Colorado Units Overrun by Recreation?

[cnelk]

Probably a good idea not to hunt anywhere near where the Rainbow Family has been

 

[Kurts86]

Strava heat maps are a very quick way to assess where and the intensity of running, biking and hiking.

You should be googling perspective trail heads for trail reviews, pictures and # of ratings. Remember hunting is one of the few outdoor activities that values secrecy of location information. Most of other outdoor pursuits broadcast the details of their trips extensively.

 

[Dakota_Rookie]

Anything east of i25 will probably fit the bill of avoiding crowds.

Thats where i was thinking of heading so i appreciate the confirmation!


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[RockAndSage]

It’s a thing, but only if you let be a thing.

^^^ This really hits it on the head.

I can't speak on elk, but for mule deer, they adapt their behavior. The same buck that would bolt over a saddle if living in a remote area would just stay low and frozen with a truck driving by its home 200yds away, if trucks, dirtbikes, etc, regularly drive that road.

That's why it's so important to get our boots out into likely areas bucks will feed in, bed in, or travel to and from those places through, especially where people frequent, over just relying on glassing first. Tracks don't lie.

 

[Wapiti66]

It depends. The mtn biker illegally riding on wilderness trails probably didn’t bother any game. But the hippie ladies big ass barking dogs that woke up the entire mountain side when I walked a couple hundred yards by her tent at sunup probably did. The elk I was after were silent all day after that. I don’t think most mulies care, but I don’t believe elk have much patience for it. They may not entirely leave the area, but they seem to stay very quiet and nocturnal when they sense any human presence. If I’m elk hunting and the area is well known for the hiking sightseeing crowd I believe it’s worth relocating to a less desirable area to the granola crowd. This is based on sep archery elk

 

[LongWayAround]

Thats where i was thinking of heading so i appreciate the confirmation!


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Eastern Colorado blows. Nobody is doing anything out there. If there's a lake people will fish. If it's one of the river units, expect a lot of duck hunters. Otherwise, it's not really a heavy recreational area.

My experience is in the units along or north of I-70. Maybe it's different in the southern half, but I doubt it.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Get 4 hours away from the front range and recreation is a fraction of what the rest of the state is…

 

[supersonic_g&t]

I have decided to follow the rule of “rough roads is where I want to go”. It’s beautiful country, but not a legitimate place to hunt while the weather is still nice.

^This is some good advice. Easy access for other hunters is probably the bigger risk.

We found a great spot with a rough road to the top of a ridge and we'd drop down the back side for some good bow hunting. They graded the road and last time we went four hunting camps were setup up top. There isn't much public before you hit private there so that spot was dead. The private still holds a bunch of elk, but it doesn't seem like they venture onto the public much anymore.

 

[Poser]

I regularly do see climbers/peak baggers off trail and in what most would describe as random areas where I would not expect to encounter anyone who wasn’t looking for animals.