Colorado Elk · GMU 581
Colorado GMU 581 covers 440,670 acres and lies 22 miles north of Cañon City and 32 miles west of Colorado Springs. 42% of it is public land, mostly BLM (22%) and national forest (11%). In 2024, 1,521 people hunted elk here and took 196, a 13% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, EE059V1A, put up 220 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 79 first-choice applicants (one pool for residents and nonresidents).
19 licenses · NR capped at 25%
first choice, NR
2024, all licenses
23% BLM
440,670 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
- 13%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 220 / 79
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 13%
- Season
- Sep 12–20
- Tags / Apps
- 120 / 4
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 13%
- Season
- Sep 2–30
- Tags / Apps
- 10 / 1
- If Drawn
- $974.27
- Success
- 13%
- Season
- Nov 18–22
- Tags / Apps
- 180 / 2
- If Drawn
- $974.27
Every License in GMU 581
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE059V1A Standard | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 59 | 100% | — | |
| EE059V1A Youth | Elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF059O1M Standard | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF059O1M Youth | Elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF059O1R Standard | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 59 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF059O1R Youth | Elk female rifle season 1 GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF059O2R Standard | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 59 | 82% | 0 | |
| EF059O2R Youth | Elk female rifle season 2 GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF059O3R Standard | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 59 | 43% | 0 | |
| EF059O3R Youth | Elk female rifle season 3 GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF059O4R Standard | Elk female rifle season 4 GMU 59 | 50% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EF059V1A Standard | Elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EF581P5R Standard · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 581 | 100% | 0 | |
| EF581P5R Youth · private | Elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 581 | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EM059O1M Standard | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 | 0% | 1 ▲1 | |
| EM059O1M Youth | Elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 | 0% (small sample) | 0 | |
| EM059O1R Standard | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 59 | 24% | 0 | |
| EM059O1R Youth | Elk male rifle season 1 GMU 59 | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| EM059O4R Standard | Elk male rifle season 4 GMU 59 | 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 | 1,521 | 196 | 13% |
| 2023 | 1,609 | 183 | 11% |
| 2022 | 1,508 | 151 | 10% |
| 2021 | 1,581 | 174 | 11% |
2024 split: rifle 172 (88%) from 1,124 hunters, 15%, archery 10 (5%) from 352 hunters, 3%, muzzleloader 14 (7%) from 46 hunters, 30%
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 | 253,905 ac | 58% |
| BLM | 99,055 ac | 22% |
| National Forest | 50,557 ac | 11% |
| State land | 30,285 ac | 7% |
| National Park Service | 6,271 ac | 1% |
| County or city land | 594 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