Unit 16

Rabbit Ears Peak and Pass provide the unit's most recognizable navigation landmark, visible for miles and useful for orientation. The open parks—Livingston, Bear, Willow, and Newcomb—anchor the terrain visually and serve as natural gathering areas for game. Delaney Butte and the surrounding ridges (Mexican Ridge, Peterson Ridge) define the terrain's backbone, offering glassing platforms for hunters working park-edge strategies.

The network of reservoirs including Fuller, Rock, and McGowan provide water reference points and potential evening hunting opportunities. Grizzly Creek, Roaring Fork, and Newcomb Creek serve as reliable drainages for navigation and water access throughout the unit.

The unit operates in upper-elevation terrain, starting around 8,000 feet and reaching nearly 12,000 feet in the highest reaches. This elevation range puts GMU 16 in classic high park and subalpine forest habitat, where open meadows transition into moderate ponderosa and lodgepole stands. The terrain itself reads as relatively flat to gently rolling, featuring expansive parks like Livingston, Bear, Willow, and Newcomb that provide ideal elk and deer summer range and early season hunting opportunity.

Stands of timber intersperse these parks, creating natural bedding and movement corridors. The moderate forest coverage means hunters encounter open glassing country interrupted by timbered draws and ridges rather than continuous dense forest.

US 40 and Colorado 14 provide straightforward vehicle access, positioning GMU 16 as accessible terrain that likely draws steady pressure during opening weeks. The fair road density means hunters can reach much of the unit without extended foot travel, concentrating early season effort near parking areas and obvious entry points. However, the terrain's moderate complexity and park-and-timber mosaic provide opportunity to move beyond initial pressure zones.

The presence of Rabbit Ears Pass as a prominent feature means savvy hunters recognize this corridor exists and may focus there initially, leaving adjacent country less crowded. Mid-week and later-season hunting likely finds quieter conditions in the less obvious park systems and upper drainages.

GMU 16 occupies Jackson County's mountain terrain bounded by the Continental Divide to the west, Colorado 14 on the east, and U.S. 40 to the south. Lone Pine Creek and county roads mark the northern boundary, creating a contained unit in the upper North Platte drainage system. The unit sits in the transition zone between the high parks typical of North-Central Colorado and the more forested slopes leading toward Rocky Mountain National Park country.

Rabbit Ears Pass serves as a prominent geographic anchor, making the unit accessible and recognizable. The terrain encompasses both the open parks characteristic of the region and the moderate timbering that defines these high-elevation valleys.

Water exists as a combination of reservoirs and perennial creeks, offsetting the unit's limited overall water designation. Fuller, Rock, and McGowan reservoirs provide reliable livestock water and hunting reference points, while numerous smaller reservoirs scattered throughout offer additional sources. The creek system—anchored by Grizzly Creek, Roaring Fork, and Newcomb Creek—ensures dependable water at mid and lower elevations.

These drainages serve as natural movement corridors for elk and deer, particularly valuable during early and late season hunting when animals funnel toward water. The combination of reserved water and flowing creeks means hunters can plan around known water sources rather than searching extensively.

GMU 16 holds elk, deer (both mule and white-tailed), pronghorn, moose, and bear, with the park-timber habitat best suited to elk and mule deer. Early season targeting works the high parks at first light, as animals use open meadows before heat and pressure push them into timber. The moderate elevation and park systems support pronghorn in the flatter, more open valleys—focus on the broader park areas away from heavy timber.

Ridge glassing off features like Delaney Butte covers large park acreage efficiently. The creek drainages become critical during late season, concentrating game and providing natural travel corridors. The unit's moderate terrain complexity means terrain knowledge matters less than understanding animal movement between parks and timber—the reversals that make park-edge hunting effective.