Unit 70

Key features include Imogene Pass and Ophir Pass, important drainage crossings and natural travel corridors for both hunters and game. The Butterfly and Horse Range Mesa offer glassing vantage points over broad country. Sawtooth Ridge and Blue Ridge provide navigational anchors through the dense forest.

Lizard Head Pass marks a significant topographic break between basin systems. Ophir Needles and other summit markers help orient in complex terrain. Numerous named flats like Goshorn and Liberty Bell offer open ground breaks in the timber, useful for spotting and maneuvering.

Perennial streams including Big Gypsum Creek, Ryman Creek, and Gregory Creek provide water reference points.

Terrain rises from low desert valleys around 4,800 feet to alpine peaks approaching 14,000 feet, creating distinct habitat zones. Lower elevations feature sagebrush benches and pinyon-juniper woodlands scattered with small meadows and draws. Mid-elevation slopes transition to ponderosa and mixed conifer forests.

The unit's dense forest coverage dominates the middle and upper elevations, particularly in the eastern reaches. Meadows like Lizard Head and various parks punctuate the timbered zones, providing crucial forage areas. High basins and plateaus near peaks create island habitat surrounded by dense timber, concentrating game during transition seasons.

Approximately 1,750 miles of roads provide fair access across the vast unit, but density varies considerably by zone. Lower elevations and western sections see more access pressure due to proximity to populated areas like Telluride and Mountain Village. Eastern basins and higher-elevation pockets remain less traveled.

Most hunters cluster around obvious trailheads and lower-elevation meadows; significant solitude exists in the dense mid-elevation timber if willing to walk. Road conditions vary seasonally—higher passes close in winter, and rough four-wheel-drive sections can limit casual access. This complexity rewards strategic planning and early-season scouting.

Unit 70 occupies the western San Juan region, bounded by Colorado River drainage on the north and the Utah state line on the west. The unit encompasses roughly 1,700 miles of road access across three counties, making it one of Colorado's largest hunting areas geographically. Highway 90 and the Dolores River form the northern boundary, while San Miguel and Dolores county lines define the southern edge.

This positioning puts hunters at the interface between Colorado's red rock country and the higher timbered peaks, offering both desert and mountain hunting in a single unit.

Water can be limiting in lower elevations despite the unit's size, particularly on western benches and desert flats. Higher elevations hold reliable sources: named springs including Fawn Springs, Bear Spring, and Nelson Springs, plus multiple named lakes like Arrowhead Lake and Lake Hope. Big Gypsum Creek and Ryman Creek offer consistent water in mid-elevations.

Several reservoirs including Muleshoe Bend and Trout Lake provide reliable access. Lower elevation hunters will need to research water locations thoroughly—many draws and washes are seasonal. This water scarcity shapes strategy: higher-elevation camps offer better logistics for both water and hunting pressure relief.

Unit 70 supports elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, moose, black bear, and mountain lion across its varied habitat. Elk migrate through mid-elevation parks and timber, using high basins as summer refuges and lower benches in fall. Deer follow similar patterns, with mule deer favoring open parks and timber edges while white-tails prefer dense cover.

Pronghorn use lower desert flats and sagebrush benches where grass dominates. Early season (August-September) hunters should target high parks and basins before elk retreat. Fall rut brings concentrated movement through drainage corridors and gap crossings.

Late season pressure forces game to remaining snow-free areas, typically lower elevations and south-facing slopes. The unit's complexity demands matching terrain complexity with physical conditioning and scouting effort.