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Colorado GMU 15 mule deer: terrain, access and seasons

Unit 15's terrain, access, seasons and CPW mule deer figures, with Conditions rebuilt nightly.

By Bryson, co-founder Updated

2026 season

Second rifle Oct 24–Nov 1

Every section below follows this season.

Decide

The season's licenses, draw results and harvest figures.

At a glance

Second rifle runs Oct 24–Nov 1, 2026; CPW's 2024 harvest survey put success at 39% for 725 hunters.

Size
492 sq mi
CPW unit boundary, 2025
Counties
Routt, Grand, Eagle
Elevation
6,660–10,820 ft
USGS 3DEP, 2026-10-19
Huntable public land
65%
COMaP, 2026-10-12
Second rifle license, 2026
Draw buck, doe
CPW 2026 big game brochure. Colorado has no OTC mule deer license
Success
39%
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunters
725
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunter-days per sq mi
6.8
CPW, 2024
Road miles, any vehicle
204 mi
MVUM + CDOT, open on the Oct 24 opener
Median Habitat Score
2 of 5
Ranks 77th of 156 for second rifle. Glassline, v4, 2026-10-19
Snow now
0 in
Deepest at Lynx Pass SNOTEL, 2026-10-20

In short

A mid-elevation, mostly timbered draw-only unit with more far-from-road ground than most units. Most of Unit 15 sits between 8,000 and 10,000 feet, with more conifer than anything else and shrubland next, then aspen. About two-thirds of the unit is huntable public land, and about a fifth of that ground is more than an hour and a half on foot from a drivable road. CPW's survey counted 1,460 hunters across all seasons in 2024, up from 1,314 in 2022, while second rifle success rose from 21% to 39%. Every license here is drawn, as for all Colorado mule deer.

Licenses and draw

Second rifle in Unit 15, 2026: a draw buck license (D-M-015-O2-R) and a draw doe license (D-F-015-O2-R).

  • D-M-015-O2-R buck, draw 2026 draw: drawn on choice 2 for residents and nonresidents
  • D-F-015-O2-R doe, draw 2026 draw: drawn on choice 2 for residents and nonresidents

CPW 2026 big game brochure; CPW primary-draw recap and drawn-out-at reports, 2024–2026, adult licenses. Every year of draw results is under Hunt codes and draw results.

Plan

The map, Conditions, access, hunt codes and draw results for the season, and what the research says.

Map

The interactive map (public land by manager, roads by vehicle class, burns, trailheads, SNOTEL stations, terrain and CPW's mapped ranges) needs JavaScript. The outline shows where Unit 15 sits among its neighbors.

27 26 181 231 131 15

Public data only. The plan lives in the app. Map sources

Conditions

As of Oct 21: no snow on the ground at the 4 SNOTEL stations near the unit; exceptional drought (D4) on the US Drought Monitor over 98.1% of the unit.

Rebuilt nightly; sources at the end of the page.

Item Value Data
Snow (SNOTEL) Lynx Pass (8,910 ft): 0 in deep, SWE 0.4 inRabbit Ears (9,390 ft): 0 in deep, SWE 0.1 inBuffalo Park (9,240 ft, 0.2 mi out): 0 in deep, SWE 0.4 inColumbine (9,170 ft, 1.9 mi out): 0 in deep, SWE 0.6 in 2026-10-20 2026-10-20
Drought D4, Exceptional droughtShare of the unit: D0 or worse 100% · D1 or worse 100% · D2 or worse 100% · D3 or worse 100% · D4 98.1% USDM 2026-10-13 USDM 2026-10-13
Greenness vs normal, Sep 14–29 106% of the September normal (2014–2023), MODIS 16-day composite 2026-09-29 2026-09-29

7-day forecast

NWS 7-day gridpoint forecast for 8,000–9,000 ft and 10,000–11,000 ft, issued Oct 21; the second rifle opener, Oct 24, is marked; no front named in the NWS discussion for the 7 days.

8,000–9,000 ft NWS GJT gridpoint 163,145, issued 2026-10-21. Gusts and lows: gridpoint only. No front named in the NWS discussion for the 7 days.
Wed 10/21 Thu 10/22 Fri 10/23 Sat 10/24 Opener Sun 10/25 Mon 10/26 Tue 10/27
High / low 58° 33°57° 40°56° 36°54° 31°52° 31°51° 29°52° 28°
Precip 0 in0.2 in0 in0.1 in0 in0 in0 in
Snow 0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in
Gusts 18 mph21 mph35 mph14 mph13 mph12 mph16 mph
10,000–11,000 ft NWS GJT gridpoint 164,146, issued 2026-10-21. Gusts and lows: gridpoint only. No front named in the NWS discussion for the 7 days.
Wed 10/21 Thu 10/22 Fri 10/23 Sat 10/24 Opener Sun 10/25 Mon 10/26 Tue 10/27
High / low 50° 33°49° 38°48° 33°46° 29°44° 30°43° 28°43° 26°
Precip 0 in0.2 in0 in0.1 in0 in0 in0 in
Snow 0 in0 in0 in0.1 in0.1 in0 in0 in
Gusts 21 mph24 mph37 mph15 mph14 mph13 mph18 mph

Access

Unit 15 has 18 trailheads and about 204 miles of road any vehicle may drive on the second rifle opener, plus 50 more that need high clearance. Just over two-fifths of the huntable public ground is within a 30-minute walk of a drivable road, and about a fifth is more than an hour and a half away.

Trailheads
18
COTREX, computed 2026-10-19
Road miles open, second rifle opener Oct 24–Nov 1, by the smallest vehicle allowed. MVUM plus county and state roads.
Vehicle Miles
Any vehicle
204 mi
High clearance
50 mi
4x4
0 mi
Walking time from a drivable road Share of huntable public ground by foot time from the nearest drivable road. Foot time at a standard pace on Glassline's travel model (slope, vegetation, trails), from the nearest highway, road a high-clearance vehicle can drive, or trailhead, with every road open.
Walking time Share
Within 30 min
44%
30–60 min
21.6%
60–90 min
14.2%
Over 90 min
20.1%

Hunt codes and draw results

2 hunt codes for second rifle, 2026, with CPW's primary-draw results for 2024–2026.

Hunt code Year Licenses Residents Nonresidents
1st-choice applicants Drawn Drawn out at 1st-choice applicants Drawn Drawn out at
D-M-015-O2-R buck 2024 515 192 333 Choice 2 90 136 Choice 2
2025 515 216 341 Choice 2 68 118 Choice 2
2026 515 204 328 Choice 2 85 136 Choice 2
D-F-015-O2-R doe 2024 260 157 225 Leftover 4 4 Leftover
2025 260 145 217 Choice 2 11 11 0 points
2026 285 172 243 Choice 2 3 4 Choice 2

Hunt codes from the CPW 2026 big game brochure. A code valid in several units counts every hunter in all of them.

Draw results are CPW's primary-draw recap and drawn-out-at reports, 2024–2026, adult licenses. "Drawn out at" is the lowest preference-point level that drew a license; "Leftover" means licenses remained after the draw. A code valid in several units counts every applicant for all of them. Source: CPW draw reports, 2024–2026.

What the research says for this season

Findings from published studies and agency work, as tendencies. They describe how mule deer have behaved where they were studied, not where they are in Unit 15.

  • Across Utah and Nevada, GPS-collared mule deer avoided high-severity burns at fine scale for up to 30 years after a fire.

    Mills et al., 2026 Single study

  • In a south-central Wyoming herd, mature bucks moved away from motorized routes into roadless cover during a rifle season while does stayed on their usual forage, and hunting barely changed when deer migrated.

    Rodgers et al., 2021 Single study

  • In Colorado's Gunnison Basin, GPS-collared mule deer made their fall migration from late October into early November, along corridors averaging about 17 miles.

    Kauffman et al., 2024 Single study

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Reference

Terrain, the multi-year numbers, neighbors and sources. Each opens in place.

Terrain and habitat

6,660–10,820 ft; conifer 45.3% and shrubland 18.5%; burns: Muddy Slide Fire (2021).

Unit-wide figures, computed 2026-10-19.

Elevation Acres per 1,000 ft band. USGS 3DEP.
  1. 6k–7k ft 11,170 ac
  2. 7k–8k ft 63,060 ac
  3. 8k–9k ft 109,210 ac
  4. 9k–10k ft 111,470 ac
  5. 10k–11k ft 18,370 ac
Table view
BandAcres
6,000–7,000 ft11,170 ac
7,000–8,000 ft63,060 ac
8,000–9,000 ft109,210 ac
9,000–10,000 ft111,470 ac
10,000–11,000 ft18,370 ac
Slope Share of the unit per slope class.
  1. Under 5° 17.6%
  2. 5–15° 46.3%
  3. 15–25° 27.5%
  4. 25–35° 7.3%
  5. 35°+ 1.3%
Table view
Slope classShare
Flat (under 5°)17.6%
Gentle (5–15°)46.3%
Moderate (15–25°)27.5%
Steep (25–35°)7.3%
Very steep (35° and up)1.3%
Aspect Share of non-flat ground facing each way.
  1. N 11.3%
  2. NE 10.6%
  3. E 11.2%
  4. SE 11%
  5. S 13.3%
  6. SW 16.6%
  7. W 14.8%
  8. NW 11.2%
Table view
AspectShare
North11.3%
Northeast10.6%
East11.2%
Southeast11%
South13.3%
Southwest16.6%
West14.8%
Northwest11.2%
Vegetation LF2024 existing vegetation, groups of 1% or more.
  1. Conifer 45.3%
  2. Shrubland 18.5%
  3. Aspen 17.1%
  4. Grass & meadow 5.6%
  5. Pinyon-juniper 5.2%
  6. Riparian & wetland 4.1%
  7. Farmland 2.4%
  8. Developed 1.1%
Table view
Vegetation groupShare
Conifer45.3%
Shrubland18.5%
Aspen17.1%
Grass & meadow5.6%
Pinyon-juniper5.2%
Riparian & wetland4.1%
Farmland2.4%
Developed1.1%
Item Value Data
Burned 4–10 years ago 4,100 acMuddy Slide Fire (2021), 4,100 ac NIFC since 2020 NIFC since 2020
Openings in timber 1,241 openings of 1–40 ac, from lidar covering 60.7% of the unit 2026-10-19 2026-10-19
Habitat Score, second rifle Share of 204,200 ac of huntable public ground in each score band. Median 2. Scoring v4, computed 2026-10-19.
Table view
ScoreShare of scored ground
0–0.50.1%
0.5–12.1%
1–1.514.3%
1.5–230%
2–2.534.9%
2.5–315.8%
3–3.52.5%
3.5–40.3%
4–4.50%
4.5–50%

Glassline's Habitat Score grades terrain and habitat for the season on food, water, breeding and shelter. Shown here as one distribution for the whole unit, never a map: it grades ground, not animal locations.

The numbers

CPW harvest estimates 2022–2024 for the chosen season and all seasons, the State Bridge herd (D-8) estimate for 2025 and hunter density, 2024.

Second rifle success rose from 21% to 39% between 2022 and 2024, while the season's hunters rose by about a quarter. Across all seasons, hunters rose by about a tenth between 2022 and 2024. Unit 15 is one of 5 units in CPW's State Bridge mule deer herd (DAU D-8), estimated at about 13,000 mule deer after the 2025 hunt, with 24 bucks per 100 does.

Hunters, harvest and success
Season Year Hunters Harvest Success
Second rifle 2022 581 123 21%
2023 544 190 35%
2024 725 283 39%
All seasons 2022 1,314 328 25%
2023 1,200 390 33%
2024 1,460 502 34%

CPW deer harvest reports, 2022–2024. A dash: not reported.

Item Value Data
Hunter density 14 hunter-days per sq mi, all seasons CPW 2024 CPW 2024
Herd estimate (State Bridge, D-8) 12,790 post-hunt · 12,480 in 2019 CPW 2025 CPW 2025
Buck:doe ratio 24 bucks per 100 does CPW 2025 CPW 2025

CPW harvest figures are survey estimates, not counts, and they cover the whole unit, private land included. Source: CPW harvest reports, 2022–2024.

Herd numbers cover the whole State Bridge herd unit (D-8), which also takes in Units 35, 36, 45 and 361: CPW manages herds, not units. Source: CPW post-hunt population estimate, 2025.

Neighbors

Units 27, 26, 181, 231 and 131, nearest first.

From each unit's own page; dates there.

What this page can't tell you

Closures, private ground, this year's pressure and animal locations.
  • Closures. Forest, fire and road closure orders change through the season and aren't checked here. The managing agency's current order governs.
  • Private ground. Land with no public hunting access is hunted only with the owner's permission, and the public-land share above leaves it out.
  • This year's pressure. CPW's hunter numbers run a year or more behind the season you're planning.
  • Animal locations. These are terrain, access, harvest and herd figures, and CPW's mapped ranges are range lines; none of them places an animal.

Sources

24 datasets and studies, dated where the source dates them.
  1. Deer statistics: population estimates and harvest reports — Colorado Parks and Wildlife
  2. Colorado big game hunting: brochure, seasons and hunt codes — Colorado Parks and Wildlife
  3. Game Management Unit boundaries (Hunting Atlas) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife On the map: unit boundaries, 2025.
  4. COMaP: Colorado Ownership, Management and Protection — Colorado Natural Heritage Program, 2026-10-12 On the map: public land by manager, mapped 2026-07-29.
  5. 3D Elevation Program (3DEP), 1/3 arc-second — U.S. Geological Survey On the map: shaded relief from 5 m and 10 m lidar elevation, mapped 2026-10-04; elevation bands and slope, mapped 2026-10-04.
  6. LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type (LF 2024) — U.S. Geological Survey / USDA Forest Service, LF2024
  7. Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS) fire perimeters — National Interagency Fire Center On the map: burns over 100 acres since 2020, mapped 2026-06-29.
  8. 3DEP lidar point clouds (canopy height model) — U.S. Geological Survey
  9. COTREX: Colorado Trail Explorer — Colorado Parks and Wildlife On the map: trailheads, 2024.
  10. Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) — USDA Forest Service On the map: roads by vehicle class, drawn as open on the selected season's opener, mapped 2026-08-22.
  11. Highways and major roads — Colorado Department of Transportation On the map: highways, mapped 2026-07-31.
  12. SNOTEL network: daily snow depth and snow water equivalent — USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2026-10-20 On the map: SNOTEL stations.
  13. U.S. Drought Monitor — National Drought Mitigation Center, 2026-10-13
  14. MOD13Q1 vegetation indices (NDVI), 250 m 16-day — NASA LP DAAC, 2026-09-29
  15. National Weather Service 7-day gridpoint forecast — National Weather Service, 2026-10-21
  16. National Weather Service Area Forecast Discussion (BOU, GJT, PUB) — National Weather Service, 2026-10-21
  17. Influence of well pad activity on winter habitat selection patterns of mule deer — Sawyer, Kauffman and Nielson, Journal of Wildlife Management 73(7), 2009
  18. Long-term benefits of burns for large mammal habitat undermined by large, severe fires in the American West — Mills, Leclerc, Ditmer, Steel, Stoner, Sexton and others, Ecography 2026 (read via the Northern Rockies Fire Science Network summary), 2026
  19. Sex-specific behaviors of hunted mule deer during rifle season — Rodgers, Sawyer, Mong, Stephens and Kauffman, Journal of Wildlife Management 85(2), 2021
  20. Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 4 — Kauffman, Lowrey, Beaupre and others, USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5006, 2024
  21. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fact sheet — USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado, Fact sheet, March 2000, 2000
  22. Timing of seasonal migration in mule deer: effects of climate, plant phenology, and life-history characteristics — Monteith, Bleich, Stephenson, Pierce, Conner, Klaver and Bowyer, Ecosphere 2(4), 2011
  23. Gazetteer files, places — U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 On the map: towns, 2024.
  24. Species Activity Mapping: mule deer seasonal ranges — Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 2025 On the map: CPW mapped ranges, 2025.

Build a plan for Unit 15, free.

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POIs are terrain candidates — places worth checking, not animal locations.