Seasons

• Colorado big-game seasons are structured on a five-year plan. For 2010, archery elk, west of Interstate 25, opens on August 28 and closes on September 26. The muzzleloader season is from September 11 to 19. There are four rifle seasons, the first taking place between October 16 and 20, the second from October 23 to 31, the third from November 6 to 14 and the final season from November 17 to 21.
  
  

Licenses

• Every resident or nonresident must purchase a habitat stamp and elk license before hunting elk in Colorado. Licenses and habitat stamps can be purchased online at the Colorado Division of Wildlife's (CDOW) website, any district CDOW office or license vendor. As of the 2010 hunting season, residents will pay $49 for an elk license and nonresidents must pay $544 for a bull or either-sex license and $354 for a cow license. Habitat stamps cost $5 and must be purchased to validate the elk license.
  
  

Regulations

• Regulations are determined by the CDOW to control the harvest of elk. Legal shooting hours are a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset. The bag limit for nonresidents is one elk per year. Any hunter born on or after January 1, 1949, must have a valid hunter or bowhunter education number. Legal bulls must have antlers at least 5inches in length. Cows or antlerless elk must have no antlers or antlers less than 5 inches in length.
  
  

Hunting Areas

• Meeker is located at the intersection of four GMUs (Game Management Units). GMU 23 is located to the southeast, 22 to the southwest, 11 to the northwest and 211 to the northeast. Other GMUs near Meeker include 12, 24 and 33 that encompass public hunting land. See Resources for a map.
  
  

Public Hunting

• Meeker has several public hunting opportunities nearby, including the White River National Forest, Flat Tops Wilderness and the White River Valley. The Flat Tops Wilderness--Colorado's second largest wilderness--contains 235,214 acres with an elevation of about 10,000 feet. There are about 160 miles of trails for hunters to pack in for elk.