Mountains goats near Denver
Mountain Goat
I am looking for good places to see mountain goats, or bighorn sheep near Denver in mid October. Is there any chance Mount Evans will still be open?
The road is supposed to close on Labor Day at Summit Lake. I can't swear they have as weather should not have stopped it. The goats are generally well above that. You could walk up from there. Can't remember how far it is.
Picture up there earlier in summer.
Thanks! I found old info that road closed 9/30 last year. Also found Labor day like you said. Mid Oct not looking good. My wife is not hiking miles up that road in the cold/snow:)
I will see if it is open but I am hoping for alternates. within 1 hours of Denver. I know that is asking a lot!
That is your only option with in hour of Denver and without hiking far. Possible but not likely you would encounter much or any snow.
Might be able to see some way off through glass but not going to get close or likely a shorter hike than that.
You might find some sheep in Watertown Canyon, Big Thompson Canyon, possible along/above 70 around Georgetown in either direction, up hwy 40 between Empire and Berthoud Pass.
Every time we hunted Colbran and traveled between Denver and Colbran exit on 70 we saw sheep. Not sure I ever saw goats. Much closer to Denver. Before the ski towns. Good luck in your endeavor.
Teller mt just to the west of Evans has Mt goats very regular. They provide weekend tourist with close contact. So much that hunting is weekdays only. Its rare to spend a morning at summit and not see goats. Sheep not so much , keep your eye out on the way as they can show up most anywhere.
The sheep and goat seasons are open so they are sometimes spooked to isolated areas. Some areas like Mt Evans and I70 have closures close to the main road/highway so have a little better likelihood of seeing goats/sheep. You can take bikes up Mt Evans once it closes....done it before but it's around 12,000 to 14,000' elevation. The ride back down is pretty easy!
I lived in Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch for a couple years and visited Mt Evans a few times but always in the summer,,, it's very high country over 14,00 feet at the top... My daughter and I had a snowball fight there on June 30th... At that time of year goats and Bighorns were everywhere once you reached the top, even on the top parking lot... They were VERY humanized and you could walk within just a few feet off them, probably could have even hand fed them although there were enough F&G rangers to keep people out of trouble...
Used to be at that time, they shut the gates to those high mountain resorts at first heavy snow which most likely Mt Evans would be closed by now, but maybe give the welcome center a call: 303-567-4382...
If I remember right, the gate closes at Echo Lake not Summit Lake, and its a heck of a hike to the top from there, although I don't know if maybe the snows would push them down to where it would not be such a hike... They might be all the way down to Echo Lake, would call that welcome center, am sure they'll be helpful...
Have never seen a goat from I70 although plenty of Bighorns and was not uncommon for them to be roadkilled...
I drew a ewe tag as a resident for the Georgetown herd...
We were at m Mt Evans about 2 weeks ago and the road to the summit is closed.
Georgetown would be your best bet for sheep, you could continue your drive towards Berthoud Pass and Urad. I saw a lot of sheep when I was there.
The Georgetown/Highway 40 area is pretty hit and miss. If you want to pull over on the service road or the switchbacks on 40 and start glassing , you can likely find some up top. Not very likely but possible to find them low near roads.
A lot of time you can find Ram above Idaho Springs especially on west end of town
BTW - it not called MT Evans anymore. It’s called Mt Blue Sky. Someone got offended
I agree with JohnMC where to view Bighorns...
A couple good places I know to glass and view Bighorns is the actually the Taco Bell parking lot in Dumont...8^) Seriously... And another is pull off spots (or used to be) at the I70/Route 40 junction just as soon as ya exit off I70 onto Route 40 to Empire...
When I had my ewe tag, I stayed at a bed and breakfast in Empire and a hotel in Georgetown... One day glassing from a wide spot on Route 40 near that junction and unknowingly parked right at one of their crossings... As I'm sitting there glassing to the east watching a 3/4 curl Ram and some ewes further up trying to decide how to approach up there undetected, caught movement closer.. At first I didn't see her, then from probably about 70 - 80 yards or so I see this lone ewe working her way down towards me... I just sat there in my Wrangler kinda in amazement as she picked her way down straight for me and then crossed the road a mere 15 - 20' from my Jeep's back bumper... Couldn't believe it and she was in no hurry... As she went over the bank, I grabbed my recurve and got out to behind the bumper, and there she is down over about 10 yards broadside looking at me... Chip shot right?
Nah, I couldn't do it, I didn't take the shot... I didn't feel right about it and knew hunters had to be either a quarter or half mile at that time (can't remember) from the roadway to legally shoot... I let her go and just watched her travel on her merry way... She never did spook, she must have been used to people parking at that wide spot...
Unfortunately I never filled that tag... Had opportunities up on those mountains but blew a couple shots, two different ewes on two separate occasions but never cut a hair, and blew a bunch of other chances to close the shooting gap distance... I was trying to get within 20 yards or so after the misses... Doesn't take them long to learn they are being hunted... Had one band of ewes I was hunting/chasing for a few days that if they see me a half mile away, they'd start running...8^) They smartened up quick...
Never seen another hunter the whole time chasing them ewes...
I worked for an outfitter in Montana a couple months in 1978... That and while living in Colorado those couple years and also elk hunting annually for a decade out there the biggest scoring Ram I ever seen alive was just a bit west of that I70/Route 40 junction... He was a monster full curl with big heavy horns and every time I read a Bighorn thread here I think about that Ram and wonder if any hunter ever killed him...
While living there and as much time as I spent up there in that Georgetown/Empire/Idaho Springs mountains, never seen a Mountain Goat... Only seen goats on Mt Evans, excuse me, Mt Blue Sky... cnelk I did not know they changed the name... Actually Mt Evans isn't that far from Idaho Springs...
Am probably giving a little too much information here, but my information is over 20 years old but if it'll help some Bowsiters with tags so be it... I seen some monster mulies just at and above timberline above Empire during bowseasons... Blowing opportunities at them is another story...8^)
I'm too old to hunt those altitudes anymore, and nonresidents tags are too expensive for me to even apply... Good luck Colorado bowhunters...
I wonder how much it's going to cost Colorado taxpayers for the name change to Mt Blue Sky? Just driving through that area today and the signage that needs to be taken down and replaced alone is going to cost a fortune.
History must be erased. Otherwise, we might learn from it.
Sorry Don, one less you won’t see.
I have seen a few goats along I70 just east of Copper Mountain over the years. Only in the middle of winter and after big snows.
Good chance of seeing sheep along I-70 though.
I am waiting for the follow-up from Cazador.....
For sheep right above Idaho Springs and also mile marker 1 on Central City parkway. Just spent close to 30 days there.
"waiting for the follow-up from Cazador"
Yeah, me too... If those photos are recent on Mt. Evans, am surprised no snow that high...
There's the sheep observation station at Georgetown, a spot to check out at least. Lately there's been a group of 4 youngish rams hanging along 40 west of Empire, roughly around the 253-1/2 mile marker on the north side of the road. Mt Evans is still open to Summit Lake for the time being. If not open later when you're there, you can always go park your vehicle at Guanella pass trailhead and climb up and look out into the peaks into G4. Also you can go up toward Gray's peak from Bakerville exit off I-70 and look for Goats. You can glass from I-70 up into some of the peaks to the south in that general area. Saw several Goats there myself over the past couple weeks.
Sticksender have you ever seen a sheep from the Georgetown sheep observation? I have hunt that unit and spent a ton of time looking for sheep in the area. That is probably about the only place I have never found sheep. All my scouting, hunting, helping has been from early Summer through second archery. I been told more of wintering area so maybe that when you might find some sheep there.
John, yes but it's definitely hit and miss. Sometimes there's a group of ewes there in Aug/Sept, maybe accompanied by some younger rams. I have seen an occasional mature ram from the station, up high. At times the sheep will come down mornings adjacent to the chain-up area at the north side of 70 and then slowly mozey back up the hill as the morning wears on. I do know in the past couple weeks they've been scarce, although I didn't go look every day. I know there's two different bowsite guys who filled their Aug/Sept ewe tags there on the face above Georgetown in years past, just outside the 440-yard closure.
The bighorn viewing area was put in long ago, when there were actually sheep in the unit.
Cazador you might be trying to help your odds of drawing and if that the case by bad. But there are plenty of sheep in S32. I know at least 3 rams were killed archery and only person I know that had a rifle killed.
Ya Cazador maybe it will help your chance to draw your 3nd Ram tag
John, no offense, but S32 is a shell of what it used to be. Trust me, I have no interest in that unit whatsoever, none.
In the past, seeing groups of 10-12 rams from the viewing station used to be somewhat common. Heck, It used to be a good spot to hunt.
The only thing S32 has going for it now is a long history of some tremendous CO bowhunters that arrowed rams In there. Much like Moffat county is for antelope, S32 is living off days gone by. Sad really.
I bet you old Matheesshooter would tell you the same as his eyes are on it from June to October and all months in between but getting two words from him on GT is a tuff proposition.
There is a picture of 24 Rams plus mine laying dead in shadows. Granted that was 4 years ago. But spent a fair amount of time up there since.
I think I could keep a guy on a group of rams most days of the season just glassing from the highways. From what I understand of a number of other units in state it can be hard just finding rams. Not saying there aren't better units but combine odds of drawing and opportunities to kill one I think it is a unit worth considering.
Nice pic John. There looks to be alot of young rams in there which isn’t a bad thing just not like the days of old. We better change the subject. Maybe delete that pic.
Don, go to blue lakes up by Breckinridge goats all over, they’ll clean your car for you before you drop it back off to the rental company.
Try Rocky Mtn National Park....
We did hit waterton canyon and saw a bunch of sheep. No matter rams. Thanks!
Dang, I lived about 10 miles away on County Line Road in Highlands Ranch for a couple years and didn't realize there were sheep there... Would think that's gotta be the closest to Denver Bighorns live...
Did you make it up to Mount Evans?
This was posted over on the LeatherWall but do not know were it was taken, was used as a test photo... They are having issues posting pix over there...
