Sharptail Ridge SWA: hunting rules and access

Sharptail Ridge SWA is 699 acres of State Wildlife Area in Douglas County, Colorado, in game management unit 51. CPW lists deer and elk for it, and its rules for the property run to 11 lines: 4 on its page for the property and 7 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

Deer, Elk.

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

• A. Open sunrise to sunset. Access by foot only.
• B. Hunting allowed only for deer and elk, and only with hunting permit obtained by separate draw for Sharptail Ridge SWA. Hunters must have limited deer or elk license for GMU 51 before applying for permit. Maximum 2 hunters daily. Group applications allowed for maximum 2 hunters per group. Permits valid only 2-3 days starting after Labor Day weekend. Applications available from CPW Area Office in Denver: 303-291-7227. Permit holders can take 1 nonhunting person; that person must stay with hunters at all times.
• C. Hunters can park in parking area behind gate during times they are allowed to hunt. Driving elsewhere on property prohibited.
• D. Outside of the hunting closure, a valid hunting or fishing or Colorado State Wildlife Area Pass NOT required to access this property.

In CPW's regulations

• a. Public access is allowed from sunrise to sunset.
• b. Public access is allowed by foot only.
• c. Hunting is prohibited except for deer and elk hunting only.
• d. Deer and elk hunting is only allowed by permit with a Sharptail Ridge SWA hunting permit obtained by a separate drawing. Hunters must have a limited deer or elk license for unit 51 before applying. No more than two hunters will be permitted daily. Group ap plications are allowed for a maximum of two (2) applicants per group. Permits will be valid for a minimum of two (2) days and a maximum of three (3) days beginning after Labor Day, and will be based on the length of the underlying season and maximization o f individual hunter opportunity. Permit applications are available from the Division in Denver 303 -291- 7227.
• e. Permitted hunters may take one other person (an observer) who is not hunting with them while hunting, however that person must remain with the hunter at all times.
• f. Permitted hunters may park inside in the parking area behind the gate during the times for which they are permitted. Driving anywhere else on the property is prohibited.
• g. Public access to Sharptail Ridge 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 Sharptail Ridge 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 51, around Sharptail Ridge SWA

• Elk in unit 51, 2024: 623 hunters in all seasons took 188 elk, 30% success (2023: 28% from 578 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 466 hunters, 29%. Unit 51 elk by season
• Deer in unit 51, 2024: 559 hunters in all seasons took 330 deer, 59% success (2023: 58% from 572 hunters). The rifle seasons alone: 385 hunters, 66%. Unit 51 deer by season
• Unit 51: 503 square miles in Douglas County, 43.3% national forest and 0% BLM land, from 5,500 to 9,000 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 51

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 51 elk, unit 51 deer.

Nearest CPW properties to Sharptail Ridge SWA

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

All 721 State Wildlife Areas and State Trust Lands