Unit 231
Colorado Hunting Guide — Elk
Unit 231 lies in Routt, Rio Blanco and Garfield counties and covers about 178 square miles. Ground runs from 6,943 to 12,134 feet. CPW bounds it by Routt CRs 29 and Colo. 131 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put elk success here as high as 21%. Federal land covers about 64% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 231
Unit 231 lies in Routt, Rio Blanco and Garfield counties and covers about 178 square miles. Ground runs from 6,943 to 12,134 feet. CPW bounds it by Routt CRs 29 and Colo. 131 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put elk success here as high as 21%. Federal land covers about 64% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Unit 231
CPW draws an exact line around unit 231 and says nothing about where the elk stand inside it. So the ground below is the unit's own and the read on where to start is ours, labelled as such. The unit lies in Routt, Rio Blanco and Garfield counties. It runs to about 178 square miles.
The lines of the unit: Routt CRs 29, Colo. 131 and Bear River
CPW has unit 231 bounded on the north by Routt CRs 29, 132A, 25, 132 & 15; on the east by Colo. 131; on the south by Bear River; on the west by Williams Fork-Yampa River divide to Dunkley Pass, Rio Blanco CRs 8 & 19 and Routt CR 55. 2026 Colorado Big Game Hunting: Lands. Read it as a frame, not as a hint about animals. What it does give you is the way in: the rivers and highways you cross, and the divides that decide which drainage you end up in.
High ground inside the line: Orno Peak, Devils Causeway and Little Flat Tops
Named high points inside the unit include Orno Peak at 12,134 feet, Devils Causeway at 11,849 feet, Little Flat Tops at 11,197 feet, Sand Point at 11,169 feet and Maggies Nipple at 10,939 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk want timber to bed in and open ground to feed on, within a short walk of each other.
Holding ground: Lone Gulch, Mandall Pass and Dunckley Pass
Below them sit Lone Gulch at 6,943 feet, Mandall Pass at 11,661 feet, Dunckley Pass at 9,763 feet, Moore Park at 9,327 feet and Dubeau Meadow at 8,825 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Reaching the edge of one before light beats reaching its middle at noon.
Public ground to start from: Moody Creek STL
CPW lists Moody Creek STL inside this unit as ground open to public hunting. Each property sets its own restrictions, and the agency's page for it is where they are written down. Federal land covers about 64% of the unit on top of those.
Water in this unit
The water inside the unit line comes to 59 mapped stream reaches, 16 lakes and 353 stock tanks. On ground with that many tanks, knowing which two or three hold water in your season is the most useful thing a scouting trip can tell you.
The herd this unit belongs to: E-6
CPW does not manage elk unit by unit. It manages them as data analysis unit E-6, and unit 231 is one piece of it. The rest of E-6 is unit 11, unit 12, unit 13, unit 23, unit 24, unit 25, unit 26 and unit 33 and 3 more. Read a neighbour in the same herd before you read the state average — the herd, not the unit line, is what the agency is steering.
Unit 231 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 7,672–11,378 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 9,178 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 178.1 sq mi inside the boundary.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 32%
Roughly 68% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 353 tanks
- 59 stream segments
- 16 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Orno Peak (12,134 ft), Devils Causeway (11,849 ft), Little Flat Tops (11,197 ft), Sand Point (11,169 ft)
Holding ground: Mandall Pass (11,661 ft), Dunckley Pass (9,763 ft), Moody Creek STL
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Elk in Unit 231
Elk Success Rates
CPW's 2023 harvest estimates put elk success in unit 231 at 13% — 231 animals taken by 1,767 hunters. That is a lot of hunters in one unit, and the percentage is what it looks like after all of them have been through it.
- Archery — 5% success, 40 taken by 815 hunters
- Muzzleloader — 14% success, 12 taken by 84 hunters
- Rifle — 21% success, 179 taken by 867 hunters
These are the agency's own printed figures for this unit, not a modelled estimate and not a state average. They describe one season, so check CPW's current harvest estimates before you read a trend into them.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — 2nd Season either sex (resident) | 4 | 6 | 66.7% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season either sex (nonresident) | 4 | 4 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season cow only (resident) | 62 | 84 | 73.8% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season cow only (nonresident) | 2 | 7 | 28.6% | — |
| Rifle — 4th Season bull only (resident) | 10 | 19 | 52.6% | — |
| Rifle — 4th Season bull only (nonresident) | 4 | 10 | 40.0% | — |
| Rifle — 3rd Season either sex (resident) | 1 | 3 | 33.3% | — |
| Rifle — 3rd Season either sex (nonresident) | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — 4th Season either sex (resident) | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — 4th Season either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 3rd Season cow only (resident) | 46 | 58 | 79.3% | — |
| Rifle — 3rd Season cow only (nonresident) | 4 | 14 | 28.6% | — |
| Rifle — 4th Season cow only (resident) | 12 | 30 | 40.0% | — |
| Rifle — 4th Season cow only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
Data from 2026 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.
Open in Draw Odds EngineCPW's 2026 draw recap for elk in unit 231, by hunt code, with resident and nonresident kept apart because the two draw from different licence pools:
- EF231O2R — Rifle, 2nd Season, Cow Only, resident: 84 applicants for 62 licences, 73.8% drawn, no preference points needed
- EF231O3R — Rifle, 3rd Season, Cow Only, resident: 58 applicants for 46 licences, 79.3% drawn, no preference points needed
- EF231O4R — Rifle, 4th Season, Cow Only, resident: 30 applicants for 12 licences, 40% drawn, no preference points needed
- EM231O4R — Rifle, 4th Season, Bull Only, resident: 19 applicants for 10 licences, 52.6% drawn, no preference points needed
No preference points were needed for the codes above in that year, which can change the moment applicant numbers do. There are 9 further code-and-residency combinations in the recap for this unit. Figures checked against CPW's own statistics pages on 2026-06-09.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Colorado unit 231?
What is the elk success rate in unit 231?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-23.
- Colorado Big Game Hunting Brochure — Game Management Unit (GMU) Descriptions (pp. 79-80-81-82) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: GMU boundary description, Counties the unit lies in, Data analysis unit (DAU) the unit belongs to · accessed 2026-10-22
- 2023 Colorado Elk Harvest Estimates — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: Percent success for elk in unit 231, Hunters and harvest by weapon and season · accessed 2026-10-22
- CPW CPWAdminData feature service — GMU and sheep/goat unit boundaries — Colorado Parks and Wildlife GIS Unit · supports: Mapped extent of the unit, Which named ground falls inside the unit line · accessed 2026-10-22