GMU 36 GMU 36 — Eagle/Grand Co.
OTC elk and quality mule deer climbing from the Colorado River to the crest of the Gore Range
Central Colorado — Eagle & Grand Counties (Gore Range / Eagle's Nest Wilderness, White River NF) · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
276
sq mi
Public land
65%
approx.
Elevation
6,800–13,200
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
GMU 36 runs from the Colorado River between State Bridge and Inspiration Point up to the Gore Range divide, bounded by the Eagle River and Interstate 70 on the south and Colorado 131 on the west. It spans a huge vertical range — from sage-and-pinyon river country to the alpine crest of the Gore Range and the western edge of the Eagle's Nest Wilderness — and offers a general over-the-counter elk hunt alongside limited-draw mule deer. A small pocket of pronghorn exists in the lower sage but is incidental. Because bull elk can be hunted OTC in the second and third rifle seasons, this west-of-I-25 unit sees real hunting pressure.
Terrain
One of the biggest elevation spans of any Eagle-area unit: from roughly 6,800 feet along the Colorado and Eagle river corridors up through timbered benches and drainages to the alpine crest of the Gore Range, with peaks and ridgelines above 13,000 feet along the divide and the Eagle's Nest Wilderness boundary.
Cover: Sagebrush and pinyon-juniper on the low river benches, thickening into Gambel oak, aspen, and lodgepole and spruce-fir on the mid and upper slopes, then krummholz, tundra, and rock along the high Gore Range crest.
Landmarks: Gore Range divide · Eagle's Nest Wilderness · Piney Lake · Red Dirt Creek · Dowd Junction · State Bridge · Colorado River · Eagle River
Access
The high country toward the Gore Range and the Eagle's Nest Wilderness is almost entirely White River National Forest and offers deep public access, but the lower unit is a checkerboard: private ranches line the Colorado and Eagle river valleys and the country around Wolcott, State Bridge, and McCoy, and reaching the public high ground often means finding the right forest access road. Colorado State Trust lands are NOT open to hunting unless enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program. The Eagle's Nest Wilderness is non-motorized — plan to hike or use stock.
Managers: USFS White River NF, BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office, private ranch
Access points: Piney Lake / Piney River Road from Vail · Red Dirt Creek and Muddy Pass area · Forest roads off Colorado 131 and the Colorado River corridor · Dowd Junction / I-70 west access
Species notes
Rocky Mountain Elk
common opportunityA general over-the-counter elk unit. Bull tags are available OTC for the second and third rifle seasons, and elk use the timbered benches and drainages between the river winter range and the high Gore Range. Success is modest (recently around 11%) and pressure is real, but opportunity is broad.
- →Push into the dark timber and wilderness-edge basins below the Gore Range crest where elk retreat from road pressure.
- →Work the aspen-conifer transitions and north-facing pockets; still-hunt slowly through bedding cover during midday.
- →Early archery near the rut and the later, snow-driven rifle seasons both outproduce the crowded pinch points near the highways.
Mule Deer
common qualityA limited-draw deer opportunity that rewards points with good bucks off the oak and pinyon benches and the aspen fringes. Recent buck success ran near one in three. Bucks summer high toward the Gore Range and drop to the river benches with weather.
- →Glass the Gambel oak and pinyon-juniper benches and aspen edges at the light ends of the day.
- →Hunt higher early in the season, then follow deer down to the lower winter-range benches as snow accumulates.
- →Use high vantage points and quality optics to pick apart the broken mesa and drainage country.
Pronghorn
limited opportunityA very thin, incidental pronghorn presence in the lower sage country — a token number of limited tags and tiny harvest. This is a bonus opportunity tied to the open flats, not a reason to draw the unit.
- →Focus on the open sage-grassland benches on the lower, drier end of the unit near the river corridors.
- →Glass long and use terrain to close distance in wide-open country.
- →Treat it as an incidental tag paired with scouting for deer and elk.
Pro tips
- →Use the wilderness-edge and dark-timber basins below the Gore Range to escape OTC rifle crowds near the highways.
- →Scout access carefully — much of the public high country is reached through a maze of forest roads above private valley ranches.
- →For deer, build points and hunt the oak-and-pinyon benches for a quality buck rather than chasing the OTC elk crowd.
- →Late-season snow concentrates animals on the lower benches near the Colorado and Eagle rivers.
Watch out for
- !Private ranch land lines the river valleys and the Wolcott / State Bridge / McCoy country and can block routes to the public high ground.
- !Colorado State Trust lands are closed to hunting unless enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program.
- !The Eagle's Nest Wilderness is non-motorized — no vehicles or bikes past the boundary.
- !OTC elk seasons draw crowds near the accessible pinch points; get deep to find quality. Watch high-road snow closures.
Logistics
The Eagle River valley towns — Edwards, Avon, and Vail, plus Wolcott at the Colorado 131 junction — offer full services, fuel, and lodging along I-70. Access to the Gore Range high country runs up rough forest roads such as the Piney River Road out of Vail; high-clearance 4WD is recommended and early snow can close the upper roads. Wilderness hunts require backpack or stock support.
Nearest towns: Wolcott, Edwards, Avon, Vail, State Bridge, McCoy
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Colorado sources:
Research sources: CPW — Big Game Hunting · CPW — Over-the-Counter (OTC) Licenses · CPW GMU boundary and geodata · USFS — White River National Forest
FAQ
- How big is GMU 36 in Colorado?
- GMU 36 (GMU 36 — Eagle/Grand Co.) covers about 276 square miles, ranging from roughly 6,800 to 13,200 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in GMU 36?
- Approximately 65% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: USFS White River NF, BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office, private ranch. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for GMU 36?
- Rocky Mountain Elk, Mule Deer, Pronghorn. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Colorado agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put GMU 36 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.