Unit 19

The Mummy Range dominates the unit's western backdrop, with Comanche Peak and Mount Neota serving as key navigation landmarks visible across much of the unit. High Park, Paradise Park, and Pingree Park are open meadow areas that break the forest and provide both glassing opportunities and natural gathering areas for game. Joe Wright Reservoir and Zimmerman Lake offer reliable water reference points in the high country.

Major drainages including the South Fork Cache la Poudre River, Roaring Creek, and Sheep Creek follow logical valley corridors for travel and hunting.

The unit spans from approximately 4,800 feet in the eastern foothills to over 12,700 feet on alpine summits, creating distinct habitat zones. Lower elevations support ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir transition forest with scattered parks and grassland openings. Mid-elevation terrain becomes more densely timbered with spruce-fir forest interspersed with meadows and aspen.

Higher elevations transition to alpine tundra and windswept ridges. This vertical relief creates natural elk migration corridors and allows hunters to pursue multiple species across varying terrain.

Approximately 1,273 miles of roads network throughout the unit, creating fair accessibility to trailheads and lower-elevation hunting areas. Highway 14 provides primary northern corridor access, while county roads penetrate mid-elevation valleys and drainages. However, the steeper terrain and higher elevations require foot travel away from developed roads, naturally limiting pressure in backcountry areas.

Fort Collins proximity means weekend pressure in accessible zones, but complexity of terrain disperses hunters. Higher elevation areas above treeline receive lighter pressure despite accessibility.

Unit 19 occupies the northern reaches of Larimer County, bounded by Highway 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) to the north, Interstate 25 to the east, and the Larimer-Jackson County line defining the western edge. The southern boundary follows Harmony Road and several county roads before meeting the Elk Creek-Pennock Creek divide and Rocky Mountain National Park boundary. This positioning places the unit between Fort Collins and the high peaks of the Front Range, with easy access to services but remote backcountry terrain at higher elevations.

The unit benefits from consistent water availability across elevations, with perennial streams in most major drainages. The Cache la Poudre system and its forks provide reliable flows in lower and mid-elevation canyons. Higher elevations contain numerous lakes including Joe Wright, Zimmerman, Comanche, and Timberline Lakes, plus seasonal springs scattered throughout the alpine.

Reservoirs like Long Draw and Sherwood offer both water and landmark reference points. This moderate water abundance supports both wildlife and hunting logistics across the unit.

Unit 19 supports elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and moose across its elevation spectrum. Elk occupy mid to high elevation forests, with seasonal movements between summer alpine meadows and fall-rut concentrations in spruce-fir timber. Mule deer utilize the transition zones and lower foothill parks.

Early season hunting focuses on high parks and alpine basins where elk summer; mid-season targets rut activity in timbered drainages; late season shifts to lower elevations as snow pushes animals downslope. Moose inhabit willowed creeks and beaver ponds in spruce forests. The unit's terrain complexity rewards methodical glassing from ridges and systematic drainage work.