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Colorado GMU 214 elk: terrain, access and seasons

Unit 214's terrain, access, seasons and CPW elk 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 8% for 96 hunters.

Size
231 sq mi
CPW unit boundary, 2025
County
Routt
Elevation
6,450–10,870 ft
USGS 3DEP, 2026-10-19
Huntable public land
22%
COMaP, 2026-10-12
Second rifle license, 2026
OTC bull · Draw cow
CPW 2026 big game brochure
Success
8%
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunters
96
CPW harvest survey, 2024
Hunter-days per sq mi
1.5
CPW, 2024
Road miles, any vehicle
133 mi
MVUM + CDOT, open on the Oct 24 opener
Median Habitat Score
2.7 of 5
Ranks 22nd of 128 for second rifle. Glassline, v20, 2026-10-19
Snow now
0 in
Deepest at Elk River SNOTEL, 2026-10-20

In short

A mid-elevation, half-open OTC unit with more far-from-road ground than most units. Most of Unit 214 sits between 7,000 and 9,000 feet, with more shrubland than anything else and aspen next. About a fifth of the unit is huntable public land, about a quarter of it over 90 minutes' walk from a road. CPW's survey counted 1,016 hunters across all seasons in 2024, while second rifle success fell from 17% to 8%. Archery sells over-the-counter either-sex licenses to residents only; second and third rifle sell over-the-counter bull licenses; the other seasons are draw only.

Licenses and draw

Second rifle in Unit 214, 2026: an over-the-counter bull license (E-M-000-U2-R), a draw cow license (E-F-005-O2-R) and a draw cow license (E-F-214-O2-R).

  • E-M-000-U2-R bull, over the counter
  • E-F-005-O2-R cow, draw 2026 draw: drawn on choice 2 for residents and nonresidents
  • E-F-214-O2-R cow, draw 2026 draw: licenses left over 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 214 sits among its neighbors.

441 14 131 5 13 214

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

Conditions

As of Oct 21: no snow on the ground at the 3 SNOTEL stations near the unit; extreme drought (D3) on the US Drought Monitor over 26.1% of the unit.

Rebuilt nightly; sources at the end of the page.

Item Value Data
Snow (SNOTEL) Elk River (8,710 ft, 0.1 mi out): 0 in deep, SWE 0.2 inElkhead Divide (8,780 ft, 1.4 mi out): 0 in deep, SWE 0 inDry Lake (8,240 ft, 4.3 mi out): 0 in deep, SWE 0.1 in 2026-10-20 2026-10-20
Drought D3, Extreme droughtShare of the unit: D0 or worse 100% · D1 or worse 100% · D2 or worse 100% · D3 or worse 26.1% USDM 2026-10-13 USDM 2026-10-13
Greenness vs normal, Sep 14–29 99% 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 Meaden Peak (42.1), 4x4: closes Dec 2Meaden Peak (42.1), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Meaden Peak (42.1), high clearance: closes Dec 2Sand Mt (480.1), 4x4: closes Dec 2Sand Mt (480.1), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Sand Mt (480.1), high clearance: closes Dec 2Sand Mtn Trail (480.1A), 4x4: closes Dec 2Sand Mtn Trail (480.1A), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Sand Mtn Trail (480.1A), high clearance: closes Dec 2Moss Quarry (480.1B), 4x4: closes Dec 2Moss Quarry (480.1B), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Moss Quarry (480.1B), high clearance: closes Dec 2Floyd Creek (481.1), 4x4: closes Dec 2Floyd Creek (481.1), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Floyd Creek (481.1), high clearance: closes Dec 2South Milk Creek (482.1), 4x4: closes Dec 2South Milk Creek (482.1), any vehicle: closes Dec 2South Milk Creek (482.1), high clearance: closes Dec 2Sandelin (482.1A), 4x4: closes Dec 2Sandelin (482.1A), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Sandelin (482.1A), high clearance: closes Dec 2Hahns Peak Lake Cg (486.1), 4x4: closes Dec 2Hahns Peak Lake Cg (486.1), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Hahns Peak Lake Cg (486.1), high clearance: closes Dec 2Hahns Peak Lake (486.1A), 4x4: closes Dec 2Hahns Peak Lake (486.1A), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Hahns Peak Lake (486.1A), high clearance: closes Dec 2Box Willow (487.1), 4x4: closes Dec 2Box Willow (487.1), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Box Willow (487.1), high clearance: closes Dec 2Micro (487.1A), 4x4: closes Dec 2Micro (487.1A), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Micro (487.1A), high clearance: closes Dec 2Willow Way (487.1B), 4x4: closes Dec 2Willow Way (487.1B), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Willow Way (487.1B), high clearance: closes Dec 2Iron Mountain (488.1), 4x4: closes Dec 2Iron Mountain (488.1), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Iron Mountain (488.1), high clearance: closes Dec 2Transplant (488.1B), 4x4: closes Dec 2Transplant (488.1B), any vehicle: closes Dec 2Transplant (488.1B), high clearance: closes Dec 2 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; no front named in the NWS discussion for the 7 days.

8,000–9,000 ft NWS GJT gridpoint 156,169, 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 60° 31°58° 42°55° 36°54° 32°51° 32°51° 31°50° 30°
Precip 0 in0.2 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in
Snow 0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in
Gusts 15 mph14 mph31 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph15 mph
10,000–11,000 ft NWS GJT gridpoint 155,173, 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°48° 42°46° 35°42° 33°41° 32°42° 32°40° 30°
Precip 0 in0.2 in0 in0 in0 in0 in0 in
Snow 0 in0 in0 in0.1 in0 in0 in0 in
Gusts 18 mph21 mph36 mph10 mph10 mph10 mph17 mph

Access

Unit 214 has 7 trailheads and about 133 miles of road any vehicle may drive on the second rifle opener, plus 38 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 quarter is more than an hour and a half away.

Trailheads
7
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
133 mi
High clearance
38 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
43.3%
30–60 min
15.8%
60–90 min
15.2%
Over 90 min
25.7%

Hunt codes and draw results

3 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
E-M-000-U2-R bull Over the counter: no draw
E-F-005-O2-R cow 2024 10 15 6 1 point 9 2 2 points
2025 50 31 31 0 points 13 13 0 points
2026 100 52 69 Choice 2 26 27 Choice 2
E-F-214-O2-R cow 2024 10 8 7 0 points 4 1 1 point
2025 50 9 10 Leftover 14 18 Leftover
2026 120 16 18 Leftover 13 19 Leftover

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 elk have behaved where they were studied, not where they are in Unit 214.

  • In Montana GPS work, rifle-season elk tended to hold about a mile or more from open motorized routes, in blocks of 5,000 acres or more.

    Ranglack et al., 2017 Established finding

  • At Oregon's Starkey Experimental Forest, bulls chose more canopy and kept away from open roads by day during hunts, and the shift was stronger in rifle seasons than in archery.

    Smith et al., 2022 Single study

  • In Montana, collared elk shifted onto ground closed to public hunting once rifle seasons opened, ahead of security cover on public land.

    Proffitt et al., 2013 Established finding

Read next: Colorado second rifle elk, 2026 · How to e-scout a Colorado elk unit

Build a plan for Unit 214, free.

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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

6,450–10,870 ft; shrubland 38.2% and aspen 23.5%; no mapped burns since 2020.

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

Elevation Acres per 1,000 ft band. USGS 3DEP.
  1. 6k–7k ft 31,740 ac
  2. 7k–8k ft 62,180 ac
  3. 8k–9k ft 41,690 ac
  4. 9k–10k ft 10,500 ac
  5. 10k–11k ft 630 ac
Table view
BandAcres
6,000–7,000 ft31,740 ac
7,000–8,000 ft62,180 ac
8,000–9,000 ft41,690 ac
9,000–10,000 ft10,500 ac
10,000–11,000 ft630 ac
Slope Share of the unit per slope class.
  1. Under 5° 25%
  2. 5–15° 43.5%
  3. 15–25° 22.9%
  4. 25–35° 7.2%
  5. 35°+ 1.4%
Table view
Slope classShare
Flat (under 5°)25%
Gentle (5–15°)43.5%
Moderate (15–25°)22.9%
Steep (25–35°)7.2%
Very steep (35° and up)1.4%
Aspect Share of non-flat ground facing each way.
  1. N 10.8%
  2. NE 13.2%
  3. E 16.1%
  4. SE 16%
  5. S 15.5%
  6. SW 12.1%
  7. W 8.8%
  8. NW 7.4%
Table view
AspectShare
North10.8%
Northeast13.2%
East16.1%
Southeast16%
South15.5%
Southwest12.1%
West8.8%
Northwest7.4%
Vegetation LF2024 existing vegetation, groups of 1% or more.
  1. Shrubland 38.2%
  2. Aspen 23.5%
  3. Conifer 17.1%
  4. Farmland 6.1%
  5. Riparian & wetland 5.9%
  6. Grass & meadow 4.9%
  7. Developed 2%
  8. Pinyon-juniper 1.2%
  9. Water 1.1%
Table view
Vegetation groupShare
Shrubland38.2%
Aspen23.5%
Conifer17.1%
Farmland6.1%
Riparian & wetland5.9%
Grass & meadow4.9%
Developed2%
Pinyon-juniper1.2%
Water1.1%
Item Value Data
Burns No burned acres in the unit since 2020 NIFC NIFC
Openings in timber 315 openings of 1–40 ac, from lidar covering 22.1% of the unit 2026-10-19 2026-10-19
Habitat Score, second rifle Share of 32,700 ac of huntable public ground in each score band. Median 2.7. Scoring v20, computed 2026-10-19.
Table view
ScoreShare of scored ground
0–0.50.8%
0.5–16.7%
1–1.58.7%
1.5–214.6%
2–2.514.9%
2.5–321.5%
3–3.530.7%
3.5–42.1%
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 Bears Ears herd (E-2) estimate for 2025 and hunter density, 2024.

Second rifle success fell from 17% to 8% between 2022 and 2024, while the season's hunters fell by about two-thirds. Across all seasons, hunters fell by about two-fifths between 2022 and 2024. Unit 214 is one of 7 units in CPW's Bears Ears herd unit (E-2), estimated at about 17,000 elk after the 2025 hunt, with 22 bulls per 100 cows.

Hunters, harvest and success
Season Year Hunters Harvest Success
Second rifle 2022 293 48 17%
2023 120 11 9%
2024 96 8 8%
All seasons 2022 1,691 562 33%
2023 1,159 306 26%
2024 1,016 265 26%

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

Item Value Data
Hunter density 22 hunter-days per sq mi, all seasons CPW 2024 CPW 2024
Herd estimate (Bears Ears, E-2) 17,070 post-hunt · 22,280 in 2019 CPW 2025 CPW 2025
Bull:cow ratio 22 bulls per 100 cows 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 Bears Ears herd unit (E-2), which also takes in Units 3, 4, 5, 14, 301 and 441: CPW manages herds, not units. Source: CPW post-hunt population estimate, 2025.

Neighbors

Units 441, 14, 131, 5 and 13, 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. Finding elk is still your job.

Sources

23 datasets and studies, dated where the source dates them.
  1. Elk 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. Effects of bull age on conception dates and pregnancy rates of cow elk — Noyes, Johnson, Bryant, Findholt and Thomas, Journal of Wildlife Management 60(3), 1996
  17. Security areas for elk during archery and rifle hunting seasons — Ranglack, Proffitt, Canfield, Gude, Rotella and Garrott, Journal of Wildlife Management 81(5), 2017
  18. Behavioral responses of male elk to hunting risk — Smith, Spitz, Brown, Wisdom, Rowland, Forrester, Johnson and Clark, Journal of Wildlife Management 86, 2022
  19. Effects of hunter access and habitat security on elk habitat selection in landscapes with a public and private land matrix — Proffitt, Gude, Hamlin and Messer, Journal of Wildlife Management 77(3), 2013
  20. Plasticity in elk migration timing is a response to changing environmental conditions — Rickbeil, Merkle, Anderson, Atwood, Beckmann, Cole, Courtemanch, Dewey, Gustine, Kauffman, McWhirter, Mong, Proffitt, White and Middleton, Global Change Biology 25, 2019
  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: elk seasonal ranges — Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 2025 On the map: CPW mapped ranges, 2025.

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