Colorado State Flag

Unit S33

Last Updated: Sep 13, 2021
  • Share on Twitter

  • Share on Facebook

  • Email

Topographic Loading Image

A map error has occurred


Quick Tips

  • Be bear aware when camping
  • High recreational use area
  • Quality optics a must
speciesgeneral Sizetrophy potential
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep155"-165"170"+

On The Ground

West of Lake City are wilderness areas that are home to a growing herd of Rocky Mountain bighorns. Extreme terrain can make this a very difficult hunt.

Lucky tag holders are faced with some of the highest mountains in the lower 48. Mental and physical preparation is a must. Be prepared for climbs that are 3,000' to 4,000' in elevation.

Terrain

Lake Fork of the Gunnison is created by many creeks high in the San Juan’s and flows to the north joining the Gunnison River. The Animas River flows to the south leaving from its headwaters near Handies Peak. Numerous gulches and canyons have been carved into the mountainous terrain. Alpine basins, broad plateaus and open parks complete this landscape.

  • Roughly 504 square miles

  • 90.2% public land

  • Elevations from 8,521-14,309 feet

Alpine basins consist of wildflowers, mosses, lichens and barren ground willows. Subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, Bristlecone pine, soap grass and willows cover slopes to timberline. Aspen, pine, oak brush, mountain mahogany and willows line ridges and drainages. Lower elevations have sagebrush, buffalo and blue grama grasses and cottonwoods.

US Highway 550 and Colorado Route 149 connect to a good system of county and national forest service roads. Be aware some of the county roads are shelf roads and travel may be very difficult. County Road 30 heads up Lake Fork of the Gunnison. Gunnison National Forest and Rio Grande National Forest provide hundreds of thousands of acres of public access. Within these national forest are designated wilderness areas. Uncompahgre Wilderness Area has 102,721 acres within the north-central region of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. Powderhorn Wilderness Area is located 10 miles northeast of Lake City, Colorado and occupies 61,915 acres.

Ouray, Lake City and Silverton have limited motels, cafes and fuel options. Gunnison offers many choices of motels, restaurants, shopping, medical facilities and a regional airport. Twisted Fork, Palisades and Blue Mesa Grill are good places to find food.

High

Low

March 2025


Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

23

24

25

26

27

28

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

1

2

3

4

5

insider access

Become a member to access this content

Only Insiders can access this content. For premium hunting content, tips & tricks, and access to our full suite of hunting tools, become an Insider today.

Already have an account?

Log in

insider Membership

Our top tier membership gives you everything we offer! Research tool, maps, and gear shop rewards, all in one plan.