Anyone who drives US 50 through Bighorn Sheep Canyon has seen a band of ewes on a talus slope above the river, or a ram standing on the shoulder like he owns it. Those sheep belong to the Arkansas River herd, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife has a management plan for it that changes how the next six weeks in the canyon look. The plan names two limits on the herd's size: how much winter ground the canyon has, and the risk of disease from domestic sheep and goats. The rut begins in November, and that is when those limits show most.
The herd has a name, and it's split into units
CPW manages these sheep as one herd unit, RBS-9, the Arkansas River herd. It covers four game management units: S-7 (Arkansas River), S-47 (Brown's Canyon), S-49 (Grape Creek) and S-79 (Pueblo West). The plan places Cotopaxi inside that area.
The plan is dated November 2022 and still carries a draft label. Its population figures come from post-hunt counts in 2021, so they describe the herd as it was then and not a count from this year. The plan puts the whole herd at about 360 animals and sets a target of 375, within a range of 350 to 400. Here is how CPW splits them up:
| Unit | Approximate sheep | Where CPW says they're found |
|---|---|---|
| S-49, Grape Creek | About 175 | Along Grape Creek, and also south of US 50 along Bighorn Sheep Canyon |
| S-7 and S-47 | About 80 in each | Browns Canyon, the Badger Creek drainage, and north of the Arkansas between Coaldale and Parkdale |
| S-79 | About 25 | Between Penrose and Lake Pueblo |
That table explains most of what you see from the car. The largest group in the herd uses the slopes south of the highway, while a smaller group holds the north side of the river between Coaldale and Parkdale. That stretch of US 50 has sheep on both sides of the road. It is also where a ram crossing to the water comes into conflict with traffic.
The calendar runs toward early December
CPW's species page for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep says breeding happens in November and December, with the peak in early December. For a post landing on the last Thursday in October, that puts the busiest weeks about five weeks out.
A 2018 Colorado Outdoors article written by CPW gives a longer window, late November through January. It describes rams and ewes gathering on shared courtship grounds and staying active through the day. Daytime activity is what makes the rut visible from a highway. Sheep that would usually be bedded down on a ledge at midday are up and moving, and they're often closer to the river.
The winter is also part of why they're easier to see. A Colorado.com route guide, written in 2011 but still describing the same canyon, says the sheep can be seen year-round along the canyon walls and down at the river. It says they're especially visible in winter on US 50 between Parkdale and Coaldale. CPW's page for the Vallie Bridge to Parkdale section of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area says herds of bighorn sheep and deer drink from the riverbanks along that 29-mile reach.
Where to stop, listed downstream
The good viewing spots are the recreation sites CPW already maintains, since they come with parking, restrooms and a way back onto the highway. CPW lists the river access sites in order from Vallie Bridge down to Parkdale. That order is a good way to plan a drive from Cotopaxi toward Cañon City:
- Lone Pine. The site has a designated river trail about half a mile long. It starts near the restrooms and picnic area on the east end, and CPW describes it as used for wildlife and river viewing as well as fishing access. It's one of the few places in the canyon where you can get out of the car and walk along the water.
- Pinnacle Rock. It has a boat ramp, fishing and river access, and a restroom. CPW also names it as one of two places to turn around if you overshoot Salt Lick.
- Salt Lick. Don't plan to stop here. CPW says the site is only for actively loading and unloading boats, and no parking is allowed. Traffic has to enter from the westbound lane of US 50 and leave back into the westbound lane.
- Five Points. This is the canyon's designated wildlife stop. A passage under the bridge leads to a day-use area on the north side of the highway, which has a "Watchable Wildlife" exhibit, an observation deck over the river and picnic spots. A trail between campsites #4 and #5 leads into the McIntyre Hills Wilderness Study Area, and a map at the entrance station shows the route.
None of these sites can promise sheep on a given afternoon. CPW lists them as river access points, not as places the herd reliably shows up. The table above is the better guide: the slopes south of the highway belong to the Grape Creek group, and the north bank between Coaldale and Parkdale is one of the areas CPW lists for the S-7 and S-47 sheep.
CPW's general guidance on living with wildlife is simple. Watch from a safe distance, use binoculars, a spotting scope or a telephoto lens, leave animals at rest, and back away if they seem nervous. The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area page gives the same advice for this park in particular. In the rut, rams are worked up and focused on each other, so a spotting scope at Five Points makes more sense than a phone held out a car window on the shoulder.
What actually limits the herd
The rut is the season that shows CPW's concerns most clearly. The herd plan says two factors limit RBS-9: how many sheep the winter range can support, and the possibility of disease outbreaks. Winter range is the low, open ground the sheep can still reach once snow covers the high country. In this canyon, much of it is the same slope and riverbank you see from the road. Rut season gathers the animals together on that limited ground right when they're most active.
On disease, the plan names the most serious risk as transmission from domestic livestock, especially domestic sheep and goats. It says the herd area had no active summer grazing allotments for domestic sheep when the plan was written. It also says hobby livestock operations are a continuing threat of disease transmission, and that CPW will keep working with stakeholders and land management agencies on the issue. Around Cotopaxi, the wild herd shares the river corridor with the small acreages and outbuildings that make up much of Fremont County's back roads. That shared ground is a big part of why this herd needs active management.
The hunting side of the plan is modest. It lists ram licenses in S-7, S-47 and S-49 and no ewe licenses anywhere in the herd area. The plan says CPW expects no change in harvest management under it. According to its own management plan, CPW's attention for this herd is mostly on the ground the sheep winter on and the animals they might come into contact with.
Passes, hours and a warm stop on the way home
CPW lists the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area as open 24 hours a day, year-round. Lone Pine, Pinnacle Rock and Five Points are all listed as fee sites. The park's fee table puts daily vehicle passes at $10 to $12 for Colorado plates and $15 to $17 for out-of-state plates. An individual daily pass is $4. If you plan to stop more than a few times this winter, the Keep Colorado Wild Pass is the cheaper route. It's $29 and tied to a Colorado vehicle registration. It's good for one year or until that registration expires, whichever comes first.
For coffee or a sandwich between stops, the Cotopaxi Store at 20204 Hwy 50 has groceries, bakery items, breakfast, sandwiches, hamburgers and a deli/cafe. The store's own website lists hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Sinclair's station locator for the same address shows a 6 p.m. close. Call ahead before a late-afternoon run. The store also closes on Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26 this year, and on Christmas. Both dates fall inside the breeding season.
Our agents at First Colorado Land Office have watched this canyon for decades, from the river and from the acreages above it. If you own land near Cotopaxi and have questions about how a parcel fits into the country around it, the sheep included, Get in Touch Today.
