Colorado Elk · GMU 36
Colorado GMU 36 covers 176,161 acres and lies 27 miles east of Gypsum and 48 miles east of Glenwood Springs. 82% of it is public land, mostly national forest (78%) and BLM (4%). In 2024, 1,196 people hunted elk here and took 185, a 15% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE035V1A, put up 290 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 146 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
22 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
78% Forest Service
176,161 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
- 15%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 290 / 146
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 15%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 130 / 4
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 15%
- Season
- Oct 14–18
- Tags / Apps
- 150 / 10
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 15%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 185 / 54
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 36
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE035O1R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 35 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EE035O1R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 1 GMU 35 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EE035P1R Standard · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 | 100% | — | |
| EE035P1R Youth · private | Elk either-sex rifle private-land-only GMU 35 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EE035V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 35 | 100% | — | |
| EE035V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 35 | 100% | — | |
| EE036O4R Standard | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 36 | 100% | — | |
| EE036O4R Youth | Elk either-sex rifle season 4 GMU 36 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF035L1R Standard | Elk female rifle late season GMU 35 | 0% (small sample) | 4 ▼1 | |
| EF035L1R Youth | Elk female rifle late season GMU 35 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF035O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF035O1M Youth | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF035O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 35 | 100% | — | |
| EF035O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 35 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF036O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 36 | 100% | — | |
| EF036O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 36 | 100% | — | |
| EF036O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 36 | 100% | 0 | |
| EF036O3R Youth | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 36 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF036O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 36 | — | — | |
| EF036P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 36 | 100% | — | |
| EM035O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 | 100% | — | |
| EM035O1M Youth | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 35 | 100% (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 | 1,196 | 185 | 15% |
| 2023 | 1,349 | 125 | 9% |
| 2022 | 1,381 | 145 | 11% |
| 2021 | 1,481 | 95 | 6% |
2024 split: rifle 115 (62%) from 677 hunters, 17%, archery 50 (27%) from 419 hunters, 12%, muzzleloader 20 (11%) from 100 hunters, 20%
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 | 137,184 ac | 78% |
| Private | 31,720 ac | 18% |
| BLM | 6,971 ac | 4% |
| State land | 283 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 0 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.
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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 · All Colorado elk hunts