Hunting Land in Las Animas County, Colorado

Las Animas County's size and terrain make it real hunting country, but the access picture varies sharply by which of the county's several Game Management Units a parcel sits in -- and in most of them, access to huntable land runs through private ownership and outfitter leases rather than open public ground.

This page covers what's specific to Las Animas County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

The county spans several GMUs, each with its own access reality

Las Animas County's roughly 4,700 square miles fall across multiple Colorado Parks and Wildlife Game Management Units, including GMU 134, GMU 140, GMU 141, and GMU 143, each with its own game populations and access characteristics documented by CPW and hunting-industry access trackers. GMU 140 is described as having poor-to-average access for deer, elk, and pronghorn, with most of the unit in private ownership; GMU 143 is similarly described as having poor access for deer and pronghorn, with much of the private land under lease to outfitters, though access reportedly improves somewhat toward the southwest near Pritchett. GMU 134 has fair-to-good pronghorn access and fair deer access, while GMU 141 is fair for pronghorn and poor for deer. The takeaway for a land buyer: 'Las Animas County' is not one hunting-access story -- which specific GMU a parcel falls in materially changes what kind of hunting access it can realistically support.

Because most private land in these units either requires landowner permission or is already under lease to an outfitter, a parcel's value as hunting land depends heavily on whether it comes with, or can support, its own access arrangement -- rather than assuming public or open-access hunting nearby will spill over onto it. If hunting income or personal hunting access is a real factor in your purchase decision, confirm the specific GMU for the parcel, then check current CPW harvest and access data for that unit rather than treating countywide reputation as a substitute.

A real public-access alternative: the Purgatoire Wildlife Ranch

Las Animas County is also home to the Purgatoire Wildlife Ranch, a property enrolled in Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Ranching for Wildlife program, located along the south side of the Purgatoire River and into Carrizo Canyon, with its headquarters roughly 23 miles south of La Junta on Highway 109. Ranching for Wildlife properties are private ranches that voluntarily open a defined number of hunting licenses to the public each season through CPW's draw system, in exchange for management flexibility and other program benefits -- meaning Purgatoire Wildlife Ranch offers real, if limited and draw-dependent, public hunting access on land that would otherwise be closed to non-owners.

This is worth knowing both as a hunting-access resource in its own right and as a general model: some of the county's larger private ranches -- the roughly 36,897-acre Goodnight Trail Ranch northeast of Trinidad along the Apishapa Canyon is one documented example of a large private hunting property in the county -- operate as standalone hunting assets, either through their own outfitting operations or through programs like Ranching for Wildlife, rather than as land the general public can access freely. If you're evaluating a large parcel here specifically for its hunting potential, ask whether it has, or could qualify for, a Ranching for Wildlife enrollment, and check with CPW directly on current license-draw odds and season structure for the relevant GMU before assuming any specific level of huntable game.

Hunting Land in Las Animas County, Colorado

The county spans several GMUs, each with its own access reality

A real public-access alternative: the Purgatoire Wildlife Ranch

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