Unit 511, Colorado

Elevation ranges from approximately 6,400 feet near Colorado Springs to 9,423 feet at Blodgett Peak. Terrain is mostly steep to moderately steep mountains with rocky outcrops, cut by numerous streams and canyons. The unit includes mountainous drainages such as Trout Creek and South Beaver Creek, with Rampart Reservoir as a central landmark.

Public land is approximately 60 percent of the unit, nearly all managed by Pike National Forest. The Rampart Range area is managed jointly by the Pikes Peak Ranger District (Colorado Springs, 719-636-1602) and the South Platte Ranger District (Conifer, 303-275-5610). Roughly 37-38 percent is private. No designated Wilderness within GMU 511. Primary access routes: Highway 67 north of Woodland Park (both sides provide National Forest entry); Rampart Range Road (Forest Service Road 300), a north-south route from Woodland Park toward Sedalia — private parcels and restricted federal land border parts of this road so land status must be verified. Access from the north and northwest out of Divide via Highway 24 corridor. Gold Camp Road provides access to southern national forest portions. Dispersed camping is available along Rampart Range Road staging areas (fee sites, $22-$33/night, first come first served). Rampart Range roads close annually by December 1 and typically reopen targeting April 1, though mud-season restrictions (April 1-May 31) can delay reopening to late May. Post-Waldo Canyon Fire road and area closures may still be in effect; check with the USFS Pikes Peak Ranger District (719-636-1602) before hunting. ATVs permitted on designated trails; four-wheel-drive advisable on wet conditions. USAF Academy lands (GMU 512) and Fort Carson (GMU 591) immediately border the unit but require separate special-access permits and are NOT part of GMU 511.

Lower elevations support ponderosa pine mixed with oakbrush or open pine-meadow combinations, along with scattered pinyon-juniper on drier slopes. Mid-elevations are dominated by ponderosa pine and oakbrush transitioning to grassy meadows. Higher terrain grades into spruce-fir forest. Riparian corridors run through drainages. The 2002 Hayman Fire (western edges near the South Platte boundary) and the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire have created significant early-successional shrub and grass openings that benefit deer and elk forage; some areas continue to regenerate.

Elk inhabit the unit year-round with bulls spread throughout the forested drainages; early seasons find elk near South Beaver Creek and around Rampart Reservoir; as seasons progress elk are displaced toward private lands bordering the east and south. Mule deer concentrate at lower elevations in oakbrush and pine, and in meadow-edge habitat; fire-regenerated areas have improved habitat quality; later rifle-season deer move to drainages like Camp Creek. White-tailed deer are present at very low density, primarily along the Monument Creek corridor on the east side of the unit and almost exclusively on private land. Pronghorn are largely absent from GMU 511 mountain terrain. Moose occur at low density in riparian willow drainages; included in the M-051 multi-unit draw group. Black bear are present throughout the forested portions. Mountain lion follow deer and elk prey in rugged canyon terrain. Blue (dusky) grouse inhabit upper-elevation forests; wild turkey present at low densities throughout; band-tailed pigeons and cottontail rabbits found throughout.