This mountainous unit near Gunnison features high peaks to 14,265 feet and all or parts of four wilderness areas, including Maroon Bells Snowmass. Elk and deer numbers are steady and hard hunting can lead to success. Lots of public and roadless lands are available to explore for anyone willing to work at it.

Well prepared, well conditioned hunters who hunt the entire season have a good chance of seeing large bull elk. Before snow pushes game out of the high country, which can happen anytime in October, hunters who ride horses or hike in the high country sometimes find big bucks and bulls. Hunting above 10,000' is physically difficult. Do not be surprised to encounter hikers and other hunters above timberline. Trails outside wilderness are often crowded with off-road vehicles. It is more likely to see big animals at timberline during archery and muzzleloader seasons.

Almost entirely mountainous with just a few foothills below 9,000 feet near Gunnison, this mostly public unit consists of hundreds of square miles of the Elk Mountains in the Gunnison National Forest, including Fossil Ridge Wilderness and parts of three other wilderness areas—Ragged, Collegiate Peaks and Maroon Bells Snowmass. Some peaks are between 13,000 and 14,265 feet above sea level, and hundreds of ridges and mountains are above 9,000 feet. Fossil Ridge, made of limestone and dolomite, contains fossils that scientists age from 275-600 million years old. Crystal Creek in Fossil Ridge Wilderness is difficult to reach.

High alpine basins filled with wildflowers and stunted conifers, steep mountain slopes covered with spruces, lodgepole pines, aspen groves and lush meadows. Sagebrush, ponderosa pines, oak brush and grasses fill the foothills and open parks at lower elevations. Willows line lakes and streams.

Designated wilderness is closed to motor vehicles but open to hikers and horseback riders. Hunters who have never hiked into high-elevation wilderness areas tend to underestimate the difficulty of hiking above 10,000 feet and the difficulty compounds at the much higher elevations in this unit. Dozens of Forest Service roads and ATV trails lead to many mountain passes and up numerous drainages and ridges outside the wilderness areas. Private land limits access in some areas along main roads but seldom in the mountains.

Buena Vista, Crested Butte and Gunnison have services, gasoline stations and lodging. Garlic Mike’s is a favorite restaurant among locals. National Forest campgrounds open in May and close in September, dates varying according to weather.