Unit 104, Colorado

Elevations range from approximately 5,200 to 7,200 feet. The western edge near I-25 transitions from urban and suburban rolling hills into ponderosa pine-clad hillsides and shallow rocky canyons; the interior and eastern two-thirds flatten to broad shortgrass prairie and dryland farm country. Roughly 80 percent of the unit slopes less than five degrees, making vehicle access easy across most of the landscape. Notable topographic breaks include the Cherry Creek and South Platte drainages, Box Elder Creek, Kiowa Creek, and the steep-walled canyon country at Castlewood Canyon State Park along Cherry Creek.

GMU 104 is overwhelmingly private — independent sources place private land at 86–89% of the unit area. There is no National Forest and no BLM land within the boundary. Publicly accessible parcels include: Barr Lake State Park (~2,715 acres, Adams County, near Brighton — dove and waterfowl hunting only, big game not permitted); Cherry Creek State Park (~3,346 acres, Arapahoe County — hunting status should be confirmed directly with CPW, not confirmed in available sources); Castlewood Canyon State Park (~2,621 acres, Douglas County — hunting status should be confirmed directly with CPW, not confirmed in available sources); and Colorado State Trust lands (which require a separate access pass and may be leased to private interests). The primary road network uses Interstate 25 (west boundary), Interstate 76 (northwest boundary), Colorado Highways 79, 36, 86, 83, 52, and county road grids throughout the plains. Access to huntable big game land overwhelmingly requires landowner permission or a paid guided/trespass hunt; outfitters such as Kiowa Creek Outfitters (GMUs 104, 105, 106, 137, 146, 122) operate on deeded private ground. There are no wilderness areas and no seasonal road closures typical of mountain units. No Colorado Walk-In Access (WIA) program parcels were confirmed within the unit.

The unit blends several distinct cover types across its east-west gradient: urban/suburban development and irrigated turf along the Front Range corridor; ponderosa pine woodland and oakbrush on the foothills bench west of Parker and Castle Rock; cottonwood-willow riparian corridors along Cherry Creek, Kiowa Creek, Box Elder Creek, and the South Platte River; shortgrass prairie and mixed-grass grassland dominating the central and eastern sections; and dryland and irrigated agricultural fields (wheat, corn, hay) in the Elbert/Kiowa area. Sage is sparse; there is no alpine or subalpine cover in this unit.

Mule deer are distributed across the unit with concentrations in cottonwood-willow riparian corridors along Cherry Creek, Kiowa Creek, and Box Elder Creek; whitetail deer overlap in the same riparian zones and in agricultural margins. Elk numbers are moderate, concentrated in the southern portion of the unit on private ranch and agricultural land; bulls and cows are sometimes visible near suburban edges. Pronghorn antelope occur on the open grassland and dryland farm sections in the central and eastern portions. Black bear and mountain lion are present, particularly in the ponderosa/oakbrush foothills on the western edge. Wild turkey use riparian and agricultural edges. Elk in this unit use flatter agricultural ground year-round rather than migrating vertically, and deer movements are tied more to crop cycles and riparian green-up than to elevation-driven migration.

1. Barr Lake State Park: confirmed waterfowl and dove hunting only — big game not permitted (verified via Colorado Outdoors Magazine state parks hunting guide). 2. Cherry Creek SP and Castlewood Canyon SP hunting availability could not be confirmed or denied from available sources; verify directly with CPW. 3. Late plains deer season Dec 1–14 added based on Kiowa Creek Outfitters listing; confirm hunt code and OTC/draw status in 2026 Big Game Brochure. 4. Plains elk OTC Sept 1–Jan 31 confirmed by Kiowa Creek Outfitters (operating GMUs 104/105/106/137/146/122). 5. Pronghorn archery OTC (both buck and doe) confirmed by CPW website. 6. Kiowa Creek Outfitters operates in GMUs 104, 105, 106, 137, 146, and 122 — not limited to 104/105/137 as stated in original draft. 7. Per-species harvest statistics and draw quotas for GMU 104 remain unavailable from public sources.