Routt County for Hunters

Routt County units, point rules and CWD

Seasons here follow 12 game management units, not the county line; GMU 14 is the biggest piece at near 17%. GMUs 214, 131 lie wholly inside the county, so any license for them is a Routt County hunt. Unit edges are roads, drainages and divides named in the brochure text; the percentages here are GIS measures, and the written description decides where a unit stops. Part of the county is plains country (GMU 131); the other units sit against the mountains.

CPW lists GMUs 14, 15, 5, 13, 214, 441, 131, 26 and 4 more as antler point restriction units; count four points or measure the brow tine before shooting. CWD sampling is compulsory for chosen rifle elk codes in GMUs 14, 15, 5, 13, 214, 441, 131, 26 and 4 more, and voluntary for deer. Mountain lion hunting runs November 23, 2026 to March 31, 2027 in harvest-limit groups; the county touches group 2 (limit 75) and group 3 (limit 36), and each group closes when its limit is reached. Leave sheds on public ground west of I-25 until May 1. OTC spring gobbler hunting is open in GMUs 14, 5, 13, 214, 441, 131, 4, 231 and 1 more. Spring turkey season is closed in GMU 26.

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.

Routt County acres by owner

The overlay finds about 705,514 public acres here, or 46.7% of the land area; the top category is forest Service land. Do not assume State Land Board land is open: only the CPW-leased parcels are. Acres with a star are left out of the public figure; hunting there depends on park, base or lease rules. Acreages come from overlaying map polygons and will not match agency totals exactly.

Routt County public ground, largest first

Also in the county: Jimmy Dunn Gulch STL, Grieve Ranch SWA (Conservation Easement), Indian Run SWA, Yampa River STL, Stokes Gulch STL, Steamboat Lake State Park, Flanders Ranch SWA (Hunting & Fishing Easement), Elkhead Reservoir State Park, Coal Bank Gulch STL, Yampa River SWA, Stagecoach State Park, Maynard Gulch STL, Adams SWA, Cottonwood Creek STL, Moody Creek STL, Moonhill STL, Morrison Creek STL, Sage Creek STL, Blacktail (Conservation Easement), Fly Gulch STL, Sleeping Giant STL, Grassy Creek STL, Sarvis Creek SWA, Chuck Lewis SWA, Rock Creek SWA, Hereford Haven SWA, Pearl Lake State Park.

Next-county ground for Routt County

• Rabbit Ears STL24 miles, state trust land parcel, Jackson County
• Windy Ridge STL25 miles, state trust land parcel, Grand County
• Red Canyon STL27 miles, state trust land parcel, Jackson County
• Jeffway Gulch STL28 miles, state trust land parcel, Moffat County
• Milk Creek STL29 miles, state trust land parcel, Grand County
• Middle Park STL29 miles, state trust land parcel, Grand County

Carry a Colorado hunting or fishing license, or buy the SWA Pass, before stepping onto an SWA or trust parcel if you are 16 or older. Dates and restrictions vary property by property; the land pages carry the CPW wording.

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.

Routt County area office, outfitters and stores

CPW Area 10 is led by area wildlife manager Kris Middledorf, which covers Routt County. Lion hunters phone CPW within 48 hours of a kill and present the head and hide within five days.

Routt County towns, units and land

Remaining towns and CDPs, Routt County:

• Hayden1,920
• Oak Creek856
• Phippsburg

Within Routt County the directory holds 1 taxidermist, 3 gun and outdoor stores and 32 outfitters and guides and lacks game processors. Listings mix DORA outfitter records with chain locators and Yellow Pages; ring before you go.

Routt County meat cutters

Taxidermy around Routt County

Routt County gun counters

Registered outfitters, Routt County

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.

Routt County legal shooting light

The sun rises about twenty minutes later at Grand Junction than at Burlington, so use the times worked out for Routt County.

Lion hunting hours match big game.

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 Routt County

Nearest county guides first, then statewide pages worth a look.

Routt County trip reminders

This page covers the 2026-27 seasons only; where it and the CPW brochures differ, the brochures govern.

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