Unit S33 (Lake Fork/Pole Mountain)
Colorado Hunting Guide — Bighorn Sheep
Unit S33 lies in Hinsdale and San Juan counties. CPW bounds it by Gunnison-Hinsdale Co. line and Colo. 149 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success here as high as 70%. Federal land covers about 74% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit S33
Unit S33 lies in Hinsdale and San Juan counties. CPW bounds it by Gunnison-Hinsdale Co. line and Colo. 149 among others. CPW's harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success here as high as 70%. Federal land covers about 74% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Bighorn Sheep in Unit S33
What CPW publishes for unit S33 is a boundary, not a bighorn sheep map. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's. The unit lies in Hinsdale and San Juan counties.
The lines of the unit: Gunnison-Hinsdale Co. line, Colo. 149 and North Cleark Creek
CPW has unit S33 bounded on the north by Gunnison-Hinsdale Co. line; on the east by Colo. 149; on the south by North Cleark Creek, USFS Trail 821 from North Clear Creek to Lost Trail Creek and Los Trail Creek; on the south by Rio Grande River, Stoney Gulch, Cunningham Creek and Colo. 110; on the west by U.S. 550, Ouray-San Juan Co. line, Uncompahgre-Upper Gunnison River divide and Big Blue Creek. That is a legal description, not a habitat map. 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: Uncompahgre Peak, Handies Peak and Wetterhorn Peak
Named high points inside the unit include Uncompahgre Peak at 14,290 feet, Handies Peak at 14,022 feet, Wetterhorn Peak at 14,019 feet, Redcloud Peak at 14,008 feet and Sunshine Peak at 13,974 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: McCarty Basin, Horseshoe Basin and Cataract Basin
Below them sit McCarty Basin at 12,583 feet, Horseshoe Basin at 12,557 feet, Cataract Basin at 12,513 feet, Hurricane Basin at 12,365 feet and American Basin at 12,330 feet. Those are the basins, parks and bottoms this unit has, and they are what you glass into from above. Work out which of them you can see from one position before you pick a camp.
Public ground to start from: Rito Hondo Reservoir SWA and Wind in the Willows SWA
CPW lists Rito Hondo Reservoir SWA and Wind in the Willows 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 74% of the unit on top of those.
Water: Treasure Falls
Named sources include Treasure Falls. 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-21
CPW does not manage bighorn sheep unit by unit. It manages them as data analysis unit RBS-21, and unit S33 is one piece of it. The rest of RBS-21 is unit S21. 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 S33 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Uncompahgre Peak (14,290 ft), Handies Peak (14,022 ft), Wetterhorn Peak (14,019 ft), Redcloud Peak (14,008 ft)
Holding ground: Denver Pass (12,925 ft), Stony Pass (12,593 ft), McCarty Basin (12,583 ft), Rito Hondo Reservoir SWA, Wind in the Willows SWA
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 S33
Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
CPW's 2023 harvest estimates put bighorn sheep success in unit S33 at 70% — 14 animals taken by 20 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 | 24 | 8.3% | — |
| Rifle — 1st Season ewe only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ewe only (resident) | 1 | 23 | 4.3% | 1 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ewe only (nonresident) | 0 | 18 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 1st Season ewe only (resident) | 2 | 21 | 9.5% | 3 |
| Rifle — 1st Season ewe only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ewe only (resident) | 2 | 41 | 4.9% | 2 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ewe only (nonresident) | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — 1st Season ram only (resident) | 6 | 448 | 1.3% | 3 |
| Rifle — 1st Season ram only (nonresident) | 1 | 863 | 0.1% | 3 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ram only (resident) | 5 | 252 | 2.0% | 3 |
| Rifle — 2nd Season ram only (nonresident) | 1 | 352 | 0.3% | 3 |
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 S33, by hunt code, with resident and nonresident kept apart because the two draw from different licence pools:
- SMS33O1R — Rifle, 1st Season, Ram Only, nonresident: 863 applicants for 1 licences, 0.1% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SMS33O1R — Rifle, 1st Season, Ram Only, resident: 448 applicants for 6 licences, 1.3% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SMS33O2R — Rifle, 2nd Season, Ram Only, nonresident: 352 applicants for 1 licences, 0.3% drawn, 3 preference points needed
- SMS33O2R — Rifle, 2nd Season, Ram Only, resident: 252 applicants for 5 licences, 2% drawn, 3 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. There are 5 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 S33?
What is the bighorn sheep success rate in unit S33?
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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 S33, 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