Unit S38

Key features for navigation and glassing: The Hogback and Little Hogback serve as dominant ridgelines running through the unit; Black Bluff and Berry Point provide cliff systems and reference points. Cordova Mesa, Saliba Mesa, and Poitrey Arroyo Hills offer higher vantage points for spotting. Named canyons—Averson, Jones Lake, Cottonwood, South Canyon—form major terrain breaks that funnel wildlife movement.

Multiple named springs (Averson, Merrit, Jones Lake, Iron, Big Dripping) mark reliable water sources in an otherwise dry landscape. Johns Lake, Dupont Lake, and Stanley Lake provide visual references and potential holding areas.

Country ranges from 4,000-foot desert valleys to 6,500-foot mesa crests, creating distinct ecological bands. Lower elevations feature open sagebrush and yucca grasslands; middle elevations transition to piñon-juniper woodland; upper ridges support scattered ponderosa pine. Forest cover is sparse overall, keeping most terrain open enough for glassing.

The terrain alternates between gently rolling flats and canyon systems carved by seasonal drainages. Vegetation is desert-adapted—low-growing shrubs, grasses, and scattered conifers typical of semi-arid Colorado high plains.

Fair access via 955 miles of roads, but most are low-density ranch roads and two-tracks crossing private land—ownership is predominantly private. Major highways (I-25, US 50, US 350) bound the unit but provide limited entry points. Access requires coordination with private landowners or use of public road corridors.

The vast size and sparse population suggest moderate pressure overall, but most hunters concentrate along accessible ridges and canyon heads. Hunting success depends on accessing reliable spring locations and understanding private land patterns.

S38 anchors the Apishapa unit across Huerfano, Pueblo, Otero, and Las Animas counties, bounded by US 50 to the north, US 350 on the east and south, and I-25 on the west. The region sits in the transition zone between Colorado's Front Range and the Purgatoire River drainage system. Towns like Walsenburg, Aguilar, and Trinidad provide external reference points.

The unit encompasses vast open country—described as vast by size—with scattered ranching communities and historic coal mining heritage scattered throughout.

Water is limited and concentrated. Reliable springs—particularly the cluster of Big Dripping Spring, Little Dripping Spring, Jones Lake Spring, and Iron Spring—are critical during dry periods. Apishapa River's Old Channel, plus arroyos like Del Aqua, Chicosa, West Dry Creek, and Gray Creek, flow seasonally and concentrate game during spring runoff.

Several small reservoirs (La Joya, Haight, Larson, Mike Gagliardi) provide stockpond water but may not be accessible to hunters. Springs in canyon systems are the primary strategy points—sheep move to water in dry seasons, making these key glassing locations.

S38 is desert bighorn sheep country requiring optics-heavy hunting across open, glassable terrain. Target ridgelines like The Hogback and upper mesas where sheep rest during the day; use morning and evening to glass slopes and canyon heads where animals move to water. Springs—especially the Dripping Springs cluster and Jones Lake Spring—are critical during dry periods; set up glassing points overlooking approach routes.

Hunt canyon systems (Averson, Cottonwood, South Canyon) in spring when water drives movement. Success demands patience, quality glass, and knowledge of private land access. The sparse forest and open character favor spot-and-stalk over blind hunting.