory listings age, so confirm by phone; outfitter rows show the registered mailing town only.

Huerfano County cut and wrap

Mounts near Huerfano County

Guns and optics, Huerfano County

Huerfano 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.

Huerfano County legal shooting light

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

Turkey hours end at 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.

Close to Huerfano County

The four closest county pages by distance between county centres, plus three statewide guides.

Huerfano County reminders for 2026-27

Get permission before hunting private land in Huerfano 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.