The landmass of the Centennial State is 40% public lands or more, and of those public lands many have been federally designated Wilderness Areas. This means that they are the most pristine, cream of the crop, public lands we as citizens have access to in the United States. Colorado Wilderness areas make excellent hunting and fishing destinations, which is why I’ve made it my quest to visit all of them. In the below chart I’ve detailed the Colorado wilderness areas, which Game Management Units (GMUs) they cover, a potential base camp city, and whether or not you can get over the counter elk tags.
Please verify when you are looking to buy your over the counter tags that they are valid in the units listed. They don’t often, but sometimes do change. The early archery OTC and rifle OTC tags have slightly different units available to them.
| Wilderness Area | Acres | GMUs | OTC Elk? | Nearest City | Blog Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Canyon of the Gunnison | 30,750 | 63, 64 | ❌ | Montrose | |
| Black Ridge Canyons | 75,439 | 40 | ❌ | Fruita / Grand Junction | |
| Buffalo Peaks | 43,410 | 49 | ❌ | Fairplay | Blog Entry |
| Byers Peak | 8,913 | 28 | ✅ | Fraser | Blog Entry |
| Cache La Poudre | 9,258 | 19 | ❌ | Rustic | Blog Entry |
| Collegiate Peaks | 168,000 | 481, 56, 561 | ❌ | Buena Vista | Blog Entry |
| Comanche Peak | 66,791 | 19, 20 | ❌ | Rustic / Estes Park | |
| Dominguez Canyon | 66,280 | 40, 41, 62 | Partial | Grand Junction | |
| Eagle’s Nest | 135,114 | 36, 37, 371 | ✅ | Dillon / Silverthorne | |
| Flat Tops | 235,214 | 12, 24, 25, 26, 231 | ✅ | Yampa / Steamboat Springs | |
| Fossil Ridge | 13,992 | 55 | ✅ | Pitkin / Gunnison | |
| Great Sand Dunes | 32,643 | 82 | ❌ | Alamosa / Crestone | |
| Greenhorn Mountain | 22,040 | 84 | ❌ | Rye | |
| Gunnison Gorge | 17,784 | 52, 63, 64 | ✅ | Hotchkiss / Montrose | |
| Holy Cross | 122,797 | 44, 45, 444 | Partial | Minturn | |
| Hermosa Creek | 37,236 | 74 | ✅ | Durango | |
| Hunter-Fryingpan | 82,026 | 47 | ✅ | Aspen | |
| Indian Peaks | 76,711 | 18, 20, 28, 29 | Partial | Allenspark / Tolland / Nederland | Blog Entry |
| James Peak | 17,015 | 38 | ✅ | Blackhawk | |
| La Garita | 129,626 | 66, 67, 68, 76 | Partial | Del Norte / Sagauche | |
| Lizard Head | 41,309 | 70, 71 | ✅ | Ophir / Rico | |
| Lost Creek | 119,790 | 501 | ❌ | Fairplay | Blog Entry |
| Maroon Bells-Snowmass | 181,535 | 43, 55, 471 | ✅ | Aspen / Crested Butte | Blog Entry |
| Mesa Verde | 52,485 | 73 | ❌ | Cortez | |
| Mt Evans | 74,401 | 39, 46 | ❌ | Grant / Idaho Springs | Blog Entry |
| Mt Massive | 30,540 | 48 | ❌ | Leadville | Blog Entry |
| Mt Sneffels | 16,566 | 65, 70 | ✅ | Ouray | |
| Mt Zirkel | 159,935 | 14, 16, 161 | ✅ | Steamboat Springs | |
| Neota | 9,924 | 171 | Partial | Walden | |
| Neversummer | 21,090 | 18,171 | ✅ | Grand Lake | |
| Platte River | 23,492 | 6 | ✅ | Rawlins, WY | |
| Powderhorn | 62,050 | 66 | ❌ | Gunnison | |
| Ptarmigan Peak | 12,760 | 37 | ✅ | Silverthorne | Blog Entry |
| Raggeds | 65,393 | 43, 55, 521 | ✅ | Crested Butte | |
| Rawah | 76,394 | 7 | ❌ | Fort Collins | |
| Rocky Mountain National Park | 265,461 | 20 | ❌ | Estes Park / Grand Lake | Blog Entry |
| Sangre De Cristo | 220,803 | 82, 83, 86, 861 | ✅ | Crestone | |
| Sarvis Creek | 47,140 | 15 | ✅ | Steamboat Springs / Kremmling | Blog Entry |
| South San Juan | 158,790 | 78, 81 | ✅ | Pagosa Springs | |
| Spanish Peaks | 19,226 | 85 | ✅ | Walsenburg | |
| Uncompahgre | 102,721 | 65, 66 | Partial | Grand Junction | |
| Vasquez Peak | 12,300 | 28 | ✅ | Winter Park | Blog Entry, Entry 2 |
| Weminuche | 499,771 | 74, 75, 751, 76, 77, 78 | Partial | South Fork | |
| West Elk | 176,412 | 53, 54 | ✅ | Gunnison |
