The West Elk Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located northwest of Gunnison , Colorado in the West Elk Mountains .
4-474: The wilderness was established in 1964 and now protects 176,412 acres (713.91 km) within the Gunnison National Forest . Elevations in the wilderness range from 6,800 feet (2,100 m) along Coal Creek to 13,042 feet (3,975 m) at the summit of West Elk Peak . The area supports large elk and deer populations and is busiest during the fall hunting season. This article related to
8-618: A protected area in Colorado is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Gunnison National Forest The Gunnison National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 1,672,136 acres (2,612.71 sq mi, or 6,766.89 km ) in Mesa , Gunnison , Hinsdale and Saguache Counties in Western part of the U.S. state of Colorado . It borders the White River National Forest to
12-953: The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area with the San Isabel National Forest. The forest was created by Theodore Roosevelt on June 13, 1905 as the Cochetopa Forest Reserve, and named after explorer John W. Gunnison . Today it is administered jointly with the Grand Mesa and Uncompahgre National Forests from offices in Delta . There are local ranger district offices located in Gunnison and Paonia . There are seven officially designated wilderness areas lying within Gunnison National Forest that are part of
16-705: The north, the Grand Mesa and Uncompahgre National Forests to the west, the San Isabel National Forest to the east and the Rio Grande National Forest to south. It lies in parts of five counties. In descending order of land area within the forest they are Gunnison , Saguache , Hinsdale , Delta , and Montrose counties. It shares the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness with the White River and San Isabel National Forests, and
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