Groundhog Reservoir SWA: hunting rules and access

Groundhog Reservoir SWA is 606 acres of State Wildlife Area in Dolores County, Colorado, in game management unit 71. CPW lists no hunting for it, and its rules for the property run to 8 lines: 4 on its page for the property and 4 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

CPW's page for this property lists no hunting opportunities.

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

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

There are currently no requirements to access this area.

Restrictions on CPW's page for this property

• A. Launching and use of vessels may be allowed as posted. Contact the Durango CPW office for current information. When allowed, trailered vessels must be launched from CPW boat ramp; operating a vessel in a manner that creates a whitewater wake is prohibited.
• B. Snowmobiles allowed only as aid in ice fishing.
• C. 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.
• D. Valid hunting or fishing or Colorado State Wildlife Area Pass NOT required to access this property.

In CPW's regulations

• a. Launching and use of vessels may be allowed as posted. Contact the Durango CPW office for current information. When allowed, trailered vessels must be launched from CPW boat ramp. When allowed, operating a vessel in a manner that creates a whitewater wake is prohibited.
• b. Snowmobiles are allowed only as an aid in ice fishing.
• c. 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).
• d. Public access to Groundhog Reservoir State Wildlife Area is exempt from requirements set forth in section #900(C)1 of these regulations.

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 Groundhog 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.

Unit 71, around Groundhog Reservoir SWA

• Elk in unit 71, 2024: 2,529 hunters in all seasons took 467 elk, 18% success (2023: 17% from 2,439 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 1,595 hunters, 17%. Unit 71 elk by season
• Deer in unit 71, 2024: 506 hunters in all seasons took 222 deer, 44% success (2023: 29% from 382 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 384 hunters, 48%. Unit 71 deer by season
• Unit 71: 521 square miles in Dolores County and Montezum County Counties, 83.8% national forest and 0.1% BLM land, from 7,500 to 12,400 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 unit 71

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 71 elk, unit 71 deer.

Nearest CPW properties to Groundhog 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 unit 71

Dolores River SWATwin Spruce Ponds SWA

All 721 State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Lands