Colorado Elk · GMU 20
Colorado GMU 20 covers 772,317 acres and lies 17 miles west of Loveland. 49% of it is public land, mostly national forest (25%) and national park (22%). In 2024, 875 people hunted elk here and took 355, a 41% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE020O1A, put up 105 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 91 nonresident first-choice applicants, 21 of whom drew, and the last tag went to someone with 7 points.
28 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
25% Forest Service
772,317 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.
Every License in GMU 20
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE020O1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 20 | 0% | 7 ▲4 | |
| EE020O1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery season 1 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EF020L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 20 | not open | — | |
| EF020L3R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 20 | — | — | |
| EF020O1A Standard | Elk female archery season 1 GMU 20 | 33% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF020O1A Youth | Elk female archery season 1 GMU 20 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF020O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | 6 ▲3 | |
| EF020O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | 1 ▲1 | |
| EF020O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 20 | not open | — | |
| EF020O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 20 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF020O4R Youth | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 20 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF020P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 20 | 100% | 0 | |
| EM020L1R Standard | Elk male rifle late season GMU 20 | 0% | 13 ▲6 | |
| EM020L1R Youth | Elk male rifle late season GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM020L2R Standard | Elk male rifle late season GMU 20 | 0% | 17 ▲7 | |
| EM020L2R Youth | Elk male rifle late season GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM020O1A Standard | Elk male archery season 1 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | 14 ▲8 | |
| EM020O1A Youth | Elk male archery season 1 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM020O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 20 | 0% | 14 ▲3 | |
| EM020O1M Youth | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 20 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM020O1R Standard | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 20 | 0% | 18 ▲12 | |
| EM020O1R Youth | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM020O2R Standard | Elk male rifle season 2 GMU 20 | 0% | 14 ▲2 | |
| EM020O2R Youth | Elk male rifle season 2 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| EM020O3R Standard | Elk male rifle season 3 GMU 20 | 0% | 10 ▲4 | |
| EM020O3R Youth | Elk male rifle season 3 GMU 20 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM020O4R Standard | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 20 | 0% | 9 ▲3 | |
| EM020O4R Youth | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 20 | 0% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
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 | 875 | 355 | 41% |
| 2023 | 822 | 405 | 49% |
| 2022 | 903 | 329 | 36% |
| 2021 | 942 | 372 | 39% |
2024 split: rifle 305 (86%) from 721 hunters, 42%, archery 37 (10%) from 116 hunters, 32%, muzzleloader 13 (4%) from 37 hunters, 35%
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
| Private | 395,638 ac | 51% |
| National Forest | 192,123 ac | 25% |
| National Park Service | 170,139 ac | 22% |
| State land | 6,744 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 5,380 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 1,740 ac | <1% |
| BLM | 550 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.
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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