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Colorado › Hunting seasons › GMUs › GMU 18

Hunt unit in Grand County

GMU 18 hunt codes, dates and success

Every license that is good in this 645-square-mile unit, where it sits in Grand County, and how hunters did here in 2024.

Every codeTake and successHunting gear
645Square miles
50Hunt codes
662Elk taken 2024
1Counties

Photo: Kimon Berlin (CC BY-SA 2.0)

GMU 18 on the map of counties

The CPW Northwest Region looks after GMU 18, 645 square miles of mountain country. The biggest share, 100%, sits inside Grand County.

The whole unit is inside one county, so county rules such as Grand County land access apply throughout.

In countyArea (sq mi)% of GMU% of county
Grand County644.7100%35%

For population work CPW lumps GMU 18 into D-9, E-8, A-37, M-3, B-16 and L-NW (deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bear and lion).

645Square miles
412,980Acres
D-9Deer DAU
E-8Elk DAU
A-37Pronghorn DAU
M-3Moose DAU
B-16Bear DAU
L-NWLion DAU

Area, county overlap and DAU codes from the CPW GMU and DAU GIS layers (overlay with Census county lines); boundary text in the 2026 Big Game brochure GMU descriptions; checked November 5, 2026.

Unit rules for GMU 18

YesElk APR
SelectedElk CWD test
3Lion group
36Lion limit
OTCSpring turkey
OTCFall turkey
NoLynx area
MountainTerrain
4OTC elk rows
  • Elk hunters here follow the 4-point rule: four points on one side, or a brow tine 5 inches long or longer.
  • If your rifle elk code is shaded in the brochure, the head from GMU 18 goes to CPW for free chronic wasting disease testing.
  • Lion hunters in GMU 18 share a cap of 36 with the rest of group 3.
  • The turkey brochure lists GMU 18 this way: spring turkey is OTC, and fall turkey is OTC.
  • GMU 18 is on 4 OTC elk lists, so no draw is needed for those.

From the elk antler point list, the 2026 mandatory elk CWD GMUs, the 2026-2027 Mountain Lion brochure, the 2026 Turkey brochure and the Small Game brochure lynx rules (CPW); checked November 5, 2026. Guides: antler point GMUs, CWD testing, lion groups, turkey units.

GMU 18 openers and closers

Here are the 53 CPW season groupings that list GMU 18 among their valid units (18 elk, 10 deer, 8 pronghorn, 6 moose, 8 black bear, 1 mountain lion and 2 wild turkey).

AnimalSeasonWhenLicenseCode count
Elk
Rifle cow
private land only
Sep 1–Jan 31Private only33
Elk
Archery cow
limited
nonresident only
Sep 2–30Limited10
Elk
Archery cow
OTC residents
Sep 2–30OTC—
Elk
Archery either sex
limited
nonresident only
Sep 2–30Limited24
Elk
Archery either sex
OTC residents
Sep 2–30OTC—
Elk
Muzzleloader cow
limited
Sep 12–20Limited69
Elk
Muzzleloader either sex
limited
Sep 12–20Limited19
Elk
Rifle cow
limited
Oct 14–18Limited48
Elk
Rifle either sex
limited
Oct 14–18Limited16
Elk
Rifle either sex
private land only
Oct 14–18Private only19
Elk
Rifle cow
limited
Oct 24–Nov 1Limited89
Elk
Second rifle bull
OTC
Oct 24–Nov 1OTC—
Elk
Rifle cow
limited
Nov 7–15Limited93
Elk
Third rifle bull
OTC
Nov 7–15OTC—
Elk
Rifle cow
limited
Nov 18–22Limited90
Elk
Rifle either sex
limited
Nov 18–22Limited26
Elk
Rifle either sex
private land only
Nov 18–22Private only13
Elk
Rifle cow
limited
late season
Nov 28–Dec 6Limited4
Deer
Archery either sex
limited
Sep 2–30Limited29
Deer
Muzzleloader buck
limited
Sep 12–20Limited62
Deer
Muzzleloader doe
limited
Sep 12–20Limited34
Deer
Rifle buck
limited
Oct 24–Nov 1Limited71
Deer
Rifle doe
limited
Oct 24–Nov 1Limited34
Deer
Rifle either sex
private land only
Oct 24–Nov 1Private only11
Deer
Rifle buck
limited
Nov 7–15Limited71
Deer
Rifle doe
limited
Nov 7–15Limited35
Deer
Rifle either sex
private land only
Nov 7–15Private only11
Deer
Rifle buck
limited
Nov 18–22Limited59
Pronghorn
Archery buck
limited
Aug 15–Sep 20Limited24
Pronghorn
Archery doe
limited
Sep 1–20Limited11
Pronghorn
Muzzleloader buck
limited
Sep 21–29Limited35
Pronghorn
Muzzleloader doe
limited
Sep 21–29Limited24
Pronghorn
Rifle buck
private land only
Sep 26–Oct 18Private only2
Pronghorn
Rifle doe
private land only
Sep 26–Oct 18Private only2
Pronghorn
Rifle buck
limited
Oct 3–11Limited66
Pronghorn
Rifle doe
limited
Oct 3–11Limited48
Moose
Archery cow
limited
Sep 12–30Limited36
Moose
Muzzleloader cow
limited
Sep 12–20Limited36
Moose
Rifle cow
limited
Oct 1–14Limited36
Moose
Season choice (archery/muzzleloader/rifle) bull
limited
Oct 1–14Limited19
Moose
Season choice (archery/muzzleloader/rifle) bull
limited
special/split season
Oct 1–14Limited3
Moose
Rifle cow
limited
late season
Oct 14–Nov 22Limited10
Black bear
Archery either sex
limited
Sep 2–30Limited35
Black bear
Archery either sex
OTC
Sep 2–30OTC15
Black bear
Rifle either sex
limited
Sep 2–30Limited34
Black bear
Rifle either sex
private land only
Sep 2–30Private only20
Black bear
Muzzleloader either sex
limited
Sep 12–20Limited35
Black bear
Muzzleloader either sex
OTC
Sep 12–20OTC15
Black bear
Rifle either sex
private land only
Oct 1–Nov 22Private only15
Black bear
Rifle either sex
OTC
Oct 14–Nov 22OTC12
Mountain lion
Lion season
Nov 23–Mar 31Limited—
Wild turkey
Spring
OTC (2026)
Apr 11–May 31OTC—
Wild turkey
Fall
OTC
Sep 1–Oct 4OTC—

Season rows from the 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure (deer p. 30, elk p. 45, pronghorn p. 63, moose p. 68, bear p. 72), the Turkey brochure and the Mountain Lion brochure; checked November 5, 2026.

GMU 18 license codes and dates

Codes that name GMU 18, grouped by species and weapon: 18 elk, 10 deer, 8 pronghorn, 6 moose and 8 black bear, 50 in all.

Of these, 7 are OTC, 9 private-land-only and 0 RFW; 0 carried the 6+ point marker.

Elk archery, 4

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
E-E-000-U1-AEither sexOTC
Sep 2–30
A
1,076 of 9,541
E-E-018-V1-AEither sexNonresident only
Sep 2–30
A
7 of 311
E-F-000-U1-ACowOTC
Sep 2–30
B
50 of 872
E-F-018-V1-ACowNonresident only
Sep 2–30
B—

Elk muzzleloader, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
E-E-018-O1-MEither sexLimited
Sep 12–20
A
38 of 350
E-F-018-O1-MCowLimited
Sep 12–20
B
2 of 49

Elk rifle, 12

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
E-F-018-P5-RCowPrivate land only
Sep 1–Jan 31
B
2 of 10
E-E-018-O1-REither sexLimited
Oct 14–18
A
93 of 555
E-E-018-P1-REither sexPrivate land only
Oct 14–18
A
19 of 35
E-F-018-O1-RCowLimited
Oct 14–18
B
6 of 68
E-F-018-O2-RCowLimited
Oct 24–Nov 1
B
10 of 271
E-M-000-U2-RBullOTC
Oct 24–Nov 1
A
4,558 of 23,668
E-F-018-O3-RCowLimited
Nov 7–15
B
32 of 348
E-M-000-U3-RBullOTC
Nov 7–15
A
2,096 of 17,371
E-E-018-O4-REither sexLimited
Nov 18–22
A
62 of 579
E-E-018-P4-REither sexPrivate land only
Nov 18–22
A
2 of 17
E-F-018-O4-RCowLimited
Nov 18–22
B
64 of 379
E-F-018-L1-RCowLimited, late
Nov 28–Dec 6
B
0 of 6

Deer archery, 1

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
D-E-018-O1-AEither sexLimited
Sep 2–30
A
60 of 457

Deer muzzleloader, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
D-F-018-O1-MDoeLimited
Sep 12–20
B
0 of 7
D-M-018-O1-MBuckLimited
Sep 12–20
A
76 of 410

Deer rifle, 7

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
D-E-018-P2-REither sexPrivate land only
Oct 24–Nov 1
A
40 of 72
D-F-018-O2-RDoeLimited
Oct 24–Nov 1
B
6 of 9
D-M-018-O2-RBuckLimited
Oct 24–Nov 1
A
295 of 948
D-E-018-P3-REither sexPrivate land only
Nov 7–15
A
25 of 46
D-F-018-O3-RDoeLimited
Nov 7–15
B
4 of 9
D-M-018-O3-RBuckLimited
Nov 7–15
A
326 of 772
D-M-018-O4-RBuckLimited
Nov 18–22
A
72 of 145

Pronghorn archery, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
A-M-018-O1-ABuckLimited
Aug 15–Sep 20
A
4 of 28
A-F-018-O1-ADoeLimited
Sep 1–20
A
0 of 32

Pronghorn muzzleloader, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
A-F-018-O1-MDoeLimited
Sep 21–29
A
6 of 40
A-M-018-O1-MBuckLimited
Sep 21–29
A
17 of 45

Pronghorn rifle, 4

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
A-F-018-P5-RDoePrivate land only
Sep 26–Oct 18
B
20 of 35
A-M-018-P5-RBuckPrivate land only
Sep 26–Oct 18
B
18 of 33
A-F-018-O1-RDoeLimited
Oct 3–11
A
25 of 108
A-M-018-O1-RBuckLimited
Oct 3–11
A
21 of 56

Moose archery, 1

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
M-F-018-O1-ACowLimited
Sep 12–30
A
3 of 3

Moose muzzleloader, 1

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
M-F-018-O1-MCowLimited
Sep 12–20
A
2 of 2

Moose rifle, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
M-F-018-O1-RCowLimited
Oct 1–14
A
3 of 5
M-F-018-L1-RCowLimited, late
Oct 14–18
Oct 24–Nov 1
Nov 7–15
Nov 18–22
A
8 of 10

Moose season choice, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
M-M-018-O1-XBullLimited
Oct 1–14
A
10 of 13
M-M-018-S1-XBullLimited, split
Oct 1–14
A
0 of 1

Black bear archery, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
B-E-015-O1-AEither sexLimited
Sep 2–30
A
4 taken
B-E-015-U1-AEither sexOTC
Sep 2–30
A
17 taken

Black bear muzzleloader, 2

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
B-E-015-O1-MEither sexLimited
Sep 12–20
A
0 taken
B-E-015-U1-MEither sexOTC
Sep 12–20
A
7 taken

Black bear rifle, 4

Hunt codeSexLicenseSeasonList2025 result
B-E-015-O1-REither sexLimited
Sep 2–30
A
29 taken
B-E-018-P1-REither sexPrivate land only
Sep 2–30
B
9 taken
B-E-018-P5-REither sexPrivate land only
Oct 1–Nov 22
B
0 taken
B-E-015-U5-REither sexOTC
Oct 14–18
Oct 24–Nov 1
Nov 7–15
Nov 18–22
A
9 taken

Read the 2025 column as a rough guide to success on that license, unit lines aside.

Hunt codes from the 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure tables (PDF pp. 29-77) and the 2026 Turkey brochure; List A/B/C rules on p. 26; 2025 code estimates from CPW harvest reports (elk, deer, pronghorn, bear, moose); checked November 5, 2026. How the draw works.

How hunters did in GMU 18

The 2024 elk estimate for GMU 18 is 662 animals from 4,997 hunters, a 13% success rate over 24,655 hunter days.

The deer take was 110: 102 bucks, 8 does and 0 fawns.

17 pronghorn came out of GMU 18 in 2024.

CPW counts 10 bears from GMU 18 in 2024.

The elk herd for units 18, 181 was estimated at 3,220 after the 2025 hunts.

By code, unit 18 elk licenses yielded 337 in 2025 (13 codes).

Lion hunters took 30 lions (20 males, 10 females) in the 2025-26 group that held GMU 18.

GMU 18: what hunters took in 20240200400600800mule/whitetail: 110110mule/whitetailelk: 662662elkantelope: 1717antelopeblack bear: 1010black bear
GameTakenBy sex and ageHuntersSuccessDays
Deer110102/8/060918%2,709
Elk662370/269/234,99713%24,655
Pronghorn179/8/013812%425
Black bear106/4——37

Whole-herd numbers, 2025

SpeciesDAUHarvestHuntersSuccessPost-hunt pop.Males per 100
DeerD-091,0843,44931%10,70031
ElkE-085055,7289%3,22029
PronghornA-3713350326%69071

2024 “All Manners of Take” tables by GMU: deer, elk, pronghorn, bear; 2025 DAU estimates and 2025 post-hunt populations (elk, deer, pronghorn); 2025 lion harvest (CPW). Survey estimates; checked November 5, 2026.

Public ground across GMU 18

9 public land records on this site list GMU 18: 3 state wildlife areas and 2 state trust land parcels among them.

Some land records cover many GMUs at once; their pages give the local access notes.

State wildlife areas, 3

Ranger districts, 2

State trust land, 2

BLM offices, 1

National forests, 1

Land records from CPW, State Land Board, USFS, BLM and other agency sources (each land page cites its own); GMU tags from those records; checked November 5, 2026. All Colorado public land.

GMU 18 towns and neighbouring units

3 nearby towns and 0 inside make good starting points for GMU 18.

Next-door units, ranked by distance from the middle of GMU 18, with code counts and 2024 harvest.

GMUCountiesSquare milesElk (2024)Deer (2024)Codes
GMU 28
Grand
6631778847
GMU 181
Grand
1822054348
GMU 27
Grand
1971135347
GMU 361
Grand
83576537
GMU 37
Grand
52820011248
GMU 15
Grand
49240750246
GMU 14
Grand
4091513445

Towns from Census places with their GMU and GMUs within 10 miles; neighbours from the CPW GMU layer county overlay; checked November 5, 2026. All town pages · all GMUs.

Legal light in GMU 18

The CPW brochures print Denver sunrise and sunset tables with town offsets; the times for GMU 18 here are worked out with the NOAA solar formula for its own location.

DayMarkerSun upSun downElk and deerTurkey and ducks
Aug 15, 2026Pronghorn archery opens6:15 a.m.8:04 p.m.5:45 a.m. to 8:34 p.m.5:45 a.m. to 8:04 p.m.
Sep 2, 2026Archery day one6:32 a.m.7:37 p.m.6:02 a.m. to 8:07 p.m.6:02 a.m. to 7:37 p.m.
Sep 12, 2026Muzzleloader opens6:41 a.m.7:20 p.m.6:11 a.m. to 7:50 p.m.6:11 a.m. to 7:20 p.m.
Oct 3, 2026Duck season opens7:01 a.m.6:45 p.m.6:31 a.m. to 7:15 p.m.6:31 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.
Oct 24, 2026Second rifle opens7:23 a.m.6:14 p.m.6:53 a.m. to 6:44 p.m.6:53 a.m. to 6:14 p.m.
Nov 23, 2026Lion season opens6:59 a.m.4:44 p.m.6:29 a.m. to 5:14 p.m.6:29 a.m. to 4:44 p.m.
Dec 21, 2026Shortest day7:23 a.m.4:42 p.m.6:53 a.m. to 5:12 p.m.6:53 a.m. to 4:42 p.m.

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.

Other units by GMU 18

Four neighbours by distance and three Colorado-wide pages.

GMU 28

Elk 2024: 177

GMU 181

Elk 2024: 205

GMU 27

Elk 2024: 113

GMU 361

Elk 2024: 57

All GMUsElkAntler point GMUs
Moose wading in a willow-lined river below forested mountains in Grand County
Moose wading in a willow-lined river below forested mountains in Grand CountyPhoto: Dave Herholz (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Bull elk bedded on a hilltop watching over his herd on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park
Bull elk bedded on a hilltop watching over his herd on the west side of Rocky Mountain National ParkPhoto: Andrew Russell (CC BY 2.0)
Flock of Canada geese in a green wetland pasture
Flock of Canada geese in a green wetland pasturePhoto: Don Graham (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Questions on GMU 18

Does GMU 18 have state trust land?

2 state trust land parcels list GMU 18.

What herd unit includes GMU 18?

D-9, E-8, A-37, M-3, B-16 and L-NW. The 2025 post-hunt estimate for units 18, 181 is 3,220.

Where can I stay near GMU 18?

Granby, Kremmling and Hot Sulphur Springs, within 10 miles.

Does GMU 18 reach into Grand County?

Mostly Grand County (645 sq mi), plus no other county.

How many GMU 18 codes are limited?

43 of 50; 9 of those are private-land-only.

Does GMU 18 have antler point restrictions?

Yes. Bulls need 4 points on one side or a 5-inch brow tine.

What are the CWD rules for GMU 18?

Mandatory for some rifle elk codes, voluntary for everything else.

Is GMU 18 open to lion hunting?

Yes, in harvest-limit group 3.

What turkey licenses work in GMU 18?

0 limited turkey codes include GMU 18; beyond those, spring turkey is OTC and fall turkey is OTC.

Is GMU 18 good for elk?

In 2024, 4,997 hunters took 662, 13% success.

Answers drawn from the CPW sources cited on this page; checked November 5, 2026.