CO unit investigation/cyber scouting Questions

[Redmech]

I'm looking for some general help. I'll be rifle hunting with a buddy for elk for the first time his fall. We have been offered a tremendous amount of info from a CO resident that hunts Elk out there a lot. Let's say we decide on Unit X. I've used Colorado online hunting atlas to zoom in on a unit, I then mark that unit on my state paper map to get a feel for size and records. Google earth seems like a pain in the but to look over an entire unit. I have a few units that our CO guy has recommended that we will apply for a first Rifle tag. Once we figure a unit for sure I will buy detailed topo paper maps.

I'm trying to find places to park, trails, wether there are atv trails, what resources do you guys use online to scope out a unit?

Thanks for any and all help,
God Bless,
Ross from Missouri,

 

[Cwschwark]

Paper maps, OnXMaps, GoogleEarth. Can combine OnXMaps overlay with GE and get unit boundaries combined with GE terrain/satellite imagery

 

[wl704]

Topos will give you trails, terrain, features and detail for landnav. The state website has other resources/maps for parks, unit boundaries, land ownership, stats, etc.

I've been using these to find the units of interest then some areas of interest using the maps. I'll then switch to Google Earth or ortho views on maps.

 

[1hoda]

We have been offered a tremendous amount of info from a CO resident that hunts Elk out there a lot.

This is by far your best resource.

 

[Double Creek]

Also, use google earth to zoom in and look for other vehicles. It seems most of these google earth images were taken in the fall and many times you can see exactly where the truck camps and trailheads are.

 

[Redmech]

This is by far your best resource.

I completely agree, you have no idea how much help and info we have already received and more to come I'm sure. My buddy and I are even talking about making a three day trip to scout a bit before elk season. What's 24 hours of driving in a 72 hour period.

 

[Redmech]

Thanks for all the replies guy, I need to look into investing into Onx maps.

 

[smartweed]

If you are in an area that is covered by one, the National Geographic trail maps are also very helpful and they're waterproof good to have with you when you're out there at least in my experience. In my experience is minimal to say the least.

 

[COlineman78]

I started collecting KML files useful for Colorado cyber scouting on Google Earth. If anyone else has any to add feel free to send them to me, but there is a CalTopo layer (trailheads and trails), GMU outlines, and public land boundaries (split up by BLM district to help performance, only load the one you need to keep google earth running fast). Another good source of trail info is gaiagps.com. You can also pull down the Elk overlay from the DoW that has their estimates on summering/wintering grounds and migrations.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByxffTSPCmfSYWZkaEpIV2NPZDA

 

[Redmech]

I started collecting KML files useful for Colorado cyber scouting on Google Earth. If anyone else has any to add feel free to send them to me, but there is a CalTopo layer (trailheads and trails), GMU outlines, and public land boundaries (split up by BLM district to help performance, only load the one you need to keep google earth running fast). Another good source of trail info is gaiagps.com. You can also pull down the Elk overlay from the DoW that has their estimates on summering/wintering grounds and migrations.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByxffTSPCmfSYWZkaEpIV2NPZDA

That last link with the overlay for google earth is very cool. Thank you for that. And again thanks for all the tips and info guys.

 

[westrnwild]

Gpshuntfish.com. it's owned by Trimble. $29 a year. You can get it all then sync to app on your phone. OnX is catching up in features I will say. But the online interface is better with Trimble products... On X just advertises more. Has units and property boundaries. Can switch from topo to satellite to terrain..plus allows you to plot tracks which then can show you distance and elevation profile which is a huge dose of reality when looking at a new area.

 

[under h2o hunter]

www.Caltopo.com will give you everything in one place and it's free. You can layer several different maps at a time giving you an easy way to switch back and forth between satellite imagery plus other google map layers as well as USFS maps which will give you all of your trail and road information. You can measure distances, slope degree, fire history, and much much more. Everything is wrapped up in one nice neat place. There are several youtube videos on how to get a lot out it as well. Good luck

 

[chrislane]

I'm looking for some general help. I'll be rifle hunting with a buddy for elk for the first time his fall. We have been offered a tremendous amount of info from a CO resident that hunts Elk out there a lot. Let's say we decide on Unit X. I've used Colorado online hunting atlas to zoom in on a unit, I then mark that unit on my state paper map to get a feel for size and records. Google earth seems like a pain in the but to look over an entire unit. I have a few units that our CO guy has recommended that we will apply for a first Rifle tag. Once we figure a unit for sure I will buy detailed topo paper maps.

I'm trying to find places to park, trails, wether there are atv trails, what resources do you guys use online to scope out a unit?

Thanks for any and all help,
God Bless,
Ross from Missouri,

We're in MO doing the same thing. Keep us posted!

 

[COlineman78]

That last link with the overlay for google earth is very cool. Thank you for that. And again thanks for all the tips and info guys.

Here is the last useful overlay that I didn't have in my drive because it gets updated regularly. It is the DoW's elk species map that has an estimate of their patterns. I can't really tell you how accurate it is because the elk where we hunt are pretty stationary (the migration line on the map is only like 1/4 mile); but they obviously move a little more in the fall, so I wouldn't feel to constrained by the areas on the map.

http://cpw.state.co.us/learn/SpeciesKMZMaps/Elk.kmz

 

[Battletoad]

Here is a USFS file with trailheads, roads, and trails. And a wilderness boundary file.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-na3q7y3BQRMllfNlJsREVzd00&usp=sharing

 

[COlineman78]

Here is a USFS file with trailheads, roads, and trails. And a wilderness boundary file.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B-na3q7y3BQRMllfNlJsREVzd00&usp=sharing

Awesome, added them to my folder as well. Works great when paired with topo. I realized that my topo overlay that I had in there didn't work. I added a different one because caltopo is restricting me to 16 images at a time.

 

[COLOelkman]

Just thought I'd note one thing I didn't see anyone mention.....CO has very limited ATV access compared to other states depending on the area you choose. Most trails in the areas I hunt do not allow ATV's. They've even banned ATV's on many FS roads so you should check ahead once you decide on a unit to see whether it's worth even bringing an ATV. Reg's vary and each FS region sets the rules. We worked with the FS a lot in the White River unit and they said by far their number 1 complaint is ATV'ers violating rules, hence they just ban their use in many areas. So be sure to check ahead as it may save you the extra effort and gas to haul ATV's out. They can be nice on rough roads so it all depends on where you decide to go so I'd suggest you ask people specifically about ATV's once you pick an area.

 

[Redmech]

This thread is turning into a wealth of info. Thanks to all once again.

 

[bojangles808]

tag

 

[xziang]

Tag also. Good information and thanks. I've used google earth and also bing maps. With google earth you can also go back in time for previous images even though they might not be as good. You can usually zoom in far enough to see trails a lot of times and roads etc. The one thing it WON'T tell you is if the trail is an ATV trail but a lot of times you can see the 2 tracks if it is used a lot by ATV's. (doesn't tell you if it is a legal trail though)

I've found drop camps before, fire rings, trails etc.