Park County Hunting Overview

Park County hunting units

On the CPW unit map Park County is cut into 11 GMUs, led by GMU 50 at about 23% of the county area. GMUs 50, 500 never leave the county, unlike the other units listed. GMU boundaries run along highways, county roads, ridgelines and rivers described in the big game brochure, so a hunter near an edge should read the written boundary before choosing a hunt code.

Spikes and small raghorns are off limits in GMUs 581, 511, where bulls need four points on one side or a five-inch brow tine. Heads from elk killed on the green-shaded rifle codes in GMUs 50, 58, 501, 49, 500, 57 go to CPW for a free chronic wasting disease test. CPW counts lion harvest against group 5 (limit 19), group 8 (limit 30) and group 11 (limit 9) for these units. West of I-25, public land is closed to shed hunting from January 1 through April 30. Spring turkey licenses sold over the counter are valid in GMUs 50, 58, 501, 49, 581, 46, 500, 57 and 3 more.

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.

Park County SWAs, forest and nearby areas

Mapped public ground totals near 796,453 acres, about 56.7% of the county, with national forest and grassland the leading kind. Starred acreage is context only, because park, military and closed trust land is not general public hunting ground. These are GIS measures of map polygons, not official acreages; each land page gives the agency figure.

Mapped hunting areas within Park County

Also listed: Waugh Mountain STL, Antero STL, Rye Slough STL, Spinney STL, Eleven Mile State Park, Spinney Mountain State Park, Badger Creek (Upper, Lower Units) STL, Badger Flats STL, Agate Mountain STL, Eleven Mile STL, Spinney Mountain SWA, Collard Ranch SWA, Hartsel South STL, Tomahawk SWA, 63 Ranch STL, Cline Ranch SWA, Boreas Pass Ranch Hunting Easement, 63 Ranch SWA, High Creek STL, Charlie Meyers SWA, Teter-Michigan Creek SWA, Tarryall Reservoir SWA, Buffalo Gulch STL, Dick's Peak STL, Mud Springs STL, Saddle Mountain STL, Three Mile Mountain STL, Warmer Gulch STL, Mcarthur Gulch STL, Crooked Top STL, Hartsel STL, Treasurevault Mountain STL, Michigan Creek SWA.

Outside Park County but close

• Chubb Park STL22 miles, state trust land parcel, Chaffee County
• Four Mile SWA27 miles, state wildlife area, Douglas County
• Paddock SWA27 miles, state wildlife area, Lake County
• Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area29 miles, state recreation area, Chaffee County
• Chesmore SWA (Fishing Easement)29 miles, state wildlife area, Chaffee County
• Burns Canyon STL29 miles, state trust land parcel, Chaffee County

State wildlife areas and leased trust parcels require a Colorado license or SWA Pass for visitors aged 16 or more. Check the parcel dates: many trust lands open in August or September and close at the end of February.

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.

Park County offices, towns and shops

Scott Murdoch is the area wildlife manager for CPW Area 1, the team that covers most of Park County; the area office is the first call for local questions. Licenses are also sold online, by phone and at more than 650 sales agents, not just at CPW offices.

Park County base towns

Park County also includes:

• Alma316
• Guffey

The services list shows 1 game processor, 1 taxidermist, 1 gun or outdoor store and 9 outfitters and guides in Park County. Outfitter entries are state-registered businesses with no street address on file; the rest come from locators and directories.

Processing near Park County

Park County taxidermy

Park County gear shops

Park County outfitters

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.

Park County hours on key season dates

Walk-In Access properties open an hour before sunrise and close an hour after sunset, two hours for waterfowl, deer, elk and pronghorn hunters.

Clock time: Mountain Daylight Time until Nov. 1, 2026 and from March 14, 2027.

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.

Counties near Park County

Close-by county pages and a few statewide links.

Park County closing notes

The Parks and Wildlife Commission can change dates after the brochures print, so recheck the CPW hunting pages before a Park County trip.

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