Public Hunting Areas

Big Game Hunting Locations in Colorado

Flat Tops Wilderness

SPOT 07: Stump Park

This spot is located in the southeast part of the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. You get there by driving to the town of Dotsero then go to Burns. Drive Road 510 (four wheel drive only) to the Stump Park trailhead. From there you will take Trail 1859 to the northwest.

Hunt the northeast side of a ridge overlooking the north fork of Derby Valley. In the upper portion of the valley is a lot of lodgepole pine and open meadows. Down at the very bottom are some aspen stands. Herds of two to three hundred elk feeding along the bottom have been seen.

SPOT 08: Keener Lake and Hooper Lake

To get to this spot take FSR 610 to Trail 1860 and walk up to the lakes. You can hunt the grassy areas surrounding the lakes and the area to the southwest down by Derby Peak. The elk are going to be thick in there, especially during the first rifle season, and sometimes the second too, depending on the weather. During the third rifle season, hunt as high as the snow permits. As long as the snow is not too deep, they'll stick to the higher altitudes.

SPOT 09: Middle Derby Creek

This spot is located along the middle fork of Derby Creek. Take the trail along the bottom of the gully just past McMillan Lake. To the north are some expansive meadows. To the north is a small ridgeline running northwest, and a larger one paralleling that. Stay on top of the larger one where you get a good view of the wide open country below.

SPOT 10: Upper Derby Creek

As you continue up the middle fork of Derby Creek along Trail 1858, just above timberline you will come to a couple of lakes that attract game. There are also a lot of shale rockslides up there. The deer and elk don't like being out on the rocks, and consequently, they will be concentrated in the pockets of timber between the rockslides.

SPOT 11: McMillan Lake

This spot is close to the road, don't be fooled it is a great spot. When the weather gets bad elk will concentrate around the lake.

SPOT 12: Mackinaw & Crescent Lakes

This high elevation spot is located up around Mackinaw Lake and Crescent Lake to the southwest of Sheep Mountain. There's a small bottleneck of timber to the north. You can drive game into the bottleneck because they will stay in the timber when driven unless you get right on top of them and force them into the open.

SPOT 13: Bull Lake

This spot is located up around Bull Lake in a drainage off the south fork of Derby Ditch. There is a nice big pocket of timber back in there. Work the pocket thoroughly always keeping the wind in your face. If you don't spook the elk, you can hunt that timber a long time. There are also some low lying seeps and marshy areas where you'll find wallows.