Dolores Triangle

lrasmussen1 · Jul 24, 2015

I have about 14 points for Elk in Utah. I have hunted the Dolores Triangle area on both the Colorado and Utah side many times for deer. I keep hearing about people that cross the Colorado river by boat? Does anyone know about this? It seems to me that the Unit boundary is the Colorado border so how would you cross it from inside the triangle to access a remote area?

YELUM · Jul 25, 2015

LAST EDITED ON Jul-25-15 AT 11:03AM (MST)[p]There are areas of the unit that have no road access, but can be hunted by crossing the CO river on the Northwestern part of the unit. There are plenty of better elk areas in that unit that make river crossing unnecessary.

Yelum

YBU

schoolhousegrizz · Jul 27, 2015

Speaking of the Dolores, can you get there from Grand Junction?

Goldberg · Jul 27, 2015

You can get there through Fruita. go throught the park, can't remeber the name of it, but really pretty. it's a long, long way around, but you are in good country from the minute you cross back over into Utah. Don't do what i did once- floated across the river in a toy rubber raft. one of the more stupid things i have done in my life. big ice chunks floating down the river, ledge of ice about 3-4 feed out into the river. punctured the raft on the ice, lucky it was on the way back. if things had gone just a little different, i would have been in the news, and probably in the darwin awards section.
you can cross the river in a jeep down around moab, but have never done that.
Good luck. pretty country.

schoolhousegrizz · Jul 27, 2015

Thanks

WannaB · Jul 27, 2015

I have crossed the river several times (never in a cheap rubber raft), but consider that to be more of a muley area, as opposed to elk. I don't remember seeing any elk in the trips I have made. Access via Glade Park is the easiest option, but very weather dependent. What time of year is your tag? If it is before November...slim pickings!

-WB

stinky · Jul 27, 2015

I don't remember exactly where the triangle is....but if you are talking about the area W of the UT/CO border, S of the CO river, and E of the Dolores....then it is accessible, as mentioned, from Grand Jct & Fruita, by driving thru the CO National Monument. This is probably your best bet.

It may be accessible by going east from the Dewey Bridge area (UT 128 or 118 and the CO).

The Dolores is accessible at Gateway, CO...but not sure if that does anything for you. I think that there are roads on the east side of the Dolores, at Gateway, but not sure about the west side of it. You could float the river...but tis a long way to shuttle (Gateway to Dewey)...I've been told that there are rapids on that stretch of the river.
John 14:6

lrasmussen1 · Jul 29, 2015

Thanks everyone I appreciate it. Where do you cross the Colorado into the remote areas? I have spent a lot of time in Ryan's Park, Steamboat Mesa, Granite Creek, and up in Colorado Fish Park etc. I look at maps and see the Unit boundary as the Colorado River? Where would the remote access be?