This fall, the Larimer County drawing for deer and elk hunting at Red Mountain Open Space handed out 15 permits: 4 for bull elk, 3 for cow elk and 8 for buck deer. That's 15 hunters, at most, spread across a 15,780-acre property. None of them can hunt on a Saturday or Sunday. The county's hunting rules allow deer and elk hunting at Red Mountain only on weekdays, "and there is no hunting on Saturday or Sunday."
Red Mountain closes to the public every year on December 1 and reopens March 1. That leaves eight full weekends between today, October 4, and the closure, and no deer or elk hunt can happen on any of them. For anyone in Livermore who has skipped the open space in October because they assumed the place would be full of rifles, the actual rules point the other way.
How small the hunt actually is
Red Mountain doesn't run an open hunting season. Hunters need two things. The first is a special access permit from a Larimer County and City of Fort Collins lottery, which was open from February 1 to February 28, 2026, with the drawing in the first week of March. The second is a matching Colorado Parks and Wildlife license for Game Management Unit 9. Hunters who draw a permit for a species can't apply for that species again in later years. Leftover CPW licenses released in early summer aren't valid on the property.
Hunting is limited to the rifle seasons. Bowhunters and muzzleloader hunters are allowed only if they also hold a rifle-season license. Hunters can't camp. They can arrive an hour before sunrise and stay until an hour after sunset. Vehicles are allowed only on the entry road to the trailhead, so any animal taken has to be packed out on foot, on horseback or with a game cart. In practice, a weekday hunter at Red Mountain starts at the same trailhead parking lot you use and walks in the same way.
Which weekdays count, and which weekends are clear
CPW's 2026 rifle seasons run October 14–18, October 24–November 1, November 7–15 and November 18–22. The county's buck deer license opens with the second rifle season and runs through November 30. Every CPW season includes a weekend, but Red Mountain's weekday-only rule removes those weekend days. Here's what's left on the calendar for the rest of the fall:
| Dates | Day type | Deer and elk hunting allowed at Red Mountain? |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 10–11 | Weekend | No |
| Oct. 14–16 | Wed.–Fri., first rifle season | Check the county page; the permit codes listed cover later seasons |
| Oct. 17–18 | Weekend | No |
| Oct. 24–25 | Weekend, second rifle season opens | No |
| Oct. 26–30 | Weekdays | Yes, for permit holders |
| Oct. 31–Nov. 1 | Weekend | No |
| Nov. 2–6 | Weekdays | Buck deer permit holders |
| Nov. 7–8 | Weekend | No |
| Nov. 9–13 | Weekdays, third rifle season | Yes, for permit holders |
| Nov. 14–15 | Weekend | No |
| Nov. 16–20 | Weekdays, fourth rifle season starts Nov. 18 | Yes, for permit holders |
| Nov. 21–22 | Weekend | No |
| Nov. 23–27 | Weekdays | Buck deer permit holders |
| Nov. 28–29 | Weekend | No |
| Nov. 30 | Monday, last public day | Buck deer permit holders |
The mid-October row comes with a caveat. The county's hunting overview mentions weekdays in the first season, but the CPW codes it lists are a buck deer license that opens with the second season, three bull elk codes and a late cow elk code. If you plan a weekday hike between October 14 and 16, check the county page before you go.
On weekdays, follow CPW's advice for people who aren't hunting and wear fluorescent orange or pink. On weekends, the open space follows its usual rules. It's free, open sunrise to sunset, has more than 15 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, and doesn't allow dogs. Red Mountain connects to trails on neighboring protected land as part of the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains Project, which covers more than 55,000 acres.
Weekends also miss the US 287 work zone
The same weekday-only pattern applies to the highway. CDOT's US 287 safety project runs from Milepost 362 to 375, with work at Red Mountain Road and Bonner Springs Ranch Road. The $6.38 million project, built by contractor Zak Dirt, adds width and turn lanes along with new guardrail, signage, drainage and striping. Crews work weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Expect single-lane closures, shoulder closures and lower speeds in the work zone. CDOT's project page lists the timeline as June to November 2026. CDOT also notes that the schedule depends on weather, so check COtrip.org for current conditions before a weekday drive.
Don't let the project's location mislead you. The work is at Red Mountain Road, but the county says you can't get into Red Mountain Open Space from Red Mountain Road off North Highway 287. The trailhead is on County Road 21. Drivers heading to the trailhead go past the construction, not through an entrance there.
Up toward Red Feather Lakes, Larimer County's road list, updated September 30, shows two lane-closure stretches on County Road 74E from October 5 to October 9. One runs from Dowdy Lake Road to Birdie Street. The other is a construction zone from McNay Hill to 1,500 feet east. Both fall on weekdays, so they're done before the October 10–11 weekend.
Soapstone Prairie follows the same calendar
Soapstone Prairie Natural Area is next door to Red Mountain and follows the same season. It's open daily from dawn to dusk, March through November. The City of Fort Collins posts trail closures on COTREX, so check there before you leave. In the special access drawing, the deer and elk permits apply to Red Mountain only. Soapstone is included only in the doe pronghorn draw, which this year issued 10 permits valid on both properties.
That pronghorn hunt is why December 1 marks a real change on both properties. Once they close to the public, late-season doe pronghorn hunting runs every day, weekends included, from December 1 to 15. Red Mountain's management plan also requires the winter closure because of weather and wildlife needs. November 30 is the last day of public access until March 1.
After the trail
On the drive home, The Forks Mercantile and Saloon is the local stop. Ranchers Zach and Sherryl Thode bought it in July 2025 for $1.3 million and planned to carry Lehi Ranch grass-fed beef. Its website lists a mercantile with gifts and apparel, a deli, espresso, a restaurant and bar, and 24/7 fuel. The menu includes a Forks Cheeseburger made with locally raised, grass-finished beef. The Lehi Ranch page offers grass-fed beef, pasture-raised lamb and home-raised pork. The site sends visitors to its newsletter for specials and events, so check there before planning a meal around a particular night.
Two other dates this fall:
- October 8, 6–9 p.m.: Music Trivia & Games at Rigby's Roadhouse, 98 Eiger Road, according to the Red Feather Lakes events calendar.
- November 14, 5 p.m.: The Red Feather Lakes community's free Fall Thanksgiving meal at the POA building. It's a Saturday, which makes it an easy evening after a hike that day. RSVP with a headcount by November 6, bring a side or dessert and your own place settings, and help with cleanup if you can.
The November 14 meal also falls on the second-to-last Saturday before Red Mountain closes, and like every weekend in the table above, it's a day with no deer or elk hunting on the property. For more on the area around the open space, see our Livermore neighborhood page. If you own a cabin up the road, what cabin ownership really costs in Livermore covers costs that tend to show up around this time of year.
If you're weighing acreage or a cabin near Red Mountain and want to know how seasonal access, county roads and winter closures affect owning property there, the team at At Home Realty can talk it through with you using local detail. Schedule a free consultation.
