Unit 46 (Lost Creek)
Colorado Hunting Guide — Pronghorn, Elk
Unit 46 lies in Clear Creek, Park and Jefferson counties and covers about 213 square miles. Ground runs from 7,968 to 14,037 feet. CPW bounds it by Pike-Arapaho NF boundary and North Turkey Creek-Elk Creek divide among others. CPW publishes no per-unit pronghorn success figure we can verify for this unit. Federal land covers about 75% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Pronghorn Hunting in Unit 46
Unit 46 lies in Clear Creek, Park and Jefferson counties and covers about 213 square miles. Ground runs from 7,968 to 14,037 feet. CPW bounds it by Pike-Arapaho NF boundary and North Turkey Creek-Elk Creek divide among others. CPW publishes no per-unit pronghorn success figure we can verify for this unit. Federal land covers about 75% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Pronghorn in Unit 46
CPW's material on unit 46 stops at the boundary — there is no agency account of where its pronghorn live. 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 Clear Creek, Park and Jefferson counties. It runs to about 213 square miles.
The lines of the unit: Pike-Arapaho NF boundary, North Turkey Creek-Elk Creek divide and U.S. 285
CPW has unit 46 bounded on the north by Pike-Arapaho NF boundary and North Turkey Creek-Elk Creek divide; on the east and south by U.S. 285; on the west by North Fork of South Platte River and Continental Divide. See "Land Closures & Use Restrictions," page 68. 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: Mount Bierstadt, Mount Spalding and Square Top Mountain
Named high points inside the unit include Mount Bierstadt at 14,037 feet, Mount Spalding at 13,827 feet, Square Top Mountain at 13,770 feet, Rosalie Peak at 13,571 feet and Epaulet Mountain at 13,507 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Pronghorn stay on the open rolling ground and leave the timber alone.
Holding ground: Mill Gulch, Handcart Gulch and Sawmill Gulch
Below them sit Mill Gulch at 9,868 feet, Handcart Gulch at 9,868 feet, Sawmill Gulch at 9,722 feet, Buno Gulch at 9,686 feet and Geneva Park at 9,659 feet. That is the low country of the unit — the ground animals drop into when they are pushed or when the weather turns. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.
Public ground to start from: Crooked Top STL
CPW lists Crooked Top 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 75% of the unit on top of those.
Reading the land status
Our ownership read for this unit is approximate — it comes out as National Forest 60%, Private / Other 17%, BLM 15% and State Trust 8%, so treat it as a starting point and check a current land-status layer before you plan a route. A grid sample of the unit reads 8,475 to 13,235 feet, and named ground inside the line runs 7,968 to 14,037 feet — take 7,968 to 14,037 as the spread, because the sample is a grid and misses both ends. With 6,069 feet between the two ends, that is a lot of vertical to cover, and it means the season you draw decides which half of the unit you hunt.
Unit 46 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 8,475–13,235 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 10,083 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 213 sq mi inside the boundary.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- BLM — 15%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 17%
Roughly 83% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
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: Mount Bierstadt (14,037 ft), Square Top Mountain (13,770 ft), Rosalie Peak (13,571 ft), Epaulet Mountain (13,507 ft)
Holding ground: Guanella Pass (11,667 ft), Smelter Basin (11,401 ft), Kirby Gulch (9,891 ft), Crooked Top 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 Pronghorn in Unit 46
Pronghorn Success Rates
CPW's 2023 harvest estimates carry no pronghorn row for unit 46 that we can read back to this unit on its own. Where the agency reports a unit inside a grouping, or prints a table our parser cannot resolve to a single column, we leave the number out rather than publish a statewide average as though it had been measured here. CPW's current harvest estimates are the place to check before you apply.
Pronghorn Draw Odds
Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.
Search Colorado Draw OddsCPW's draw recap has no pronghorn record we can tie to unit 46. That usually means the licence is sold over the counter, is issued under a hunt code covering several units, or was not offered in the years we hold. Rather than estimate a point requirement, we leave it blank — check CPW's own draw recap for the hunt code you mean to apply for.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Colorado unit 46?
What is the pronghorn success rate in unit 46?
Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 46 hunt?
What is the elk success rate in unit 46?
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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
- 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
- 2023 Colorado Elk Harvest Estimates — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: Percent success for elk in unit 46, Hunters and harvest by weapon and season · accessed 2026-10-22