Colorado Unit 28 Elk Hunting Guide

Colorado Unit 28 sits high in the state's mountainous backcountry, with elevations ranging from 7,337 to 13,525 feet across 424,738 acres. For elk hunters weighing where to spend a limited-entry tag or a hard-earned preference point, Unit 28 offers a mix of rugged high country, solid public access, and a herd that has shown consistent, if not spectacular, bull representation in recent survey years. This article breaks down what the data actually shows about Unit 28 — harvest trends, herd composition, trophy potential, and how to apply — so hunters can decide whether this unit deserves a spot on their short list.

With 71% public land, Unit 28 gives hunters a genuine DIY footprint, and the 7% wilderness designation means most of the unit is accessible without the logistical complications that come with heavily-wilderness-restricted terrain. The elevation swing — over 6,000 vertical feet from unit floor to peak — means hunters can find everything from lower sagebrush and timber transition zones to alpine basins above treeline, depending on when they hunt and how far they're willing to push into the backcountry.

HuntPilot Analysis: Is Unit 28 Worth Applying For?

The honest answer is that Unit 28 is a solid, data-supported option for hunters who prioritize public land access and rugged, quiet country over guaranteed high success rates. Success rates have moved in a clear direction over the past three years: 5% in 2023, 6% in 2024, and a notable jump to 10% in 2025. That trend is worth watching, but it comes with an important caveat — hunter numbers dropped sharply over the same period, from 7,743 hunters in 2023 down to 5,742 in 2024 and just 1,837 in 2025. A shrinking, more experienced or more selective applicant pool naturally produces a higher success percentage even without major herd changes, so hunters should treat the 2025 figure as encouraging but not assume it reflects a dramatically improved hunt going forward.

At 71% public land, Unit 28 is genuinely DIY-friendly. Hunters willing to get away from access points and into the unit's higher-elevation terrain should find plenty of room to hunt without leaning on private landholders. The 7% wilderness designation is modest, meaning most of the unit can be hunted with standard access — no unusual guide requirements or wilderness permitting complications come into play here for Colorado hunters.

Where Unit 28 asks for patience is in the numbers game. This is not a unit that puts a high percentage of hunters on an elk every year — even in the best of the three recent years, 90% of hunters went home without a harvest. That's consistent with what a lot of quality public-land, low-density elk country looks like: fewer bulls per hunter, but a genuine backcountry experience for those willing to put in the miles. Hunters chasing high-percentage success should look elsewhere; hunters who want a real elk hunt in big, rugged country with reasonable public access should give Unit 28 a serious look.

Herd Health & Population Trends

HuntPilot's review of Colorado Parks and Wildlife survey data for Unit 28 shows six survey years between 2018 and 2024, with an average bull-to-cow ratio of 41:100 across that span. A 41:100 ratio is a healthy, sustainable bull representation for a public, multi-weapon elk unit — not an outlier ratio that suggests either overharvest of bulls or an unusually bull-heavy herd. This is a believable, middle-of-the-road number for a unit that sees real hunting pressure but is managed to maintain a broad-based bull population across age classes.

For hunters, a consistent 41:100 average across six years is a reassuring sign of herd stability rather than boom-or-bust management. It suggests hunters heading into Unit 28 can expect to encounter bulls at a rate typical of a well-managed Colorado unit, rather than a unit where bull numbers have been drawn down or where a single good survey year is skewing perception.

Trophy Quality

Trophy records data shows the counties overlapping Unit 28 carry a moderate history of trophy-class elk production. This places Unit 28 in the middle tier of Colorado units when it comes to trophy pedigree — not a unit with a deep, decades-long reputation for producing elite record-book bulls, but also not a unit devoid of trophy history. Hunters should keep in mind that trophy records are logged at the county level and are shared across every unit that overlaps those counties, so this moderate trophy history reflects the broader region rather than being unique to Unit 28's boundaries alone.

Given the bull:cow ratio holding steady in the low 40s across multiple survey years, hunters can reasonably expect a healthy spread of bull age classes in Unit 28, with the possibility of a mature bull for patient, well-scouted hunters — but this is not a unit hunters should target purely chasing an elite, once-in-a-lifetime score. Those seeking maximum trophy odds should weigh Unit 28 against units with a stronger, more concentrated trophy pedigree, while those who value solid public land, quiet high country, and a fair shot at a mature bull will find the moderate trophy potential here entirely reasonable.

Access & Terrain

Unit 28's terrain profile is defined by extreme elevation range — from 7,337 feet at the unit's low points to 13,525 feet at its highest peaks. That's more than a mile of vertical relief within a single unit, and it matters enormously for how hunters plan their approach. Early-season hunters will find elk scattered across a wide elevational band, from lower timber and transitional brush country up into subalpine basins, while hunters later in the year should expect elk to be concentrated at lower elevations as weather pushes them down from the high country.

With 424,738 total acres and 71% of that public, Unit 28 offers real room to roam without needing to lean heavily on private land access or landowner permission. The 7% wilderness designation means the vast majority of the unit's public land is accessible by standard means — hunters aren't facing the stock-and-pack-in-only restrictions that come with heavily wilderness-dominated units, though the elevation and terrain alone will demand solid physical conditioning regardless of wilderness status.

Broadly, hunters researching this country describe it as rugged, high-elevation terrain with a mix of standing timber, deadfall, and alpine basins — the kind of country where elk can bed in thick blowdown and require hunters to cover ground methodically rather than relying on road-based hunting. Hunters planning a trip into Unit 28 should be prepared for backcountry-style hunting even where road access exists, given the vertical terrain and remote feel of the higher basins.

Harvest Success Rates

The three-year harvest trend for Unit 28 tells a clear story of declining hunter pressure alongside improving success percentage:

• 2023: 7,743 hunters, 407 elk harvested, 5% success
• 2024: 5,742 hunters, 354 elk harvested, 6% success
• 2025: 1,837 hunters, 183 elk harvested, 10% success

The raw harvest numbers dropped substantially even as the success rate climbed — meaning fewer elk were taken in absolute terms in 2025 than in prior years, but a smaller, more concentrated group of hunters found more consistent success. This pattern is worth factoring into expectations: hunters drawing a tag for Unit 28 in a future year should not assume the 10% figure represents a new baseline, since it was achieved with less than a quarter of the hunter pressure seen in 2023. The multi-year average success rate, sitting closer to the 5-6% range across the two years with higher hunter counts, is likely the more representative planning figure for hunters budgeting time and expectations for a Unit 28 hunt.

How to Apply

Colorado operates a hybrid preference point system for elk: a portion of tags go to the highest point holders first, with the remainder allocated through a weighted random draw where each point adds an additional entry. For current draw odds specific to Unit 28 and point levels, hunters should check HuntPilot's Colorado unit pages or the state's published draw statistics directly — this article intentionally does not include year-specific draw percentages, since those figures shift with every application cycle.

Application dates and fees change every draw cycle. For the current deadlines, fees, and draw odds, see HuntPilot's Colorado page at /states/co.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the terrain like in Colorado Unit 28?

Unit 28 features dramatic elevation change, from 7,337 feet up to 13,525 feet, spanning timbered mid-elevation country up into alpine basins near the highest peaks. With 424,738 total acres and only 7% wilderness designation, most of the unit's terrain is accessible without the pack-in-only restrictions common in heavily wilderness-dominated units, though the vertical relief alone makes this physically demanding country regardless of access method.

What is harvest success like in Unit 28?

Recent harvest data shows success rates of 5% in 2023, 6% in 2024, and 10% in 2025 for the unit overall. The improvement in 2025 coincided with a large drop in hunter numbers (from 7,743 down to 1,837), so hunters should treat the lower success years as the more representative baseline for planning purposes rather than assuming 10% success going forward.

How big are the elk in Unit 28?

Trophy records data shows the counties overlapping Unit 28 carry a moderate history of trophy-class elk. Combined with a stable average bull:cow ratio of 41:100 across six survey years (2018-2024), the unit appears capable of producing mature bulls, though it doesn't carry the deep trophy pedigree of Colorado's top-tier trophy units. Hunters should view Unit 28 as a solid opportunity for a quality, mature bull rather than a unit defined by elite trophy potential.

Is Unit 28 worth applying for?

For hunters prioritizing public land access (71%) and a genuine backcountry experience, yes — the unit offers real room to hunt without heavy reliance on private land, a stable herd based on multi-year survey data, and moderate trophy potential. Hunters chasing high-percentage success or elite trophy scores should weigh Unit 28 against other Colorado units with stronger track records in those specific categories before applying.

What should hunters know about applying for Unit 28 elk tags?

Check HuntPilot's Colorado unit page or the state agency site for current draw odds specific to Unit 28.