Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Colorado Elk - North Park area (6, 161, 16, 17, 171) Experience?

The guy in our hunting group says he's seen some good elk up in these areas. We're considering it since it is a bit closer and none of us are tied to a specific draw area this year.

Any knowledge or experience up in these parts? anything would be much appreciated.

We're up for spike camping and hoofin' the miles if need be too...

It's good country. A lot beetle kill makes it unsightly, and some of it is steep as heck, but there's a decent amount of elk and some pretty good bulls. Really good deer hunting too. Plenty of wilderness if you do want to spike it. Pressure isn't anywhere near as bad as the Flat Tops either, but it's not like you'll have any roads to yourself.

That's where I hunt every year. Elk are always there somewhere but often hard to find.
I used to have one resident herd wired, knew where they would travel every morning and how they would return every night, but logging in the area has changed their habits and I haven't figured them out again.
Green ridge and the area off Willow creek road, back toward troublesome Pass is overcrowded, lots of horse packers back in there. Sometimes when the weather turns you can catch them coming down off Parkview Mountain. On the other side of 125 around Jack Creek and Owl mountain is overworked. The BLM land out toward the reserve has lot of Elk but getting close enough for a shot is not easy. I've only had one chance under 500 yards. Small groups often work back and forth between the reserve and the Buffalo creek ranch.
If you don't mind packing in, I'd suggest getting high back in toward Parkview and the Haystack.
Your friend is correct, there are some (few) good bulls in there but it takes either luck or a lot of work.

The north side of North Park, Big Creek Lakes area can be good in the early seasons and later if the snow isn't heavy. Independence Mountain can be good in rough weather, as can the lower and flatter BLM to the south, but it tends to get crowded. Most guys in these areas don't get too far from the roads. The elk are usually a mile or so off the roads and generally unbothered. Never seen any real trophys, but plenty of critters.

taz4570:

Hunting in Jackson County is pretty frustrating unless you have a relative who owns land or you have lots of money.

I owned a second home in North Park for ten years and hunted unit 16 for seven of those years. I mostly hunted North of Muddy Pass but I scouted, hiked, camped and climbed over much of North Park while we had the "vacation" home there. During the summer there is a herd of several hundred that hangs out at the base of Rabbit Ears Peak. You can see them from highway 14 sometimes. But as soon as the first bow hunters go in there, they cross the highway onto private property. Even so we managed to take several cows and small bulls that were stragglers which didn't cross the road with all the others.

Land owners are very uncooperative in that area. One example is the Bear Mountain Ranch, where hunting costs $5,000. The Silver Spur Ranch is another that charges mega $,$$$ to hunt on there land. The Grizzly Ranch doesn't allow any hunting at all. They don't even allow rabbit hunting and they are overrun by so many of the varmints that they run through the legs of cowboys while they are putting out hay. Many of the other ranches are leased for hunting. So you are pretty much limited to public land and that's pretty heavily hunted.

It's not uncommon for a couple thousand elk to lounge on the National Wildlife Refuge in the middle of the hunting season. You can see them from highway 125 just a few hundred yards away, but you can't touch them.

I have heard that hunting is good in the wilderness area near Big Creek Lakes, Black Mountain and the headwaters of Encampment Creek. But I haven't hunted there myself.

I finally gave up and sold the house.

KC

Thanks guys - we'll see if we head up there. Sounds like there might be some places that might be less frustrating when it comes to a lot of huntable territory...

I have hunted the Zirkel a few times, years ago.Sure is up and down rugged country.Most foot hunters were wore out in three days and I used up a couple of mules too.I went in from the east side.

Packed in a few drop camps and hunters to the north end of Zerkel, for Glen Eden Livery, but did not get over excited about the elk sign. Very sure there in there, but not a lot of good reviews packing hunters out. I have not packed an elk out for them.

It would be well worth the extra travel and go up into Shield or Elk-Horn Mountains, in GMU #5 .

Hunted GMU #18 (hop and skip from units mentioned), last year archery and was very impressed with the area, will hunt it again this year!

Over 90% beetle kill, Lodge-pole, Ponderosia Spruce and Douglas Fir look like a moon-scape, but excellent grass using the water now. Very good graze for stock and elk.



Photo taken near 10K last week of 09 archery.