Types

• The majority of Colorado elk hunting on public land takes place on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), or the Colorado Division of Wildlife. There are approximately 8.4 million surface acres managed by the BLM and 14.3 million acres managed by the USFS.
  
  

Forests

• Eleven different national forests--Arapaho, Grand Mesa, Gunnison, Pike, Rio Grande, Roosevelt, Routt, San Isabel, San Juan, Uncompahgre and White River--are throughout Colorado. The largest concentration of forests is throughout the central and western portions of the state. Roosevelt National Forest, for example, is in north-central Colorado along the Wyoming border and covers 813, 799 acres. The White River National Forest is in the northwestern corner of the state and covers 2.3 million acres. According to Keith McCafferty from "Field and Stream" magazine, the White River National Forest has heavy hunting but offers good public access with a good elk population. The combined area of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests is another popular elk-hunting destination. Together, the three forests on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains cover more than 3 million acres.
  
  

Wilderness Areas

• Colorado has 43 designated wilderness areas as of 2010. These areas are throughout the state with the highest density nearby or within the national forests. The Flat Tops Wilderness, for example, is Colorado's second largest wilderness covering 235,214 acres within the White River National Forest. The Weminuche Wilderness is the state's largest wilderness covering 488,210 acres in the San Juan National Forest.
  
  

Regulations

• Public land hunting in Colorado is subject to strict regulations. State and federal agencies carefully manage these public hunting areas to preserve the natural resources for future generations. Legal access to the public hunting areas must be from a public road. It is unlawful to access public land from private land without obtaining permission from the landowner. Most areas are open to camping, but wilderness areas, for example, are only open to foot traffic. Regulations are subject to change during the season or from year-to-year. Always consult the individual regulations for your hunting area.
  
  

Potential

• Trophy potential in Colorado, as a whole, can be difficult. However, several counties produce trophy elk and record book bulls. The Pope and Young Club is a conservation organization and record-keeping agency that tracks trophy elk. They measure the total length of the antlers with a minimum score required to enter the record books. According to "Eastman's Bowhunting Journal," the top five counties for Pope and Young elk from 1999 to 2009 were Moffat, Larimer, Mesa, Garfield and Montrose. Public hunting lands within these counties include Roosevelt National Forest (Larimer County), White River National Forest (Garfield County) and Uncompahgre National Forest (Montrose County).