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State park · 2026-27 seasons
Eldorado Canyon State Park hunting, unit by unit
State park in Boulder County and Jefferson County, 1,441 acres.
Photo: Jeff Ruane (CC BY 2.0)
Getting to Eldorado Canyon State Park
Eldorado Canyon State Park by the numbers
Eldorado Canyon State Park takes in 1,441 acres according to the 2026 Colorado State Recreation Lands brochure. Size places it 18th out of 31 state parks with hunting in Colorado. Northeast Region, Area 2, Boulder S district: that is the CPW chain for Eldorado Canyon State Park.
Hunting opportunities on record: Big game.
From the agency page, 2026 Recreation Lands brochure, p. 60 (Colorado Parks and Wildlife); retrieved 2026-11-04, checked November 5, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Eldorado Canyon State Park
What Eldorado Canyon State Park allows and forbids
Eldorado Canyon State Park needs a state park entrance pass, daily or annual, for every vehicle. Parks regulation #100.b.3 allows hunting only in areas the Division designates, during hunting seasons.
Hunting-related park rules:
- During the period beginning the Tuesday after Labor Day and continuing through March 31, only hand-held bows and shotguns loaded with birdshot may be used for hunting during hunting seasons in the western portion of the parks known as crescent meadows.
- During the period beginning the Tuesday after Labor Day and continuing through the Friday prior to Memorial Day, only primitive weapons (hand-held bow and muzzle-loading rifles) may be used to hunt big game animals in the western portion of Eldorado Canyon State Park known as Crescent Meadows.
From the agency source, 2026 State Park Land and Water Regulations; checked November 5, 2026.
Directions and maps for Eldorado Canyon State Park
Eldorado Canyon State Park is plotted at 39.9296, -105.3289 on the statewide map.
point from CPW Managed Properties (public access only) layer, CPWAdminData (1 polygon) (polygon centroid of the largest part); checked November 5, 2026.
GMUs and unit rules on Eldorado Canyon State Park
Big game licenses here are sold by unit, and Eldorado Canyon State Park touches 1 GMU: GMU 29.
These GMUs sit outside the elk antler point restriction. For lions, the units fall in harvest-limit group 4.
CPW publishes harvest by GMU, not by property. In 2024, GMU 29 led these units with 191 deer taken.
GMU overlay from the CPW Big Game GMU layer; unit rules from the 2026 Big Game brochure; 2024 elk harvest by GMU, 2024 deer harvest by GMU, 2024 pronghorn harvest by GMU, 2024 bear harvest by GMU; checked November 5, 2026.
Eldorado Canyon State Park season calendar by GMU
The units of Eldorado Canyon State Park carry 30 big game seasons this year. You can buy an OTC license for wild turkey here; other rows are limited. We dropped 4 rows valid only on private land or enrolled ranches. Spring 2027 turkey dates are not published yet, so the spring row is last year's.
| Species | Season | Sex | Kind | From | To | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk | Archery | either sex | Limited draw | Sep 2, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Muzzleloader | bull | Limited draw | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Muzzleloader | cow | Limited draw | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | bull | Limited draw | Oct 14, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | cow | Limited draw | Oct 14, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | bull | Limited draw | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | cow | Limited draw | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | bull | Limited draw | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | cow | Limited draw | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | bull | Limited draw | Nov 18, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | 29 |
| Elk | Rifle | cow | Limited draw | Nov 18, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Archery | either sex | Limited draw | Sep 2, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Muzzleloader | buck | Limited draw | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Muzzleloader | doe | Limited draw | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Rifle | buck | Limited draw | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Rifle | doe | Limited draw | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Rifle | buck | Limited draw | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Rifle | doe | Limited draw | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Rifle | buck | Limited draw | Nov 18, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | 29 |
| Deer | Rifle | doe | Limited draw | Nov 18, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | 29 |
| Moose | Archery | cow | Limited draw | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | 29 |
| Moose | Muzzleloader | cow | Limited draw | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | 29 |
| Moose | Rifle | cow | Limited draw | Oct 1, 2026 | Oct 14, 2026 | 29 |
| Black bear | Archery | either sex | Limited draw | Sep 2, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | 29 |
| Black bear | Rifle | either sex | Limited draw | Sep 2, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | 29 |
| Black bear | Muzzleloader | either sex | Limited draw | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | 29 |
| Black bear | Rifle | either sex | Limited draw | Oct 14, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | 29 |
| Mountain lion | All methods | – | Group harvest limit | Nov 23, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | 29 |
| Wild turkey | Spring | – | OTC | Apr 11, 2026 | May 31, 2026 | 29 |
| Wild turkey | Fall | – | OTC | Sep 1, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 | 29 |
Season rows and hunt codes from the 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure, the 2026 Small Game and Waterfowl brochure, the Turkey brochure and the Mountain Lion brochure; property access dates still apply; checked November 5, 2026.
Mapped neighbours of Eldorado Canyon State Park
Ralston Creek SWA sits 7 miles south of the Eldorado Canyon State Park point. Nearby public places include 3 SWAs, 1 wildlife refuge and 1 state park. Neighbours closed to hunting: Sawhill Ponds State Wildlife Area (CPW lists no hunting) and St. Vrain State Park (no hunting designation).
| Name | Kind | Size (ac) | County | Away | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralston Creek SWA | SWA | 2,100 | Jefferson | 7 miles | south |
| Rocky Flats NWR | Refuge | 6,560 | Jefferson | 7 miles | east |
| Golden Gate Canyon State Park | State park | 11,895 | Gilpin | 8 miles | southwest |
| Beaver Brook STL | State trust land | 480 | Clear Creek | 17 miles | south |
| Bergen Peak SWA | SWA | 1,093 | Clear Creek | 19 miles | south |
| Mount Evans SWA | SWA | 3,438 | Clear Creek | 24 miles | southwest |
Point: CPW Managed Properties (public access only) layer, CPWAdminData (1 polygon) (polygon centroid of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Closed places from lands.json closed rows. Statewide public land map.
Eldorado Canyon State Park: nearby towns, shops and the CPW office
Measured in a straight line, Boulder is 8 miles from Eldorado Canyon State Park. For a full-size grocery run, Arvada (121,873 people) is the pick. You can reach the Denver CPW office in about 20 miles of straight line.
| Town | County | 2024 population | Away | Which way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder | Boulder | 106,803 | 8 miles | northeast |
| Superior | Boulder | 13,654 | 9 miles | east |
| Arvada | Jefferson | 121,873 | 12 miles | southeast |
| Fairmount | Jefferson | – | 13 miles | southeast |
| Lafayette | Boulder | 30,587 | 13 miles | east |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); CPW offices from the CPW Contact Us page; businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 5, 2026.
Clock times for hunting Eldorado Canyon State Park
Big game light near Eldorado Canyon State Park starts 30 minutes before sunrise and ends 30 minutes after sunset; turkeys, small game and ducks end at sunset.
| Day | Marker | Sun up | Sun down | Elk and deer | Turkey and ducks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:29 a.m. | 7:34 p.m. | 5:59 a.m. to 8:04 p.m. | 5:59 a.m. to 7:34 p.m. |
| Sep 12, 2026 | Muzzleloader opens | 6:39 a.m. | 7:18 p.m. | 6:09 a.m. to 7:48 p.m. | 6:09 a.m. to 7:18 p.m. |
| Oct 3, 2026 | Duck season opens | 6:58 a.m. | 6:43 p.m. | 6:28 a.m. to 7:13 p.m. | 6:28 a.m. to 6:43 p.m. |
| Oct 24, 2026 | Second rifle opens | 7:21 a.m. | 6:11 p.m. | 6:51 a.m. to 6:41 p.m. | 6:51 a.m. to 6:11 p.m. |
| Nov 23, 2026 | Lion season opens | 6:56 a.m. | 4:41 p.m. | 6:26 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. | 6:26 a.m. to 4:41 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:20 a.m. | 4:39 p.m. | 6:50 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. | 6:50 a.m. to 4:39 p.m. |
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.
Landscape and game around Eldorado Canyon State Park
Range stops on the way to Eldorado Canyon State Park
Devils Nose Target Range (free) is 23 miles from Eldorado Canyon State Park. Beside it sit the closest club ranges inside 30 miles.
From the CPW Shooting Range Finder, ranges’ own pages and directory listings, checked November 5, 2026.
Questions about Eldorado Canyon State Park, answered
What does the bait law mean on Eldorado Canyon State Park?
You may not hunt big game over salt, minerals, grain, animal parts or other food, whether or not you placed it.
When does big game light begin and end on Eldorado Canyon State Park?
Big game 6:07 a.m. to 5:24 p.m. on November 7, 2026 at the Boulder County centre; turkey, small game and ducks stop at sunset.
Which agency page should I check for Eldorado Canyon State Park?
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife page has the current rules.
What does it take to hunt Eldorado Canyon State Park legally?
Entry pass plus license; check the park rules on this page for check-in or reservations.
What acreage does the record give for Eldorado Canyon State Park?
All told it takes in 1,441 acres.
What part of Colorado holds Eldorado Canyon State Park?
Look in Boulder County and Jefferson County.
What hunt code unit applies to Eldorado Canyon State Park?
It overlaps GMU 29.
What game can be hunted on Eldorado Canyon State Park?
The agency lists big game.
Is elk on Eldorado Canyon State Park draw only?
No. All 11 elk rows for these units are limited licenses from the draw.
Which special elk rules cover Eldorado Canyon State Park?
Outside the mandatory CWD elk units; deer testing is not required anywhere in 2026. Antler points do not matter for legality here.
Which community sits nearest to Eldorado Canyon State Park?
Boulder (8 miles).
Where do I report trouble on Eldorado Canyon State Park?
CPW Denver Office in Denver, (303) 291-7227 (20 miles away); CPW offices close on state holidays.
Must I wear blaze orange or pink on Eldorado Canyon State Park?
Yes for firearm big game: 500 square inches of fluorescent orange or pink on the upper body and a matching head covering. Camo orange does not count.
Plan the Eldorado Canyon State Park trip
Property rules, closures and reservation needs on Eldorado Canyon State Park can change mid-season; posted signs and the agency page have the last word.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4; seasons from the 2026 Colorado Big Game brochure. Checked November 5, 2026.
Other photos on this page: U.S. Department of Agriculture (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Bob Denaro (CC BY 2.0); Max and Dee Bernt (CC BY 2.0).