Colorado Elk · GMU 27
Colorado GMU 27 covers 126,153 acres and lies 25 miles south-east of Steamboat Springs and 46 miles north-east of Gypsum. 56% of it is public land, mostly national forest (34%) and state land (15%). In 2024, 1,523 people hunted elk here and took 113, a 7% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE015V1A, put up 620 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 175 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
20 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
35% Forest Service
126,153 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
- 7%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 620 / 175
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 7%
- Season
- Nov 18–22
- Tags / Apps
- 30 / 1
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 7%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 60 / 2
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 7%
- Season
- Oct 24 – Nov 1
- Tags / Apps
- 190 / 2
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 27
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE015O1M Standard | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 15 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EE015O1M Youth | Elk either-sex muzzleloader season 1 GMU 15 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EE015V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 15 | 100% | — | |
| EE015V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 15 | 100% | — | |
| EE027O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 27 | 17% | 0 | |
| EE027O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 27 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE027O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 27 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE027O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 27 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE027P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 27 | 100% | — | |
| EE027P4R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 27 | 100% | — | |
| EF015O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 15 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF015O1M Youth | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 15 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF027L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 27 | — | — | |
| EF027O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 27 | — | — | |
| EF027O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 27 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF027O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 27 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF027O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 27 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF027O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 27 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF027O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 27 | — | — | |
| EF027P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 27 | 100% | — |
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 | 1,523 | 113 | 7% |
| 2023 | 1,579 | 162 | 10% |
| 2022 | 1,490 | 180 | 12% |
| 2021 | 1,764 | 141 | 8% |
2024 split: rifle 82 (72%) from 994 hunters, 8%, archery 17 (15%) from 391 hunters, 4%, muzzleloader 15 (13%) from 138 hunters, 11%
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 | 56,070 ac | 44% |
| National Forest | 43,465 ac | 34% |
| State land | 18,342 ac | 15% |
| BLM | 7,992 ac | 6% |
| County or city land | 282 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