- Be bear aware around campsite
- Use quality optics
- Filter all water
Species | General Size | Trophy Potential |
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Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep | 150"-160" | 160"+ |
Located West of Fort Collins and South of Walden, the Never Summer Wilderness and Routt National Forests can be found. Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimate that a herd of about 35 Rocky Mountain bighorns live in this area.
This unit was largely burned during the 2020 Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires. Hunters should be aware that the landscape will be vastly different in areas and animal movements and habits may have changed. There is a high number of mountain recreational users during the summer months and in September on weekends. Spend time scouting to find rams on National Forest lands.
Vast areas of steep forested ridges, alpine tundra slopes and basins, glacial cirques and avalanche chutes along the Continental Divide can be found within this area. Many other peaks reach 12,000 feet in the surrounding Mummy and Never Summer ranges. Cameron, La Poudre Pass, Bowen, Baker and Thunder Pass create access to slopes and drainages. The Never Summer Wilderness drains rain and snowmelt to three major rivers, the Colorado, the North Platte and the Cache la Poudre.
Alpine tundra all along the Continental Divide has a rich carpet of wildflowers, short grass, moss, lichens and areas of barren ground willow. Below the timberline are dense stands of lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, spruce and fir. Avalanche chutes have stands of willows and lush grass. Drainages allow groves of aspen, willows and spruce to grow rapidly. Foothills have open slopes with buffalo grass, oak brush and mountain mahogany.
The Arapaho National Forest improved campgrounds are numerous in this area. Fort Collins has a significant number of options for motels, hotels, cafés, restaurants and first class medical facilities. Walden to the northwest provides motels, cafés, and restaurants and 24/7 gas and diesel.
Roughly 404 square miles
90.2% public land
Elevations from 8,626-12,940 feet
Arapahoe, Routt and Roosevelt National Forests provide thousands of acres of public lands that join the western boundaries of the Rocky Mountain National Park. The 66,791 acre Comanche Peak Wilderness Area and 9,924 acre Neota Wilderness Area both provide a significant number of forest service trails. The Never Summer Wilderness Area at 21,090 acres offers about 20 miles of trails that lead up gulches and crosses the Continental Divide on two high passes. Colorado Route 14 heads west out of Fort Collins and connects with county and Forest Service roads and trails. State Forest State Park has a good road system to Lake Agnes at the base of Static Peak.