Unit 7

The Rawah Lakes complex—including Rawah Lake Number 2, 3, and 4 plus the main Rawah Lakes—provides critical navigation landmarks and water sources in the heart of the unit. Island Lake and Twin Crater Lakes anchor secondary drainages. Shipman Mountain and the Rawah Peaks (North and South) dominate the western skyline and serve as reference points for orientation.

Grassy Pass offers a key saddle for cross-country travel. Chambers Lake and Johnson Reservoir, though near boundaries, provide glassing points and water access for staging areas.

Nearly the entire unit sits above 8,000 feet, with substantial acreage rising above 9,500 feet and peaks topping out near 13,000 feet. This elevation regime supports dense conifer forests—primarily lodgepole, Douglas-fir, and spruce-fir—across the vast majority of the terrain. High-elevation meadows and parks break the timber, particularly around Shipman Park and the Rawah country.

Above treeline, tundra and alpine grassland dominate the ridge systems. The elevation spans the zone where elk migration patterns shift seasonally, with lower basins providing early-season range and high country becoming accessible as snow recedes.

Fair road access via forest roads penetrates the lower and mid-elevation portions of the unit, but the dense timber and rolling topography limit straightforward access to the highest country. Most pressure concentrates along the main road corridors and visible parks. The interior basins and higher ridgelines see significantly fewer hunters simply due to distance and effort required.

Reds Place and Glendevey provide informal access points from the eastern side. The complexity of the terrain means that hunters willing to leave the road system can find solitude, even during opening week.

GMU 7 occupies the upper drainage country along the Medicine Bow Range in northern Larimer County, bounded by the Wyoming border to the north, Colorado 14 to the south, and the Larimer-Jackson County line to the west. The Laramie River defines the eastern boundary. This moderate-sized unit encompasses a classic high-country landscape where multiple drainages feed northward into Wyoming.

The terrain transitions from the lower foothills along the south to genuine alpine ridgelines and basins in the interior, making geography a key navigation tool.

Water exists but requires knowledge of the drainage system. Reliable sources include the main creek drainages—Grace Creek, Pole Creek, Little Jenkins Creek, and Camp Creek—plus the high alpine lakes scattered throughout the Rawah and upper basin country. Numerous irrigation ditches historically managed water but aren't reliable hunting-season sources.

Mid-summer can bring dryness to mid-elevation basins, pushing game toward the lakes and permanent streams. The North Fork Grace Creek and South Fork La Garde Creek corridors funnel water and game movement, making them strategic focus areas.

Unit 7 holds elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose, pronghorn, bear, and mountain lions across its elevation bands. Elk use the high meadows and basins during summer, with seasonal shifts that favor the lower parks and drainages during transitions. Mule deer concentrate in the timbered draws and midslope country.

The high-elevation lakes and parks attract moose, particularly in the Rawah country. Pronghorn are marginal in this unit given the forest dominance. Success requires vertical hunting—glassing open country from distance, then stalking into timber, or working the creek drainages where game funnels during movement.

The rolling terrain and dense cover demand patience and the ability to read wind and sign over miles.