Anybody interested in talking to me about hunting Colorado unit 161 over the counter bow tag. I have look at this area while hunting area 5 and it looks like i will be hunting this area because I did not get drawn for area 5. I would be willing to trade some salmon fishing in Michigan just for valuable time saving information. Fishing trip will be supplied by me.

I hunted Area 161 near Pearl for three years. There are very few Elk up there but while I have not hunted during bow season, others up there tell me it is the best of the Elk seasons. Out of Pearl, take CO Rd 6A toward Big Creek Lake and Mt Zirkel. Do not go to the lake. CO Rd 6A becomes Co 3. Go 1.5 miles to the top of the hill there. You can park your truck on the right side, there are two small roads that you can park on, but you can not drive on them past just getting off the road. Follow that road into the woods about 3/4 mile and you will come to a large area of Dark Timber.( Now dead from the pine beetle.) Follow that for a couple hundred yards to the North and you will go down a hill and to three small lakes, about three to four acres each. That is the only area I found small concentrations of Elk in. BTW the success rates for all of 161 is around 9%. I hope this helps, but if it were me, I would try closer to Rifle in an area that does not require a draw. Good Luck.

superdon, you will now by accompanied by 600 other bowhunters...

all after the 13 head of elk in there.....

13 head is about right. In three years of hunting this area, we harvested one Elk. You just have to want to hunt this area. There are much better areas.

It's beautiful country in there (if you ignore the beetle kill) and you can hunt in peace without seeing many other hunters so if you're hell bent on hunting there PM me and I can send you in the right direction, because i do like salmon fishing....

Dinner Park

I believe there is a limited-tag muzzleloader hunt going on during September there. Check into that as part of your research. There will be a [bleep] ton of people there if that's the case.

Hey wildcat,

I am not hell bent but have hunted area 5 a couple of time and harvested a rag bull 2 years ago in 5. I didn't get drawn for 5 this year but my cousin, who lives in Denver did so I have to hunt in 161. I have looked at it from the divide but we did not go down into it. I could see the three or four little lakes, forgot their names. Would like to no more and yes salmon fishing on Lake Michigan is awesome and were been doing it for 40 years. You can call me at 616-886-6820 or email me quick at [email protected].

Thanks for the suggestion everyone. Was going to hunt the northern section 161 because my cousin is hunting area 5 which I normally hunt but did not get drawn so its over the counter license for me. Salmon fishing is still on for anybody interested as we have been doing that for 40 years.

Good Luck. The area that I told you about is real and in far northern 161. There are very few Elk up there but after three years of hard hunting that area was where we found them. Since I don't hunt there any more, I had nothing to lose in telling you about it.

BTW, I've learned my lesson about telling where good spots are in an area I currently hunt. The past two years an area that had only a few hunters in it before, now is loaded. One of the guys that went up there told me in a PM that he got a double up there last year. The area I'm telling you about in 161 is real and worth your time to find it and hunt it. I'm only sorry I didn't give you that information in a PM. I wish you the best success.

FYI -- There are some forest service roads in 161 that loop up into Wyoming. It is not uncommon for the WDW to set up a trap with an elk decoy on the Wyoming side of the border.

Know where you are or it could get very expensive.

I love beetle. Made for the best hunting ever in our way overgrown forests.

Unit 161 is a beautiful place, but heavily hunted for the relatively small number of elk I found there in 6 years of hunting. The northern part of Unit 161 is very scenic to humans and great for peaceful walks, but not well inhabited by elk. The SW and SE parts of the unit are probably your best bet. Look at the couple state properties in both those areas. Expect to find many more hunters than elk and you must be willing to hike in at least 2 miles from the roads.

As others have said, there are much better elk hunting units.