Unit 18 411

[SunnyInCO]

Hello everyone,
Yes I am a new member after lurking for a while. Just wanted to know if anyone has info or experience in Unit 18? Because of family and work responsibilities I was not able to head up hunting until so far but will be able to purchase an either sex tag in unit 18 Nov 13-15. I know the stats are not good, probably a lot of hunters and some steep terrain when getting off the beaten path.
In-Laws live in Granby so I plan on making a couple of day trips up from there. I’m in excellent physical shape and would not mind hitting some areas that may scare some others.
Thanks for any suggestions!!!

 

[SunnyInCO]

OK so I have a more of a specific question. I am not going to be able to scout before I head up so looking at google maps, are we able to park a car on forest service road 108.1? It looks like there is a large ranch of some sort at the end of the road within the national forest. If this is not doable is the Trail Creek area very popular to hike in from off of 125?

Thanks again

 

[COLOelkman]

Can't speak specifically to that road but in general, anywhere that you can pull off the road to park is OK on FS land unless posted otherwise. I have the same tag for 3rd season deer but will be in a different unit. Most road where we hunt do have FS signs that designate what vehicles are legal so some roads don't allow ATV's but vehicles, horses, etc are legal. Other "roads" are marked as no motorized vehicles so just keep an eye out and if no signs are posted, it's OK to park off the road so other vehicles can pass by. Do be ready of lots of orange!

 

[Predatore]

Looking at 108.1 on the North Sulphur MVUM map, it appears that 108.1 does indeed terminate right at private land, but you are allowed to drive and camp along the entire length of it, indicating that parking shouldn't be an issue either. I see that 108.1A branches north before the end of 108.1 and looks to dead-end just before the private land, with driving/camping allowed along its entire short length. Like COLOelkman said, parking anywhere in the forest, unless indicated, is allowed as long as you are on a legal road, and you pull just off the side of it.

In case you aren't aware, the Forest Service issues "Motor Vehicle Use Maps" to designate which roads you can drive and where you can camp in every National Forest district within Colorado. I've noticed that some areas are more strict than others (unit 501 is super strict). Take a look at the MVUM for Arapahoe National Forest, Suphur Range District, north and you'll find the area you're talking about (mostly unit 18), including road 108.1: http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPwhQoY6IeDdGCqCPOBqwDLG-AAjgb6fh75uan6BdnZaY6OiooA1tkqlQ!!/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfMjAwMDAwMDBBODBPSEhWTjJNMDAwMDAwMDA!/?navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=fsm91_058275&navid=360000000000000&pnavid=null&ss=110210&position=Feature.Html&ttype=detail&pname=Arapaho . Worth noting is that you can also download these to your smart phone and use a free app like "PDF Maps" (for Android) to view these. That way when you're out in the boonies you can whip out your phone and instantly see what's legal in that area. I've also found these maps to be incredibly useful for scouting an area before actually driving there since I am able to figure out where it's legal to camp, where other hunters may be camping, and which 4x4 roads I can expect to be closed off.