Elk Herds, Waterfowl & Wildlife
Herds move into the valley below the compound through the colder months and can be watched from the property without ever leaving it.
Elk in the Valley
The lake was designed as habitat as much as fishery, and it behaves like it — waterfowl work the shoreline through spring and autumn, and the timber and open ground around the compound put deer and elk within sight of the house rather than somewhere off in the distance.
South-west Colorado holds one of the largest elk populations in North America, and the San Juans are the heart of it. What matters for a property is not whether elk exist somewhere nearby — it is whether they actually use the ground you can see from your kitchen window. Here, they move into the valley below with the seasons.
Herds move into the valley below the compound through the colder months and can be watched from the property without ever leaving it.
What Lives Here
| Hunting | Not permitted anywhere in Hidden Valley Ranch Which is precisely why the elk and deer move through in the numbers they do, and stay long enough to watch |
|---|---|
| Acreage | 35.52 acres |
- Rocky Mountain elk
- Mule deer
- Black bear
- Bald eagles
- The occasional moose
- Wild turkey
- Waterfowl on the lake
Watching, Not Just Hunting
For most owners the value here is not a tag — it is October mornings with bugling carrying up out of the valley, and tracks across the meadow after the first snow. The lake, built as habitat as much as fishery, and the timber and meadow are what keep the animals coming back.
Hunting Access Nearby
The San Juan National Forest and adjacent public land put an enormous amount of huntable country within reach. Season dates, unit boundaries, draw odds and landowner preference vouchers are all administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and change from year to year — check the current regulations before making any assumptions about this or any Colorado property.
See the land and terrain
Everything else there is to do here
Hear Them
Elk in the valley below the compound. Worth turning the sound on for.
Elk in the valley
Best with sound on.
A herd moving through the valley below the ranch. Elk winter on this ground every year, and the property sits inside their established migration route.
Wildlife on the Property
See The Full Gallery
Questions about this part of the property? Ask, and you will get a straight answer.