Colorado Elk — GMU 59
Colorado GMU 59 covers 414,036 acres and lies 14 miles west of Fountain. 37% of it is public land, mostly national forest (20%) and BLM (10%). In 2024, 704 people hunted elk here and took 135 — 19% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 220 tags here for 0 first-choice applicants.
Tags (2026):867
Nonresident share:capped at 25%
Applicants:216
Hunter success (2024):19%
Public land:37%
Size:414,036 acres
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in GMU 59, 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-
EE059V1A elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] 163 tags · 79 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 52% as 2nd choice
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EE059V1A elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] 220 tags · 0 applicants · Youth100% No first-choice applicants 100% as 2nd choice
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EF059O1M elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] 6 tags · 4 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 17% as 2nd choice
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EF059O1M elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] 120 tags · 0 applicants · Youth100% No first-choice applicants 50% as 2nd choice
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0% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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EF059O2R elk female rifle season 2 GMU 59 [59, 581] 13 tags · 12 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard82% Likely draw 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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43% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed
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50% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
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EF059P5R elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 59 [59] 102 tags · 9 applicants · needed 0 pts · Standard100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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EF059V1A elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] 10 tags · 1 applicants · Standard100% Undersubscribed 0% as 2nd choice
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EM059O1M elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] 26 tags · 52 applicants · needed 1 pts · Standard0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
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EM059O1M elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] 1 tags · 3 applicants · needed 1 pts · Youth0% Point builder
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24% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
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100% No first-choice applicants 0% as 2nd choice
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100% Undersubscribed 57% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE059V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | 52% | — | 163 / 79 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EE059V1A ↗ elk either-sex archery nonresident-only GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] Archery | 100% No first-choice applicants | 100% | — | 220 / 0 | Youth | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EF059O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] Muzzleloader | 100% Undersubscribed | 17% | — | 6 / 4 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF059O1M ↗ elk female muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] Muzzleloader | 100% No first-choice applicants | 50% | — steady since 2021 | 120 / 0 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EF059O1R ↗ elk female rifle season 1 GMU 59 Rifle | 0% Undersubscribed | 0% | 1 +1 since 2022 | 1 / 1 undersubscribed | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EF059O1R ↗ elk female rifle season 1 GMU 59 Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 50 / 0 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EF059O2R ↗ elk female rifle season 2 GMU 59 [59, 581] Rifle | 82% Likely draw | 0% | 0 steady since 2024 | 13 / 12 | Standard | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EF059O2R ↗ elk female rifle season 2 GMU 59 [59, 581] Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — | 3 / 0 | Youth | Oct 24 – Nov 1, 2026 |
| EF059O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 59 Rifle | 43% Real chance | 0% | 0 | 9 / 9 | Standard | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF059O3R ↗ elk female rifle season 3 GMU 59 Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | — | 0 | 3 / 1 undersubscribed | Youth | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EF059O4R ↗ elk female rifle season 4 GMU 59 Rifle | 50% Real chance | 0% | 0 | 1 / 2 | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
| EF059P5R ↗ elk female rifle private-land-only GMU 59 [59] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | 0 steady since 2023 | 102 / 9 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 1 – Jan 31, 2027 |
| EF059V1A ↗ elk female archery nonresident-only GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] Archery | 100% Undersubscribed | 0% | — | 10 / 1 undersubscribed | Standard | Sep 2–30, 2026 |
| EM059O1M ↗ elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | 0% | 1 +1 since 2021 | 26 / 52 | Standard | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EM059O1M ↗ elk male muzzleloader season 1 GMU 59 [59, 511, 581, 591] Muzzleloader | 0% Point builder | — | 1 +1 since 2022 | 1 / 3 | Youth | Sep 12–20, 2026 |
| EM059O1R ↗ elk male rifle season 1 GMU 59 Rifle | 24% Long shot | 0% | 0 steady since 2021 | 32 / 41 | Standard | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EM059O1R ↗ elk male rifle season 1 GMU 59 Rifle | 100% No first-choice applicants | 0% | — +1 since 2021 | 7 / 0 | Youth | Oct 14–18, 2026 |
| EM059O4R ↗ elk male rifle season 4 GMU 59 [59, 581] Rifle | 100% Undersubscribed | 57% | — | 100 / 2 undersubscribed | Standard | Nov 18–22, 2026 |
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.
Who owns the ground
- Private 259,188 ac · 63%
- National Forest 83,513 ac · 20%
- BLM 42,256 ac · 10%
- County or city land 19,768 ac · 5%
- State land 9,057 ac · 2%
- Department of Defense 251 ac · 0%
- Other public 0 ac · 0%
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 | 704 | 135 | 19% |
| 2023 | 727 | 59 | 8% |
| 2022 | 697 | 62 | 9% |
| 2021 | 746 | 85 | 11% |
What people carried (2024 harvest)
- Rifle 85 · 63% · 401 hunters, 21% success
- Archery 36 · 27% · 258 hunters, 14% success
- Muzzleloader 13 · 10% · 45 hunters, 29% success
Boundary: CPW GMU Boundary (Big Game)
Harvest: 2024 Statewide Elk Harvest
Harvest: 2023 Statewide Elk Hunting Harvest Estimates
Harvest: 2022 Statewide Elk Harvest