Colorado Elk · GMU 161
Colorado GMU 161 covers 261,039 acres and lies 32 miles north-east of Steamboat Springs and 59 miles north-east of Craig. 71% of it is public land, mostly national forest (40%) and BLM (26%). In 2024, 2,888 people hunted elk here and took 318, a 11% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE006V1A, put up 1,240 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 403 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
27 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
40% Forest Service
261,039 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2024. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 1,240 / 403
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Nov 18–22
- Tags / Apps
- 100 / 9
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 150 / 8
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Oct 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 1,400 / 10
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 161
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE006O1M Standard | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EE006O1M Youth | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EE006O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 6 | 46% | 0 | |
| EE006O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 6 | 31% | 0 | |
| EE006P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EE006P1R Youth · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EE006V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EE006V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EE006W1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EE161O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 161 | 100% | — | |
| EE161O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 161 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF006O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006O1M Youth | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 6 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF006O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 6 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF006O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006P5R Youth · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 6 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF006V1A Standard | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 6 | — | — | |
| EF006V1A Youth | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 6 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF006W1R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006W2R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006W3R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF006W4R Standard | Elk female rifle Ranching for Wildlife GMU 6 | 100% | — | |
| EF161O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 161 | 100% | — | |
| EF161O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 161 | — | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: EE006W2R, EF006P2R, EF161P3R, EF161P4R.
Draw results: CPW 2026 Primary ELK Post Draw Report, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Standard $974.27 ($129.11 to apply) · Youth $974.27 ($129.11 to apply). Open Mar 1 – Apr 6, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2,888 | 318 | 11% |
| 2023 | 3,294 | 170 | 5% |
| 2022 | 3,176 | 297 | 9% |
| 2021 | 3,249 | 251 | 8% |
2024 split: rifle 235 (74%) from 2,032 hunters, 12%, archery 74 (23%) from 730 hunters, 10%, muzzleloader 9 (3%) from 126 hunters, 7%
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Colorado's figures come from CPW's post-season hunter survey. CPW's 2025 report dropped the per-GMU table in favour of hunt-code rows, so the newest year shown here is 2024. Source: CPW 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest; CPW 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates; CPW 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest.
The Ground
| National Forest | 105,408 ac | 40% |
| Private | 75,635 ac | 29% |
| BLM | 66,608 ac | 26% |
| State land | 13,277 ac | 5% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 42 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 8 ac | <1% |
Source: Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 10
- CPW 2026 Primary ELK Post Draw Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 2 CCR 406-0 Chapter W-0 General… fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 Big Game Hunting brochure fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 web page fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2021 Statewide Elk Harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- CPW 2026 GMU Boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
Report an error on this page
We don't take applications: check Colorado Parks and Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Colorado Parks and Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Colorado elk hunts