Colorado Elk — GMU 181
Colorado GMU 181 covers 116,458 acres and lies 28 miles south-east of Steamboat Springs and 52 miles north-east of Gypsum. 62% of it is public land, mostly BLM (32%) and national forest (17%). In 2024, 1,462 people hunted elk here and took 205 — 14% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 271 tags here for 137 first-choice applicants.
Tags (2026):1,653
Nonresident share:capped at 25%
Applicants:546
Hunter success (2024):14%
Public land:62%
Size:116,458 acres
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in GMU 181, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
EE018O1M elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] 109 tags · 117 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard80% Likely draw 0% as 2nd choice
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EE018O1M elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] 5 tags · 6 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth60% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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EE018O1R elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] 111 tags · 217 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard38% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
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EE018O1R elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] 10 tags · 7 applicants · needed 0 pts · Youth25% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 40% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 33% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 64% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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EE018V1A elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 18 [18, 181] 271 tags · 137 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 31% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed
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— Undersubscribed
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 7% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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0% Point builder
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100% Undersubscribed 25% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed
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— Cut level
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EF181P5R elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 181 [181] 10 tags · 1 applicants · needed 2 pts · Standard0% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE018O1M ↗ elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] Muzzleloader | 80% Likely draw | 0% | 0 | 109 / 117 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EE018O1M ↗ elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] Muzzleloader | 60% Real chance | 0% | 0 steady since 2024 | 5 / 6 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EE018O1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] Rifle | 38% Long shot | 0% | 0 | 111 / 217 | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE018O1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] Rifle | 25% Long shot | 0% | 0 steady since 2025 | 10 / 7 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE018O4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 18 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 40% | — | 37 / 31 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EE018O4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 18 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 33% | — | 3 / 3 undersubscribed | Youth | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EE018P1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 181] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 64% | — | 238 / 6 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE018P1R ↗ elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 181] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 130 / 0 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EE018P4R ↗ elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 18 [18, 181] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 259 / 0 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EE018V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 18 [18, 181] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | 31% | — | 271 / 137 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EE018V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 18 [18, 181] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | — | — | 132 / 2 undersubscribed | Youth | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EF018O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] Muzzleloader | — Undersubscribed | — | — | 1 / 0 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF018O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 18 [18, 181] Muzzleloader | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 55 / 0 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF018O1R ↗ elk female rifle season 1 GMU 18 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | 0 | 9 / 5 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EF018O1R ↗ elk female rifle season 1 GMU 18 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | 0 | 3 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EF018V1A ↗ elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 18 [18, 181] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | 7% | — | 10 / 2 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EF181L1R ↗ elk female rifle late season GMU 181 [181] Rifle | 0% Point builder | 0% | 2 +2 since 2021 | 2 / 5 | Standard | Nov 28 – Dec 6, 2026 |
| EF181L1R ↗ elk female rifle late season GMU 181 [181] Rifle | 0% Point builder | — | — | 10 / 1 | Youth | Nov 28 – Dec 6, 2026 |
| EF181O2R ↗ elk female rifle season 2 GMU 181 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 25% | — | 30 / 2 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EF181O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 181 [181] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | — | 22 / 2 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF181O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 181 [181] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | — | — | 105 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF181O4R ↗ elk female rifle season 4 GMU 181 Rifle | — Cut level | — | — | 81 / 0 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EF181P5R ↗ elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 181 [181] Rifle | 0% Undersubscribed | 0% | 2 +2 since 2025 | 10 / 1 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 1 – Jan 31, 2027 |
| EF181P5R ↗ elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 181 [181] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 10 / 0 | Youth | Sep 1 – Jan 31, 2027 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- As 2nd choice —
- Colorado lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $974.27 |
| Youth license | $129.11 | $129.11 | $974.27 |
Application window: opens Mar 1, closes Apr 7, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
How the hunting has gone
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. 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.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1,462 | 205 | 14% |
| 2023 | 1,750 | 108 | 6% |
| 2022 | 1,704 | 216 | 13% |
| 2021 | 2,062 | 119 | 6% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 194 · 95% · 1,080 hunters, 18% success
- Archery 10 · 5% · 302 hunters, 3% success
- Muzzleloader 0 · 0% · 80 hunters, 0% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest