DeWeese Reservoir SWA: hunting rules and access

DeWeese Reservoir SWA is 780 acres of State Wildlife Area in Custer County, Colorado, in game management units 69 and 691. CPW lists cottontail, coyote, deer, pronghorn, small game and waterfowl for it, and its rules for the property run to 13 lines: 7 on its page for the property and 6 in its regulations.

A State Wildlife Area has its own rules on top of the statewide season rules. How the kinds of public land differ.

What CPW lists for hunting here

Cottontail, Coyote, Deer, Pronghorn, Small game, Waterfowl.

Fishing, as CPW lists it: Fishing Opportunities, Coldwater Lake, Coldwater Stream.

A species on this list is one CPW names for the property. It still needs an open season, the right license for the unit, and nothing in the restrictions below against it on your dates.

Who may enter

A valid hunting or fishing license OR SWA pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing this state wildlife area.

Restrictions on CPW's page for this property

• Note that the $43 annual access permit requirement has been removed. Anyone age 16 or older must now have a valid hunting or fishing license, or the new Colorado State Wildlife Area Pass to access this property, and all other SWAs.
• A. Vessel use is prohibited, except while fishing. Other water recreation use is restricted to owners with deeded recreation rights on Deweese Reservoir.
• B. Snowmobiles allowed only as an aid in ice fishing.
• C. Camping allowed by reservation only in designated and established camping areas.
• D. Fires allowed within established containment structure in designated camping areas.
• E. Glass containers prohibited.
• F. Dogs must be under control and on leash by handler, except service animals or when actively hunting, training for hunting or during licensed field trials.

In CPW's regulations

• a. Vessel use is prohibited, except while fishing. Any other water recreation use, other than fishing, is restricted to owners with deeded recreation rights on Deweese Reservoir.
• b. OHV use is prohibited. Snowmobile use is allowed only as an aid in ice fishing.
• c. Camping is allowed by reservation only in designated and established camping areas.
• d. Fires are allowed within an established containment structure in designated camping areas.
• e. Glass containers are prohibited.
• f. Dogs are allowed but must be kept under control on a physical leash by the handler at all times, except as authorized in #900(C)(15).

From CPW regulations, chapter W-9 (Wildlife Properties), 2 CCR 406-9, dated July 16, 2026.

Read it at the source before you go

The rules above are CPW's words, copied from CPW's page for DeWeese Reservoir SWA as it read on October 8, 2026 and from the regulations for CPW properties. CPW can change them or close the property at any time, signs on the ground count, and a rule that names a season moves with that season each year.

Units 69 and 691, around DeWeese Reservoir SWA

• Elk in unit 69, 2024: 293 hunters in all seasons took 77 elk, 26% success (2023: 27% from 335 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 228 hunters, 28%. Unit 69 elk by season
• Deer in unit 69, 2024: 917 hunters in all seasons took 441 deer, 48% success (2023: 48% from 1,090 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 708 hunters, 52%. Unit 69 deer by season
• Unit 69: 292 square miles in Custer and Fremont Counties, 26% national forest and 6.2% BLM land, from 5,200 to 9,800 feet.
• Elk in unit 691, 2024: 167 hunters in all seasons took 27 elk, 16% success (2023: 7% from 97 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 141 hunters, 15%. Unit 691 elk by season
• Deer in unit 691, 2024: 161 hunters in all seasons took 74 deer, 46% success (2023: 55% from 117 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 133 hunters, 49%. Unit 691 deer by season
• Unit 691: 252 square miles in Custer and Fremont Counties, 0.1% national forest and 41.4% BLM land, from 5,700 to 8,200 feet.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife survey estimates for the whole unit, private land included. They are not figures for this property, and whether elk or deer may be hunted here is in CPW's list above.

2026 elk and deer rifle hunt codes for units 69 and 691

A code valid in the unit is not permission to hunt this property: the property's own list and restrictions decide that. Legal light is half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset at the coordinates above, on the Colorado clock; the state's printed table is the rule. Archery, muzzleloader, late and private-land codes are on the unit pages: unit 69 elk, unit 69 deer, unit 691 elk, unit 691 deer.

Nearest CPW properties to DeWeese Reservoir SWA

Straight-line miles between the middles of the boundaries CPW maps, not road miles. A property can be much nearer at its edge.

More CPW properties in units 69, 691

Bear Gulch STLFlorence STLGrape Creek STLNewlin Creek STLWest Bear Gulch STLCopper Gulch STLPinnacle Rock STLTunnel Drive STL

All 721 State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Lands