Unit S78

Major summits anchor navigation: Elk Mountain, Sheep Mountain, Jacque Peak, and Copper Mountain provide obvious glassing and travel targets. Fremont and Tennessee Passes serve as critical navigation references on the unit boundary. Key drainages include East Fork Eagle River, Resolution Creek, and McNulty Creek—logical travel corridors through forested lower country.

Buffehr Lake and Buckeye Lake offer reliable water reference points. Ridge systems like Elk Ridge and Chicago Ridge structure the terrain for cross-country route finding.

The entire unit sits above 9,000 feet, with summits reaching past 13,000 feet. Alpine meadows and windswept ridges dominate the highest elevations, transitioning into dense spruce-fir forest on the lower slopes. Sheep habitat concentrates on the rolling ridgelines and open summits where escape terrain and sightlines align.

The timbered portions provide winter shelter but the sheep rely heavily on the alpine parks and rocky outcrops above timberline where they can see approaching threats.

Connected road system with 158 miles of Forest Service and county roads provides good access to trailheads and staging areas around the unit perimeter. Fremont Pass, Tennessee Pass, and multiple USFS roads offer approach routes to the high country. Highway 91, U.S. 24, and state routes form the boundary spine.

Moderate accessibility balances reasonable entry routes against alpine terrain that naturally funnels hunters into predictable corridors—glassing from ridges and off-trail movement remain essential for finding sheep away from main travel zones.

S78 wraps the Ten Mile Range between Eagle and Summit counties, bounded by Resolution Creek Road and I-70 to the north, Highway 91 to the east, and U.S. 24 to the south and west. Fremont and Tennessee Passes mark key geographic anchors on the perimeter. The unit sits squarely in Colorado's central high country, accessible from multiple valley towns including Leadville, Copper Mountain, and Vail.

Moderate size makes it neither cramped nor overwhelming for focused sheep hunting.

Water is moderate but reliable across the alpine terrain. Resolution Creek, East Fork Eagle River, Clinton Creek, and Mayflower Creek are the main drainages flowing from the high country. Multiple lakes including Buffehr Lake, Buckeye Lake, and Chalk Lake provide consistent water sources during the hunting season.

At alpine elevations, snowmelt feeds numerous smaller streams and seeps—hunters should expect water availability to increase as weather cools and precipitation patterns shift into fall.

This is straightforward mountain sheep country in a rolling alpine landscape. Locate sheep on exposed ridgelines and open summits where visibility is maximum. Hunt early season when weather permits extended high-country access and sheep concentrate on high pastures.

Key waterless passes like Fremont and Tennessee connect major drainage systems—sheep movement often funnels through these areas. Route-finding is moderate; the challenge is glassing effectively and planning stalk approaches across open terrain where movement is exposed. Success depends on thorough ridge scanning, understanding wind patterns on exposed summits, and using established drainages strategically.