Steamboat Springs sits in the middle of seven game management units: 14, 15, 131, 161, 211, 214 and 231. About 15,800 hunters work them in a normal year, and Northwest Colorado carries roughly 45% of all Colorado big game hunting days. This is what we’d want to know before hunting it.
Every page is built from Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s own documents, cited at the bottom. If we can’t verify it, it isn’t here. That’s why there are no waterfowl dates yet, and why the unit guides print CPW’s herd numbers even when they’re bad news.
Know this first. Season dates through 2029 are already set in CPW’s 2025–2029 Big Game Season Structure. You don’t have to wait for next year’s brochure to plan next year’s hunt.
Season dates
2026 Colorado Big Game Season DatesDeer, elk, bear, moose, pronghorn and plains deer. Every date, with what’s open today marked live.
2027 Colorado Big Game Season DatesAlready set by CPW. Plus the rule behind each date, so you can work out 2028 and 2029 yourself.The regs people get wrong
Colorado’s Blaze Orange Rule: What Actually Counts500 square inches above the waist, plus a hat. Camo orange doesn’t count. Your pack might be covering the part that does.
Are Trail Cameras Legal in Colorado?Yes. Year round, no seasonal ban. The regulation word for word, and the drone rule next to it.Unit guides: the GMUs around Steamboat
One guide per unit, built from CPW’s herd management plans. Where it is. How the herd is doing against CPW’s own objective. How much of it you can legally walk on. Whether the tag is over the counter. Bad numbers included.
GMU 14: Bear’s Ears CountryOver the counter for 2nd and 3rd rifle. The herd is about 30% under CPW’s objective and half the winter range is private. The tag is the easy part.
GMU 161: North ParkThe only one of the seven with the herd over objective. Success still runs under 12%. That’s the story.
GMU 131 · 211 · 231: White RiverColorado’s largest elk herd by objective. Three units, 41% private, and very different odds from Bear’s Ears.
GMU 214: Bear’s EarsBetter success than its neighbors. About a quarter public land. Read the access section before you commit a season to it.
GMU 15Steamboat’s other home unit.Get each unit guide when it goes up
One email when a guide publishes. A note before each rifle season. One in February when CPW’s new brochure lands. That’s it.
Gear guides
Plan the trip, not just the hunt
Lodging in Craig fills for the whole season, and it has lost rooms in recent years. More people camp than used to. Plan for it.
Order gear before you leave home and ship it to where you’re staying. Delivery times vary by item, so order early.
