Colorado GMU 682 Elk Hunting
Saguache County, southwest Colorado · 255 sq mi
This unit offers no unit-wide bull or either-sex elk hunt open across the unit. Public applicants can draw antlerless tags here. Private-land-only and Ranching for Wildlife licenses are drawn by Colorado residents through the public draw, but neither is unit-wide: a private-land-only license needs permission on private ground, and a Ranching for Wildlife license is valid on the ranches enrolled in that program.
What hunting GMU 682 is like
GMU 682 is a small, low-elevation unit in Saguache County covering 255 square miles. The terrain is gentle and rolling throughout, with elevations ranging from 7,500 feet to 8,000 feet. The country is characterized by open forest and meadow suitable for walking; topography presents no obstacles to a hunter on foot.
Land ownership strongly constrains hunting opportunity here. BLM and State Wildlife Areas comprise approximately 4.1 percent of the unit, roughly 10 square miles, and represent the only ground a hunter can reliably access for public hunting. An additional 8.4 percent is Colorado State Trust Land; parcels enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program may be hunted, but enrollment is not universal and access depends on which tracts are enrolled. The remainder is split between private land at approximately 85 percent and unclassified ownership at 2.2 percent. Legal access, not terrain, is the primary limiting factor for hunters in this unit.
Elk occupy much of the unit year-round. CPW maps Resident Population across 56 percent of the unit, indicating year-round use, while Summer Range covers 72 percent and Summer Concentration covers 70 percent. A small Winter Range layer at 1 percent does not mean elk leave the unit; that acreage is already accounted for within the Resident Population layer. Summer Concentration ground, covering 70 percent of the unit, indicates elk cluster heavily during the summer months, though the concentration mapping does not specify where within the unit this clustering occurs.
The unit offers two public seasons, both antlerless-only. The Archery season runs September 2 through September 30, spanning Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases. The Muzzleloader season runs September 12 through September 20, occurring during Primary Rut. Overall hunter pressure is low. These seasons offer antlerless opportunity; the unit does not offer a unit-wide bull or either-sex hunt to public applicants.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 7,500–8,000 ft, typically around 7,600 ft
- Steepness
- Gentle — mean slope 0.3°
- Slope breakdown
- 100% gentle · 0% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~10 sq mi, plus ~21 sq mi of State Trust Land where access depends on enrollment
Land & access
About 4% of GMU 682 is public land a hunter can count on — BLM and State Wildlife Areas. A further 8% is State Trust Land, which is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it.
- BLM3%
- State Wildlife Area<1%
- State Trust Land8%
- Unclassified ownership2%
- Private85%
Colorado State Trust Land is open to public hunting only where it is enrolled in CPW's Public Access Program. Check current enrollment before planning around it.
“Ownership unclassified” means the source dataset does not record an owner for that acreage. It is not known to be public or private.
Where elk live in the unit
Colorado Parks & Wildlife maps elk seasonal ranges statewide. This is how much of GMU 682 each range covers — the single best clue to whether elk are here in September, in November, or only passing through. The layers overlap, so they do not add to 100%.
- Overall Range100%the full extent of range CPW maps for elk — near 100% on most units, and not a statement about when elk are present
- Summer Range72%used in summer
- Summer Concentration70%where elk bunch up in summer
- Resident Population56%the only layer that means year-round use
- Winter Range1%used in winter
Elk seasons & weapons (2026)
| Season | Dates | Tags offered |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | September 2 – September 30 | Antlerless |
| Muzzleloader | September 12 – September 20 | Antlerless |
Dates span every hunt code of that type in this unit and can differ by code. Confirm the current brochure with Colorado Parks & Wildlife before applying.
GMU 682 elk hunting FAQ
How much huntable ground is actually available to a public hunter on foot?
Approximately 4.1 percent of the unit—roughly 10 square miles of BLM and State Wildlife Areas—is dependably open to public hunting. An additional 8.4 percent is Colorado State Trust Land, though access there depends on enrollment in CPW's Public Access Program, which is not universal across all parcels. Legal access is the primary constraint here, not terrain walkability.
Is this a realistic unit for someone with no preference points?
The unit offers only antlerless-only tags to public applicants, with no bull or either-sex opportunity available. Draw difficulty for antlerless hunts is not stated as easy; applicants should check current draw statistics. Overall hunter pressure on the unit is low.
When are elk most active during these seasons?
The Archery season (September 2–30) brackets Rut Onset and Primary Rut, with the most intense rut activity occurring from September 11 onward. The Muzzleloader season (September 12–20) falls entirely within Primary Rut, the peak breeding period.
Do elk leave this unit for winter?
CPW maps a Resident Population layer covering 56 percent of the unit, indicating year-round occupancy over that area. The small Winter Range share does not mean elk vacate the unit; that acreage is already counted within the year-round population layer.
Where should a hunter focus effort in summer if concentrated elk are the target?
Summer Concentration covers 70 percent of the unit, showing that elk cluster heavily during summer months. However, the mapping does not identify the specific locations within the unit where this clustering occurs—a hunter must locate concentrated elk through scouting and terrain knowledge.
What makes access challenging despite gentle terrain?
While the landscape is easy to walk, only about 4.1 percent of the unit is open to public hunting via BLM and State Wildlife Areas. The remainder is largely private land (85 percent), making legal access—not terrain difficulty—the real limiting factor for public hunters.
Data sources & methodology
- Colorado Parks & Wildlife — Big Game hunting — seasons, weapons, hunt codes and license types
- CPW — Primary Draw rules — how preference points and the hybrid draw work
- CPW — Elk statistics, draw recap and Drawn Out At reports — the point levels behind the draw-difficulty bands
- CPW — Secondary Draw — licenses remaining after the primary draw
- CPW — Maps and GIS (Species Activity Mapping) — elk seasonal range
- CPW — State Trust Land Finder — which State Trust acreage is enrolled and open to public hunting
- Federal and state land-ownership datasets — land ownership and access
- NOAA climate normals — fall weather
Draw difficulty is a qualitative band, not published odds — the note under the summary above states exactly which hunt code it describes. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories: publicly owned is not the same as open to hunting, and State Trust Land is huntable only where CPW has enrolled it. Unit data last updated August 27, 2026.