Log in Get started

Colorado GMU 81 mule deer: terrain, access and seasons

Unit 81'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 60% for 146 hunters.

Size
1,214 sq mi
CPW unit boundary, 2025
Counties
Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Rio Grande
Elevation
7,380–13,300 ft
USGS 3DEP, 2026-10-19
Huntable public land
70%
COMaP, 2026-10-12
Second rifle license, 2026
Draw buck, doe
CPW 2026 big game brochure. Colorado has no OTC mule deer license
Success
60%
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunters
146
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunter-days per sq mi
0.5
CPW, 2024
Road miles, any vehicle
600 mi
MVUM + CDOT, open on the Oct 24 opener
Median Habitat Score
1.8 of 5
Ranks 105th of 156 for second rifle. Glassline, v4, 2026-10-19
Snow now
2 in
Deepest at Elwood Pass SNOTEL, 2026-10-20

In short

A mid-elevation, half-open draw-only unit. Most of Unit 81 sits between 7,000 and 9,000 feet, with shrubland and conifer in roughly equal measure, then grass and meadow. Just over two-thirds of the unit is huntable public land, and just over a tenth of that ground is more than an hour and a half on foot from a drivable road. CPW's survey counted 585 hunters across all seasons in 2024, up from 558 in 2022, while second rifle success fell from 72% to 60%. Every license here is drawn, as for all Colorado mule deer.

Licenses and draw

Second rifle in Unit 81, 2026: a draw buck license (D-M-080-O2-R) and a draw doe license (D-F-080-O2-R).

  • D-M-080-O2-R buck, draw 2026 draw: residents drawn out at 2 points; nonresidents drawn out at 3 points
  • D-F-080-O2-R doe, draw 2026 draw: drawn out at 3 points 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 81 sits among its neighbors.

80 791 78 83 81

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

Conditions

As of Oct 21: 2 in of snow at Elwood Pass SNOTEL, the deepest reading near the unit; severe drought (D2) on the US Drought Monitor over 83.5% of the unit.

Rebuilt nightly; sources at the end of the page.

Item Value Data
Snow (SNOTEL) Cumbres Trestle (10,030 ft): 1 in deep, SWE 0.3 inLily Pond (11,070 ft): 0 in deep, SWE 0 inElwood Pass (11,680 ft, 0.2 mi out): 2 in deep, SWE 0.8 inGrayback (11,620 ft, 4.3 mi out): 0 in deep, SWE 0 in 2026-10-20 2026-10-20
Drought D2, Severe droughtShare of the unit: D0 or worse 100% · D1 or worse 100% · D2 or worse 83.5% USDM 2026-10-13 USDM 2026-10-13
Greenness vs normal, Sep 14–29 94% of the September normal (2014–2023), MODIS 16-day composite 2026-09-29 2026-09-29
Item Value Data
Seasonal road gates in the season's dates Aspen Glade Loop A (109.2B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Aspen Glade Loop A (109.2B), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Aspen Glade Loop A (109.2B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Aspen Glade Loop B (109.3B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Aspen Glade Loop B (109.3B), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Aspen Glade Loop B (109.3B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Upper Loop (110.1B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Upper Loop (110.1B), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Upper Loop (110.1B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Lower Loop (110.1C), 4x4: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Lower Loop (110.1C), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Lower Loop (110.1C), high clearance: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Lower Loop 2 (110.1C1), 4x4: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Lower Loop 2 (110.1C1), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Los Mogote Cg Lower Loop 2 (110.1C1), high clearance: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B1), 4x4: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B1), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B1), high clearance: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B2), 4x4: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B2), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B2), high clearance: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B3), 4x4: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B3), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B3), high clearance: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B4), 4x4: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B4), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B4), high clearance: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B5), 4x4: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B5), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Trujillo Meadows Cg (118.1B5), high clearance: closes Nov 1Old Highway (128), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Old Highway (128), high clearance: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.2B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.2B), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.2B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.3B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.3B), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.3B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.4B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.4B), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Cg (128.4B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Pit (128.5B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Elk Cr Pit (128.5B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg (250.6B), 4x4: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg (250.6B), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg (250.6B), high clearance: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg Spur (250.6B1), 4x4: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg Spur (250.6B1), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg Spur (250.6B1), high clearance: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg Loop (250.6B2), 4x4: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg Loop (250.6B2), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Mix Lake Cg Loop (250.6B2), high clearance: closes Nov 1Lake Fork Cg (250.6F), 4x4: closes Nov 1Lake Fork Cg (250.6F), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Lake Fork Cg (250.6F), high clearance: closes Nov 1Lake Fork Cg Spur (250.6F1), 4x4: closes Nov 1Lake Fork Cg Spur (250.6F1), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Lake Fork Cg Spur (250.6F1), high clearance: closes Nov 1Spectacle Lake 2Nd Cg Loop (250.7B1), 4x4: closes Nov 1Spectacle Lake 2Nd Cg Loop (250.7B1), any vehicle: closes Nov 1Spectacle Lake 2Nd Cg Loop (250.7B1), high clearance: closes Nov 1 MVUM MVUM

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, and the front is shaded.

8,000–9,000 ft NWS PUB gridpoint 35,21, issued 2026-10-21. Gusts and lows: gridpoint only. Front Sat 10/24: PUB: cold front Saturday (discussion of 10/21).
Wed 10/21 Thu 10/22 Fri 10/23 Sat 10/24 Front Opener Sun 10/25 Mon 10/26 Tue 10/27
High / low 63° 33°61° 41°58° 40°56° 35°51° 34°53° 30°54° 29°
Precip 0.1 in0.3 in0.1 in0.2 in0.2 in0 in0 in
Snow 0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in
Gusts 17 mph25 mph43 mph24 mph14 mph13 mph17 mph
10,000–11,000 ft NWS PUB gridpoint 32,18, issued 2026-10-21. Gusts and lows: gridpoint only. Front Sat 10/24: PUB: cold front Saturday (discussion of 10/21).
Wed 10/21 Thu 10/22 Fri 10/23 Sat 10/24 Front Opener Sun 10/25 Mon 10/26 Tue 10/27
High / low 57° 33°54° 40°50° 37°48° 32°43° 31°45° 28°46° 27°
Precip 0.1 in0.3 in0.2 in0.3 in0.3 in0 in0 in
Snow 0 in0 in0 in0 in0.2 in0 in0 in
Gusts 15 mph25 mph37 mph23 mph14 mph12 mph15 mph

Access

Unit 81 has 21 trailheads and about 600 miles of road any vehicle may drive on the second rifle opener, plus 230 more that need high clearance. About three-fifths of the huntable public ground is within a 30-minute walk of a drivable road, and just over a tenth is more than an hour and a half away.

Trailheads
21
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
600 mi
High clearance
230 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
61.8%
30–60 min
14.7%
60–90 min
8.7%
Over 90 min
14.8%

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-080-O2-R buck 2024 300 706 167 2 points 231 57 2 points
2025 300 715 160 2 points 213 55 2 points
2026 300 675 162 2 points 239 57 3 points
D-F-080-O2-R doe 2024 20 197 13 2 points 13 0 None Drawn
2025 20 109 13 2 points 5 0 None Drawn
2026 30 110 17 3 points 5 1 3 points

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 81.

  • 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

Build a plan for Unit 81, free.

Start free

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

Reference

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

Terrain and habitat

7,380–13,300 ft; shrubland 30.7% and conifer 30.2%; no mapped burns since 2020.

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

Elevation Acres per 1,000 ft band. USGS 3DEP.
  1. 7k–8k ft 249,400 ac
  2. 8k–9k ft 152,360 ac
  3. 9k–10k ft 145,030 ac
  4. 10k–11k ft 131,920 ac
  5. 11k–12k ft 83,350 ac
  6. 12k–13k ft 10,960 ac
Table view
BandAcres
7,000–8,000 ft249,400 ac
8,000–9,000 ft152,360 ac
9,000–10,000 ft145,030 ac
10,000–11,000 ft131,920 ac
11,000–12,000 ft83,350 ac
12,000–13,000 ft10,960 ac
Slope Share of the unit per slope class.
  1. Under 5° 51.2%
  2. 5–15° 26.7%
  3. 15–25° 12.7%
  4. 25–35° 6.9%
  5. 35°+ 2.5%
Table view
Slope classShare
Flat (under 5°)51.2%
Gentle (5–15°)26.7%
Moderate (15–25°)12.7%
Steep (25–35°)6.9%
Very steep (35° and up)2.5%
Aspect Share of non-flat ground facing each way.
  1. N 12.8%
  2. NE 16.4%
  3. E 15.9%
  4. SE 13.1%
  5. S 12.1%
  6. SW 11.4%
  7. W 9.3%
  8. NW 9%
Table view
AspectShare
North12.8%
Northeast16.4%
East15.9%
Southeast13.1%
South12.1%
Southwest11.4%
West9.3%
Northwest9%
Vegetation LF2024 existing vegetation, groups of 1% or more.
  1. Shrubland 30.7%
  2. Conifer 30.2%
  3. Grass & meadow 10.7%
  4. Riparian & wetland 8.2%
  5. Farmland 7.1%
  6. Aspen 6.4%
  7. Pinyon-juniper 3%
  8. Developed 1.5%
  9. Rock & scree 1%
Table view
Vegetation groupShare
Shrubland30.7%
Conifer30.2%
Grass & meadow10.7%
Riparian & wetland8.2%
Farmland7.1%
Aspen6.4%
Pinyon-juniper3%
Developed1.5%
Rock & scree1%
Item Value Data
Burns No burned acres in the unit since 2020 NIFC NIFC
Openings in timber 3,228 openings of 1–40 ac, from lidar covering 99.9% of the unit 2026-10-19 2026-10-19
Habitat Score, second rifle Share of 543,800 ac of huntable public ground in each score band. Median 1.8. Scoring v4, computed 2026-10-19.
Table view
ScoreShare of scored ground
0–0.50.2%
0.5–13.9%
1–1.520.1%
1.5–241%
2–2.524.7%
2.5–37.9%
3–3.52%
3.5–40.2%
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 Lower Rio Grande herd (D-35) estimate for 2025 and hunter density, 2024.

Second rifle success fell from 72% to 60% between 2022 and 2024, while the season's hunters held about steady. Across all seasons, hunters held about steady between 2022 and 2024. Unit 81 is one of 2 units in CPW's Lower Rio Grande mule deer herd (DAU D-35), estimated at about 7,400 mule deer after the 2025 hunt, with 30 bucks per 100 does.

Hunters, harvest and success
Season Year Hunters Harvest Success
Second rifle 2022 149 107 72%
2023 117 62 53%
2024 146 88 60%
All seasons 2022 558 301 54%
2023 516 229 44%
2024 585 295 50%

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

Item Value Data
Hunter density 2 hunter-days per sq mi, all seasons CPW 2024 CPW 2024
Herd estimate (Lower Rio Grande, D-35) 7,390 post-hunt · 5,760 in 2019 CPW 2025 CPW 2025
Buck:doe ratio 30 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 Lower Rio Grande herd unit (D-35), which also takes in Unit 80: CPW manages herds, not units. Source: CPW post-hunt population estimate, 2025.

Neighbors

Units 80, 791, 78, 83 and 79, 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

23 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. 3DEP lidar point clouds (canopy height model) — U.S. Geological Survey
  8. COTREX: Colorado Trail Explorer — Colorado Parks and Wildlife On the map: trailheads, 2024.
  9. 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.
  10. Highways and major roads — Colorado Department of Transportation On the map: highways, mapped 2026-07-31.
  11. SNOTEL network: daily snow depth and snow water equivalent — USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2026-10-20 On the map: SNOTEL stations.
  12. U.S. Drought Monitor — National Drought Mitigation Center, 2026-10-13
  13. MOD13Q1 vegetation indices (NDVI), 250 m 16-day — NASA LP DAAC, 2026-09-29
  14. National Weather Service 7-day gridpoint forecast — National Weather Service, 2026-10-21
  15. National Weather Service Area Forecast Discussion (BOU, GJT, PUB) — National Weather Service, 2026-10-21
  16. Influence of well pad activity on winter habitat selection patterns of mule deer — Sawyer, Kauffman and Nielson, Journal of Wildlife Management 73(7), 2009
  17. Sex-specific behaviors of hunted mule deer during rifle season — Rodgers, Sawyer, Mong, Stephens and Kauffman, Journal of Wildlife Management 85(2), 2021
  18. Ungulate migrations of the western United States, volume 4 — Kauffman, Lowrey, Beaupre and others, USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5006, 2024
  19. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fact sheet — USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado, Fact sheet, March 2000, 2000
  20. 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
  21. 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.
  22. Gazetteer files, places — U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 On the map: towns, 2024.
  23. Species Activity Mapping: mule deer seasonal ranges — Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 2025 On the map: CPW mapped ranges, 2025.

Build a plan for Unit 81, free.

Start free

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