Colorado national forest roads

[mandrroofing]

Quick question.im looking at an area on a map and i see a road that just barly enters the NF.it goes through several privet properties before it bends in to a very small section on public land.this road doesent look like its used very often. Is this road usable or mabey it was a road and not not?how would i find out.it would be nice if its not accessable becuse it would be a nice piece of ground to hunt,i would have to come in from the other side and its aboit 3.5 miles in from the other entrance

[EVD]

Depending on the area, there may be a MVUM (motor vehicle use map). These are usually pretty current and show what is open/ closed. Be aware the condition of such roads can vary greatly as most are not maintained. Another option is to call the rangers office in that area and they should know as well. If you want to PM me I can go through my maps and see. I Jeep around CO and may have some more info.

[Elkduds]

1. Go to CPW, big game atlas, zoom to the exact location. It will show green tint on all USFS properties. Click the upper right square for a layover showing all USFS roads and motorized trails. You can click to topo or satellite view as well. If the road is on FS land, you can access. Warning, sometimes you need a skyhook to get up the mountain from there to the hunting area. Note that you cannot corner hop, meaning if only the corner s of 2 pieces of public land touch w private all around, you cannot access across the touching corners. Sucks.

2. Call the specific USFS office (White River NF, Gunnison NF, etc.) and ask them if that is public access to where you want to go.

[otcWill]

Buy a Colorado Gazetteer, worth its weight in gold, shows trails as well as all roads

[Elkduds]

I have a CO Gazetteer from about '04, it is falling apart. It is really outdated, I have been looking for a more recent one, can't find, any help out there? 4 now I update it w data from Big Game Atlas, which is kept fresh by CSU, BLM, USFS, CPW.

[otcWill]

Barnes and Noble has em

[Gselkhunter]

Which map are you using? If it is a numbered Forest Service Road you can use it. However there are many pieces of National Forest that are land locked. This means the land owners didn't give the Forest Service the right to cross their land.
I use BLM maps and have found them to answer my questions on usable roads.

[Elkduds]

Will, I was mistaken. This is the map book I have that is out of print: http://www.amazon.com/The-Roads-Colorad ... 1569663599

I changed from DelOrme to this in '07. It has public boundaries, topo contours @ 200 foot interval, more detailed maps of larger scale, several categories of dirt road designation, lots more. Sadly, the last edition was in 2007. I update mine from more current sources. Check out the INSANE price for new ones on Amazon in link above.

[mandrroofing]

Thanks guys very helpfull.has anyone used this one?,it has better reviews https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ya/or

[six]

This worked for me.

1. Go on caltopo website and make a screen shot of the area in question.

2. Email the screen shot to the COW officer for the area. Along with the a little write up of what you plan to do. You may get more than you bargained for. We did.

[Elkduds]

Matt, tried your Amazon link, it took me to Funkytown. What title are you considering @ Amazon?

[mandrroofing]

Matt, tried your Amazon link, it took me to Funkytown. What title are you considering @ Amazon?

Colorado Road and Recreation Atlas (Benchmark Maps: Colorado)

[Elkduds]

No opinion, haven't seen it. The user raters sounded like roadtrippers, not much feedback about public land status, boundaries, topography. That info is readily available online as discussed above.

[mandrroofing]

This worked for me.

1. Go on caltopo website and make a screen shot of the area in question.

2. Email the screen shot to the COW officer for the area. Along with the a little write up of what you plan to do. You may get more than you bargained for. We did.

How do you abtain the local officers email?

[Elkduds]

Phone CPW Hunt Planners @ 303 297-1192, they have contact info for the DWMs (game wardens) and biologists in each regional office, Free call, and the Planners are ready to help w all questions related to points, applications, where to hunt, when to hunt, avoiding crowds, atv questions...the list goes on and on.

[six]

Ok it's been a few years. if memory serves me correctly. I wet in the back of the Colorado rules and regs booklet. In the back there's a list of regional offices. I contacted the regional office and they put me in contact with the CO for the area I was going to hunt.