Quick Tips
- Fly fish Arkansas River, specular during caddis hatch
- Be aware of nearby bears
- Filter drinking water
On The Ground
Southwest of Buena Vista are a number of peaks over 13,000 feet along with the 14,000-foot Mount Antero.
This area gets a lot of recreational use during early September. ATVs, motorcycles, four-wheel drives, mountain bikers and hikers all use this area due to the number of trails and old mining roads. Spotting a trophy is about 30% of the hunt. Preparation of gear, physical conditioning, and a positive mindset will go a long way to a successful hunt. This is an extremely challenging hunt with goats in the 8-9" range available.
Terrain
Tin Cup Pass sits on the Continental Divide at over 12,000 feet. Chalk Creek, Grizzly Gulch, Deer Canyon, Baldwin Gulch and Little Brown’s Creek all have long drainages, deep gulches and rocky canyons.
Roughly 106 square miles
20% private land
Elevations from 8,000-14,000 feet
Vegetation
Lower elevations support oak brush, pinyon/juniper, sagebrush, cottonwoods, willows, buffalo and blue grama grasses. Foothills have ponderosa and lodgepole pines along with mountain mahogany, willow and aspen groves that typically cover the hillsides. As the elevation climbs spruce, pine and fir create dense stands of timber broken up by grassy open parks. Above timber line alpine basins are carpeted with wildflowers, lichens, moss and grasses.
Access
San Isabel and Gunnison National Forest provide hundreds of miles of Forest Service roads. Several county roads lead off U.S. Highway 285 connecting to the Forest Service roads. Tin Cup Pass and Mirror Lake can be reached by taking U.S. 285 near Nathrop on County Road 162, or Forest Service Road 742 at Taylor Park. Boulder Mountain and Baldwin Creek have four-wheel drive roads that are off of County Road 162.
Camping and Lodging
San Isabel National Forest, Chalk, Mount Princeton, Bootleg, Cascade and Iron City all provided camping and lodging. Buena Vista and Salida provide a variety of motels, cafés and restaurants, medical care, gas and diesel. Tin Cup and Taylor Park offer limited gas and cafes.
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