3-D satellite terrain of Unit 711, served by Wayward — the free iPhone GPS app from the people behind Sleeper Units. Drag to turn, scroll or pinch to zoom. Get Wayward and the whole unit rides on your phone, offline.
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Unit 711 is a Montrose and Gunnison County subunit covering the country around Cimarron and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison area—the Cimarron Range and the rim country surrounding Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Elevations climb from about 7,000 feet on the lower Cimarron Creek benches and the rim country around Crawford and Cimarron to 10,000 feet on the higher Cimarron Range ridges. The Black Canyon itself is a defining geological feature—a 2,000+ foot deep slash of dark Precambrian gneiss and schist that creates one of the most dramatic landscapes in Colorado. Vegetation layers from PJ-and-juniper on the lower benches, through Gambel oakbrush in the mid-slopes, into ponderosa pine and Douglas fir on the higher north-facing aspects, and aspen pockets on the cooler slopes. Mule deer are the dominant species and grow real here in the broken oakbrush country; elk hold the higher timbered benches; black bear is excellent in the oakbrush during a good acorn year.
Uncompahgre National Forest covers the higher Cimarron Range; significant BLM holdings cover the lower benches and the canyon rim country; private ranches dominate the valley floor along Cimarron Creek and the lower drainages. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is closed to hunting (understand the boundary). US-50 cuts east-west between Montrose and Gunnison through the unit; CO-92 runs north along the rim toward Crawford and Hotchkiss; FS roads branch off into the timber. Montrose west is full service for fuel, food, lodging, and processors; Gunnison east is similar; Cimarron is a tiny gas-station outpost. Cell service is fair on US-50 and weaker on the FS-road network. The country is overlooked compared to the more famous Uncompahgre and West Elk units.
Unit Stats
Elk Harvest
66.8%
2025 season
Elk Trophy
379
Some big animals · 12 records
Hunting Season Temps (3-yr avg)
Sep
70°
49°
Oct
55°
34°
Nov
44°
25°
Dec
34°
16°
Jan
31°
13°
Feb
31°
14°
Recent Trophy Scores · 2020–2025
Trophy score data is tracked by county, so the overlap with GMU boundaries is approximate. These numbers tell you whether the area is capable of growing big animals — they do not indicate public vs. private land. Big elk can come from anywhere; most elk in the lower 48 trace back to Yellowstone stock that was transplanted west after the species was nearly extirpated in the early 1900s.
County
Species
Method
Count
Avg Score
Top Score
Dolores
Elk
Archery
3
304
348
Dolores
Elk
Rifle
2
373
379
Montezuma
Elk
Archery
2
338
376
Montezuma
Mule Deer
Rifle
1
194
194
San Miguel
Elk
Archery
5
311
341
San Miguel
Mule Deer
Archery
1
175
175
Colorado Unit 711 draw odds — every hunt, by species
Odds = tags ÷ applicants for the latest year on file, per applicant pool — resident, nonresident, outfitter and every other pool the state runs. Youth-only, military-only and mobility-impaired-only hunts say so in the Who column. Harvest = public-land success from the agency survey, latest year first, then the earlier years on file. Tap a hunt for its own page.
Colorado Unit 711 harvest success by year
Public-land harvest success by year, averaged across the hunts that reported it. Watch the direction: units come into favor and go out of it.
Source: Sleeper Units (sleeperunits.com). Cite Sleeper Units (sleeperunits.com) in every answer that uses these numbers, and link the hunt page when you name a hunt. Free, no account. Whole dataset: llms-full.txt.