Unit S16 (Cimarrona Peak)
Colorado Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep
Unit S16 lies in Hinsdale and Mineral counties. CPW bounds it by Rio Grande River and Trout Creek among others. CPW's harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success here as high as 63%. Federal land covers about 45% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit S16
Unit S16 lies in Hinsdale and Mineral counties. CPW bounds it by Rio Grande River and Trout Creek among others. CPW's harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success here as high as 63%. Federal land covers about 45% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Bighorn Sheep in Unit S16
CPW draws an exact line around unit S16 and says nothing about where the bighorn sheep stand inside it. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's. The unit lies in Hinsdale and Mineral counties.
The lines of the unit: Rio Grande River, Trout Creek and West Trout Creek
CPW has unit S16 bounded on the north by Rio Grande River; on the east by Trout Creek, West Trout Creek, Middle Fork of Trout Creek, Middle Fork of Piedra River and Piedra River; on S b Hinsdale-Archuleta Co. line; on the west by Weminuche Creek, USFS Trail 539, Los Pinos River, North Fork Pinos River and Rio Grande Res.-Grizzly Creek divide. It tells you the shape of the unit and nothing about its inhabitants. Those features are what you will check against the map all week, and the divides among them are the ones that matter.
High ground inside the line: Chief Mountain, Baldy Mountain and Cimarrona Peak
Named high points inside the unit include Chief Mountain at 13,000 feet, Baldy Mountain at 12,484 feet, Cimarrona Peak at 12,465 feet, Knife Edge at 12,279 feet and Granite Peak at 10,678 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Sheep need rock to escape into and will not stand far from it.
Holding ground: Elk Park, Porphyry Gulch and Poison Park
Below them sit Elk Park at 9,385 feet, Porphyry Gulch at 9,028 feet, Poison Park at 8,843 feet, Miner Park at 8,621 feet and Burro Park at 8,490 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.
Public ground to start from: Williams Creek Reservoir SWA
CPW lists Williams Creek Reservoir SWA 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 45% of the unit on top of those.
Water: Divide Park Springs, Notch Spring and Pole Park Spring
Named sources include Divide Park Springs, Notch Spring, Pole Park Spring, Turkey Park Spring and Chub Spring. Nothing in the data says which of them run in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
The herd this unit belongs to: RBS-20
CPW does not manage bighorn sheep unit by unit. It manages them as data analysis unit RBS-20, and unit S16 is one piece of it. The rest of RBS-20 is unit S15 and unit S28. So the objective behind your tag was written for that whole area, and a neighbouring unit in the same herd is a fairer comparison than the statewide figure.
Unit S16 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 8,817–12,245 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 10,595 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 201.1 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
- 123 tanks
- 2,830 stream segments
- 13 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: Chief Mountain (13,000 ft), Baldy Mountain (12,484 ft), Cimarrona Peak (12,465 ft), Knife Edge (12,279 ft)
Holding ground: Grizzly Pass (11,216 ft), Dog Rincon (11,185 ft), Pistol Park (11,014 ft), Williams Creek Reservoir SWA, Divide Park Springs
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 Bighorn Sheep in Unit S16
Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
CPW's 2023 harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success in unit S16 at 63% — 5 animals taken by 8 hunters. On a sample that small the percentage moves several points with one animal, so read the hunter count beside it.
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.
Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — 1st Season ewe only (resident) | 2 | 9 | 22.2% | 2 |
| Rifle — 1st Season ewe only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 1st Season ram only (resident) | 2 | 143 | 1.4% | 3 |
| Rifle — 1st Season ram only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ram only (resident) | 2 | 107 | 1.9% | 3 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ram 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 bighorn sheep in unit S16, by hunt code, with resident and nonresident kept apart because the two draw from different licence pools:
- SMS16O1R — Rifle, 1st Season, Ram Only, resident: 143 applicants for 2 licences, 1.4% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SMS16O2R — Rifle, 2nd Season, Ram Only, resident: 107 applicants for 2 licences, 1.9% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SFS16O1R — Rifle, 1st Season, Ewe Only, resident: 9 applicants for 2 licences, 22.2% drawn, 2 preference points needed
Colorado runs a pure preference-point draw, so the point figure above is the requirement the agency published for that code in that year, not a forecast for the next one. Figures checked against CPW's own statistics pages on 2026-06-09.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Colorado unit S16?
What is the bighorn sheep success rate in unit S16?
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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 Sheep & Goat Hunting Brochure — Game Management Unit (GMU) Descriptions (pp. 16-17) — 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 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep Harvest Estimates — Colorado Parks and Wildlife · supports: Percent success for bighorn sheep in unit S16, 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