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Outdoors · Hunting & Fishing
Hunting & fishing in Colorado
Hunting and fishing are two of Colorado's great outdoor traditions — and behind the scenes, they're really one system. The same agency runs both, you buy licenses the same way, the money works the same way, and the same ideas about fair play and respect apply on the mountain and on the water. This page explains that shared foundation — how to get started, where the money goes, and where you're allowed to go — then points you to the detailed guides for the specifics.
Last checked against CPW license, funding, Habitat Stamp, SWA/STL access, hunter-education, and disability/veteran sources: June 2026. Fees, license-year dates, draw deadlines, access rules, and program eligibility change. Confirm current details in CPWShop and the specific CPW page before you buy, apply, enter, hunt, or fish.
Two detailed guides do the deep dives
The deep dive
Hunting guide
Species and seasons, the big-game draw and preference points, units, hunter-orange and method rules, and CWD.
Open the hunting guide →The deep dive
Fishing guide
The waters and Gold Medal trout, species and bag limits, methods, the bait rules, and where you can fish.
Open the fishing guide →Start here
What do you need?
First steps
Get started — buy a license
Where to buy, what you need, and the shared basics for both hunting and fishing.
Jump there →The big idea
Where the money goes
Why the people who hunt and fish pay for conservation that benefits everyone.
Jump there →Access
Where am I allowed to go?
Public land, the State Wildlife Area surprise, and the private-land rule.
Jump there →Don't miss these
The Habitat Stamp & the SWA rule
The two things people forget most — one's in your cart, one's at the gate.
Jump there →Do it right
Ethics & reporting
The shared code, and how to report poaching with Operation Game Thief.
Jump there →Stay set up
The tools & apps
CPWShop, the My CPW app, and the regulations brochures.
Jump there →How it works
One agency, one system
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) runs both hunting and fishing — the rules, the licenses, the seasons, and the science. That means once you learn the system for one, you mostly know it for the other. And you buy everything in the same few places:
By phone
1-800-244-5613
CPW's license line can sell licenses and answer account questions.
In person
Hundreds of agents
At a CPW office or any license agent — sporting-goods and bait shops, and some big-box stores.
CPW's My CPW app lets you carry your SWA pass and eligible licenses, check regulations, and view your preference points. Whatever you're after, it starts with a CPW account and a license.
The big idea
You pay for conservation
Here's what makes hunting and fishing different from almost everything else outdoors: the people who do it pay for the wildlife. When you buy a license, a stamp, or a box of ammo or a fishing reel, you're funding conservation that benefits everyone — the birdwatcher, the hiker, the photographer, all of it. On the wildlife side of CPW's budget, it works two ways:
The largest source
License, pass & permit dollars
Every license, pass, fee, and permit goes back into managing Colorado's wildlife — the biggest single source of wildlife revenue.
The second-largest source
Federal excise-tax grants
A built-in federal tax on guns, ammo, archery, fishing gear, and boat fuel comes back to the states as grants — recently around a sixth of wildlife revenue.
The kicker
Those grants come from two long-standing laws — the Pittman-Robertson Act (a tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery gear) and the Dingell-Johnson Act (a tax on fishing equipment and boat fuel) — so hunters and anglers pay a built-in tax on their gear, and it flows back through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. And the money is handed out to each state partly based on its land area and on how many hunting and fishing license buyers it has. More licensed sportspeople = more conservation dollars for Colorado.
This is the American System of Conservation Funding, supporting the larger North American Model of Wildlife Conservation — wildlife managed as a public trust, with science-based rules, paid for in large part by the people who hunt and fish. It's also why CPW asks everyone — even non-hunters — to hold a license or pass to use a State Wildlife Area: those lands were bought and are cared for with sportspeople's money.
"Isn't this my tax money already?"
Mostly, no — and that's the surprising part. CPW's wildlife work is largely cash-funded, running on the license dollars and federal excise-tax grants above rather than the state's general income-tax fund. So buying a license isn't just paying a fee to play; it's how the whole system gets paid for.
The shared basics
Getting licensed
How (and where) to buy
Online at CPWShop.com, by phone (1-800-244-5613), or in person. To set up, you'll generally need a photo ID and proof of Colorado residency for resident rates. By federal law, hunters age 12 and older must provide a Social Security or ITIN number; let CPWShop tell anglers exactly what's needed at checkout. The real first step is just making that CPW account: it gets a Customer ID Number (CIN, sometimes shown as your CID) that ties your license history, preference points, and draw applications together for life — you'll reuse it every year.
Don't forget #1: the Habitat Stamp
Both hunters and anglers ages 18–64 must buy a Habitat Stamp — one per license year, normally added automatically to your first qualifying license purchase. It's inexpensive (recently about $12.50, an example to verify) and funds the Colorado Wildlife Habitat Program — habitat purchases and public-access easements that have opened thousands of acres and hundreds of miles of river to the public. It's the detail people most often forget, so glance at your cart. A few notes: your first one-day or additional-day short-term licenses are exempt (the stamp kicks in once you buy a longer or third license); some lifetime, disability, veteran, and first-responder licenses are exempt; and the exact valid dates print on your license — check CPWShop or your receipt rather than assuming.
Resident vs. nonresident
Residents pay much less than out-of-state visitors, and some licenses (like certain big-game tags) reserve a share for each. Fun crossover quirk: nonresident big-game hunting licenses come bundled with an annual fishing combo — so a visiting elk hunter can fish, too.
Youth, seniors, veterans & disability programs
The shared breaks are generous — point people to CPW for the exact rules and forms.
Kids under 16 fish free
No license needed — a full bag and possession limit. (They just need a second-rod stamp to use two lines.) It's the best no-cost way to start a young angler.
Resident youth & seniors
Resident youth (16–17) and seniors (64+) get steeply discounted licenses. Point newcomers to CPW for the exact rates.
Disabled veterans
Colorado-resident veterans who are Purple Heart recipients or have a qualifying VA service-connected disability (CPW currently sets this at 50%+) can apply for a free lifetime fishing or small-game/fishing combo license — and they're exempt from the Habitat Stamp.
Disabled residents & first responders
There are also programs for totally and permanently disabled residents and for first responders with qualifying disabilities. CPW's pages have the eligibility and forms.
Active-duty military
Active-duty military stationed in Colorado under permanent orders (and their families) buy at resident rates; Colorado residents on active duty out of state can fish free while home on temporary leave (up to 30 days a year, with leave papers). CPW also runs Wounded Warrior / Safe Harbor programs.
Apply early
For the disability and veteran programs, CPW asks for at least 15 business days to process an application — longer near draw deadlines. Don't wait until the week of your trip.
Accessible & adaptive programs
CPW issues accommodation permits for mobility-impaired hunters and anglers (method and vehicle assistance), runs a mobility-impaired hunting program, and stocks accessible fishing piers and ponds. Partners like Outdoor Buddies take people with disabilities afield. Ask CPW about the right permit for your situation.
Hunter education (the hunter's first step)
On the hunting side, there's one more gate: Colorado law requires anyone born on or after January 1, 1949, to complete an approved hunter education course before buying or applying for a hunting license (residents and visitors; Colorado accepts other states' and provinces' cards). New to it and want to try first? The Apprentice Hunter Certificate is a free, one-year waiver — you can hunt with a qualified mentor at your side (you must be able to see and hear them at all times), available twice in a lifetime. Folks over 50, plus military and veterans, can test out. Carry your proof in the field.
The license-year quirks (mark your calendar)
- Fishing (and small-game/furbearer): annual fishing, small-game, furbearer, and small-game/fishing combo licenses run on a March-to-March year — on sale March 1, good through March 31 of the next year (about 13 months). It is not a calendar-year license.
- Hunting: other hunting licenses are tied to species, seasons, draws, and brochures, and the best opportunities run through a spring draw (apply roughly March into early April, with a later secondary draw and over-the-counter options after). You generally must hold a qualifying license before you apply — and even in an off year, it's worth applying to build preference points for a future hunt.
No family tradition? Here's where to learn.
You don't need to grow up hunting or fishing to start. CPW runs hands-on learn-to-hunt and learn-to-fish clinics, women's and family programs, and R3 ("recruitment, retention, reactivation") events — plus free community fishing days and stocked urban ponds where a borrowed rod and a ranger get you going. It's the friendliest on-ramp there is; check CPW's education and events pages.
The boring-but-important part
Account & license housekeeping
A few shared mechanics that save newcomers a lot of grief — the stuff nobody tells you until you've hit it.
Make an account first
Before anything else, set up your free CPW account and get your Customer ID (CIN/CID). It carries your whole history — licenses, points, and draw applications — for life.
Buying for someone else
You can pay for a kid's, spouse's, or friend's license — but each person needs their own account and CID, and the license is issued in their name. Draw applications must be made by (or for) the actual hunter.
Lost a license? Reprint it
A lost fishing, small-game, furbearer, or combo license can be replaced for a small affidavit fee at any license agent; big-game and most other licenses cost a share of the original to replace. A digital license on the app is a good backup.
Can't go after all?
Licenses and draw tags can sometimes be refunded, exchanged, or have the preference point restored — but generally only before posted deadlines (often before the season opens). Don't wait.
The points system is changing
Colorado is overhauling how draw and preference points work, with changes phasing in around 2028. If you're banking on points for a future hunt, check the current CPW rules before you count on them.
Keep your paperwork with the meat or fish
When you transport game or fish, keep proof of sex/species and your license with it, follow CWD carcass-movement rules (see the hunting guide), and check the other state's import rules before you cross a state line.
Access basics
Where you can legally go
Colorado has a lot of public land and water, but "public" isn't one single rule — and one of them surprises almost everyone.
Don't forget #2: the State Wildlife Area rule
To enter most of CPW's roughly 350 State Wildlife Areas, anyone 16 or older must carry a valid hunting or fishing license — or a separate SWA pass. This applies even if you're only birding, hiking, or walking a trail through one — not just when hunting or fishing. The SWA pass is different from the State Parks pass (and the Keep Colorado Wild Pass); it's tied to you, not your vehicle, and runs March 1 – March 31. Check the specific property page for its allowed activities.
Three passes people mix up
The SWA Pass is not the parks pass
These three are not interchangeable — costs are current examples to verify:
| Pass | Gets you | Cost (example) | Tied to |
|---|---|---|---|
| A hunting/fishing license — or the SWA Pass | Onto a State Wildlife Area (SWA). Required for everyone 16+, even just to bird, hike, or walk through. | A license, or the SWA Pass (recently about $45/year; about $11 for ages 65+; or about $10/day). | You (the person) |
| Keep Colorado Wild Pass | Into Colorado's state PARKS — not SWAs. | About $29/year, added automatically at vehicle registration (you can opt out). | Your vehicle |
| State Parks Pass (annual or daily) | Into state PARKS — not SWAs. | The standard annual parks pass or a daily entry fee. | Your vehicle |
Short version: the Keep Colorado Wild Pass and a State Parks pass get your vehicle into state parks; a license or SWA Pass gets you onto State Wildlife Areas. They don't substitute for each other.
State Wildlife Areas (SWAs)
license/pass to enterCPW manages roughly 350 SWAs. To enter most of them, anyone 16 or older must carry a valid hunting or fishing license — or a separate SWA pass. This applies even if you're only birding, hiking, or walking a trail through one. Each SWA has its own allowed activities, so check the property page.
State Trust Lands (STLs)
leased for accessSeparately, CPW leases nearly 240 State Trust Lands that are open to the public for hunting and fishing under their own posted rules and seasons (adults 16+ need a license). The rest of Colorado's state trust land — the parts CPW doesn't lease — is closed to public access.
Other public land & water
its own rulesNational forest, BLM, and many rivers and lakes each have their own rules — and Colorado's river-access law is genuinely tricky (the water can be public while the streambed is private). See the rivers and fishing guides, plus the hunting guide's public-access programs.
Private land
permission requiredPrivate land always needs permission — and a respectful relationship with landowners is part of keeping access open for everyone. Public-access programs (like Walk-In Access) open some private land to hunting and fishing; see the detailed guides.
Colorado keeps adding access, too. Programs like Walk-In Access (private land opened to foot hunting), Ranching for Wildlife, the Habitat Partnership Program, and Fishing Is Fun grants (ramps, piers, and urban ponds) all grow the public-access pie — funded in part by the license dollars and Habitat Stamp above. The hunting and fishing guides have the details.
A shared duty
Clean, Drain, Dry
Anglers and boaters share a real responsibility: stopping the spread of aquatic invaders like zebra and quagga mussels. Clean, Drain, and Dry your boat, waders, boots, nets, and gear every time you move between waters. Motorboats and sailboats need an Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) stamp, and trailered or motorized boats generally have to pass an inspection before launching. It's its own topic in the fishing and boating & water-safety guides.
Doing it right
Ethics & responsibility
The rules are the floor; the culture is what keeps Colorado's hunting and fishing good. The shared code:
- Fair chase & ethical angling — give wildlife a fair shot, make clean and quick harvests, and handle released fish gently.
- Don't waste — take only what you'll use; wanton waste of game is both wrong and illegal.
- Leave No Trace — pack out everything (line, bait containers, and shells included), and leave a place better than you found it.
- Respect landowners and other users — gates, postings, and a friendly wave; access stays open when people are decent.
- Think before you post — geotagging a honey-hole or naming a fragile little stream can crowd or wreck it ("spot-burning") and sour landowner relationships. Share the experience, not the pin.
- Follow the regulations — bag limits, seasons, and method rules exist so there's something to come back to next year.
Reporting & enforcement
Poaching steals from everyone who plays by the rules
If you see something — illegal killing, fishing or hunting out of season, trespass, dumping — report it. Operation Game Thief: 1-877-265-6648 (reports can be anonymous, and rewards are possible). It's for reporting wildlife violations — for emergencies call 911, and for general license questions call CPW. You may also be asked to report your harvest or answer a survey after a hunt — that data shapes next year's seasons, so it matters.
The flip side: don't be the violation. Residency fraud — buying resident licenses you don't qualify for — is a serious offense, and Colorado belongs to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, so a suspension here can cost you hunting and fishing privileges in dozens of other states. When you're unsure about residency or eligibility, ask CPW first.
Stay set up
The tools
CPWShop.com
Buy licenses, apply for the draw, and manage your account and preference points.
My CPW app
CPW's official app: CPWShop access, regulations, preference points, maps, and carrying your SWA pass and eligible licenses.
myColorado app
The state's wallet app, which can display some eligible CPW digital licenses — check its current list before relying on it in the field.
The regulations brochures
The online Hunting and Fishing brochures are always the most up-to-date version of the rules.
Have a voice in the rules
Seasons, fees, and rules are set by the 11-member Parks and Wildlife Commission through public rule-making — anyone can comment. CPW eNews and the Sportsperson's Roundtable are how hunters and anglers stay informed and weigh in.
Colorado quirks
Things people get wrong
It's one system
The same agency, shop, and account cover both hunting and fishing — learn one, and you mostly know the other.
Sportspeople fund the conservation
Through licenses and a built-in federal tax on gear and ammo — and that money benefits everyone, hunter or not.
You need a license just to enter most SWAs
Even to bird, hike, or walk a trail through a State Wildlife Area, anyone 16+ needs a license or an SWA pass. This trips up the most people.
The Habitat Stamp is easy to forget
Almost everyone 18–64 needs one each license year — it's bundled into your first qualifying purchase, so glance at your cart.
Fishing licenses run March-to-March
Not by the calendar year (and so do small-game and furbearer licenses). They go on sale March 1 and expire March 31 the next year.
The best hunts run on a spring draw
Apply in roughly March–April, and build preference points even in years you don't hunt.
Born in 1949 or later? You need hunter education
To buy a hunting license — even as a visitor. Colorado accepts other states' and provinces' cards.
A visiting elk hunter can fish, too
Nonresident big-game licenses come bundled with an annual fishing combo.
Kids under 16 fish free
A full limit, no license — a great no-cost way to start.
The rarest tags are auctioned & raffled
A handful of premium bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and moose tags are awarded each year through conservation auctions and raffles — outside the regular draw — to raise money for wildlife.
Poaching hurts everyone
Operation Game Thief (1-877-265-6648) takes anonymous tips, and rewards are possible.
Before you hunt or fish
The shared checklist
- License bought — and the Habitat Stamp added, if you're 18–64?
- Hunting? Hunter education done (or an apprentice waiver), and the right tag drawn or bought?
- Headed to a State Wildlife Area? Everyone 16+ has a license or SWA pass — and you checked the property's rules?
- Know the current rules for your species or water (bag limits, seasons, methods) from the detailed guide?
- On the water with a boat? ANS stamp, inspection, and Clean-Drain-Dry?
- Permission for any private land, and a plan to pack it all out?
- Operation Game Thief (1-877-265-6648) saved in your phone?
Plain English
The words you'll see at checkout
A little license-and-access vocabulary, in plain English.
CPW
Colorado Parks and Wildlife — the agency that runs hunting and fishing.
Habitat Stamp
A small annual purchase (ages 18–64) that funds wildlife habitat and access; required with most licenses.
SWA (State Wildlife Area)
CPW-managed land for wildlife — you need a license or SWA pass just to enter most of them.
Even birders and hikers need one.
STL (State Trust Land)
State land CPW leases for public hunting and fishing access — not general-purpose public land.
The draw
The lottery for limited hunting licenses (mostly big game).
Preference point
A credit you earn by applying, improving your odds in future draws.
OTC
"Over the counter" — licenses you can just buy, no draw needed.
Excise tax
The built-in federal tax on guns, ammo, archery, and fishing gear that funds conservation (Pittman-Robertson / Dingell-Johnson).
The license year
For fishing, small-game, and furbearer licenses: March 1 through March 31 of the next year — not the calendar year.
Operation Game Thief
CPW's tip line for reporting poaching and wildlife crime (1-877-265-6648).
FAQ
Quick answers
Do I really need a license just to walk into a State Wildlife Area?
Yes — and it surprises almost everyone. To enter most of CPW's roughly 350 State Wildlife Areas, anyone 16 or older must carry a valid hunting or fishing license, or a separate SWA pass — even if you're only birding, hiking, or walking a trail through one. The SWA pass is different from the State Parks pass (and the Keep Colorado Wild Pass): it's tied to you, not your vehicle, and runs March through March. Each SWA has its own allowed activities, so check the property page. These places exist because sportspeople paid for them.
What's the Habitat Stamp, and do I need it?
It's a small annual purchase — recently about $12.50 — that funds wildlife habitat and public access. Both hunters and anglers ages 18–64 need one per license year, and it's normally added automatically to your first qualifying license, so just glance at your cart. A few exemptions: your first short-term (one-day or additional-day) licenses don't trigger it, and some lifetime, disability, veteran, and first-responder licenses are exempt. The exact valid dates print on your license.
How do hunting and fishing actually pay for conservation?
Two ways, on the wildlife side of CPW's budget. License, pass, and permit dollars are the largest source of wildlife revenue. Federal grants are the second-largest — funded by long-standing excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery gear (the Pittman-Robertson Act) and on fishing equipment and motorboat fuel (the Dingell-Johnson Act), which come back to states through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Those grants are handed out partly based on how many license holders a state has — so more licensed sportspeople means more conservation dollars for Colorado, benefiting everyone who enjoys wildlife.
When do licenses go on sale, and when do I apply to hunt?
Annual fishing, small-game, and furbearer licenses go on sale March 1 and run through March 31 of the next year (about 13 months) — not a calendar year. On the hunting side, the best big-game opportunities run through a spring draw, with the main application window roughly March into early April, a later secondary draw, and over-the-counter tags after. You generally must hold a qualifying license before you apply — and it's worth applying even in an off year to build preference points. Always confirm the current dates in CPWShop.
Do kids need a license to fish?
No — kids under 16 fish for free in Colorado, with a full bag and possession limit. (They only need an inexpensive second-rod stamp if they want to fish two lines.) It's one of the best no-cost ways to get a young angler started. On the hunting side, youth have their own rules and a mentored path — see the hunting guide.
I'm a veteran, active military, or have a disability — what's available?
Quite a bit. Active-duty military stationed in Colorado under permanent orders (and their families) buy at resident rates. Colorado-resident disabled veterans who are Purple Heart recipients or have a qualifying VA service-connected disability (CPW currently sets this at 50%+) can get a free lifetime fishing or small-game/fishing combo license, exempt from the Habitat Stamp. There are also programs for permanently disabled residents and first responders, plus Wounded Warrior / Safe Harbor. Apply early — CPW asks for at least 15 business days — and confirm the current eligibility on CPW's pages.
The official signpost
Where the current rules live
Colorado Porch explains how the system works; CPW sets the fees, dates, draw deadlines, and rules — and they change every license year. When you need the current answer, go straight to the source.
- Last reviewed
- June 2026
- CPW — Buy & Apply (CPWShop.com) for buying licenses and applying for the big-game draw.
- CPW — Funding Colorado Parks and Wildlife for where the money comes from — license dollars and federal excise-tax grants — and where it goes.
- CPW — Habitat Stamp for who needs the annual Habitat Stamp (most people 18–64), what it funds, and the exemptions.
- CPW — State Wildlife Area (SWA) Finder for every SWA's allowed activities and rules — and the license-or-pass-to-enter requirement.
- CPW — State Trust Land (STL) Finder for the state trust lands CPW leases for public hunting and fishing access, with their seasons and rules.
- CPW — Hunter Education for the born-on-or-after-Jan-1-1949 requirement, the Apprentice Certificate, and testing out.
- CPW — Operation Game Thief for report poaching and wildlife crime (anonymous, rewards possible) at 1-877-265-6648.
Use this carefully: Fees, license-year dates, draw deadlines, app features, access rules, and program eligibility all change every license year — confirm current details in CPWShop, the current CPW brochures, and the specific CPW property page before you buy, apply, enter, hunt, or fish. Two things trip people up the most: almost everyone 18–64 needs a Habitat Stamp (usually bundled into the first qualifying purchase), and anyone 16 or older needs a hunting/fishing license or a separate SWA pass just to ENTER most State Wildlife Areas — even to bird, hike, or walk through. Hunter education is required for anyone born on or after January 1, 1949. This hub explains the shared system; the Hunting and Fishing guides have the species, seasons, waters, and limits.
More official links
Every source in one place
The system
Whether you hunt, fish, or just love wild places, remember: every license sold is a vote for more wildlife, more habitat, and more public land to enjoy.
Next steps
Now go deep
This hub is the shared starting point. The two detailed guides have the specifics.
Hunting
Hunting in Colorado
Species and seasons, the big-game draw and preference points, units, method rules, and CWD.
Open the hunting guide →Fishing
Fishing in Colorado
The waters, Gold Medal trout, species and bag limits, methods, and the bait rules.
Open the fishing guide →Outdoors
The Outdoors hub
More plain-English guides to getting outside in Colorado.
Open the hub →