Colorado · Spring Turkey
Three-night spring hunt at shoulder-season pricing. Open ponderosa benches, scattered Gambel oak, and toms that work calls hard in the second and third weeks of the season.
Spring turkey at Elk Glade is the year’s quietest hunt — and one of the most rewarding. The Sawmill Gulch ponderosa benches above the lodge hold a healthy Merriam’s population that the family has watched for many seasons. The toms work calls hard, the country is the prettiest week of the ranch year, and a three-night hunt fits cleanly around a long weekend.
Most years we run the hunt the second and third weeks of the season — when toms are still grouped up but the hens have started splitting off to nest. That timing produces the strongest call response and our highest harvest rate.
A typical day starts an hour before legal light. We get into position on the bench where toms roost, listen for the gobble, and set up. If the bird hangs up at a hundred yards, we move. If he comes in, you take him. Most birds are killed before ten in the morning; the rest of the day we walk new country, eat lunch on the bench looking north toward Pikes Peak, and look for a second-set bird if you have a second tag.
Colorado non-resident spring turkey license currently ≈$110. See Licenses + Permits + Draws.
The country. Open ponderosa with scattered Gambel oak, between 7,800 and 8,800 feet. South-facing benches that warm by mid-morning. The kind of ground that turkeys love and a hunter can move through quietly.
The birds.Resident Merriam’s — not transplants, not put-and-take. The population has been on the property since the ranch started seeing them in the late 1990s and has built steadily. We run a light spring harvest and don’t fall-hunt.
The lodge. Spring is the prettiest week of the year at Elk Glade — the meadow is green, the aspen are leafing, and the creek is running full. The ranch lodge that serves hunters in October serves turkey hunters in April. Same chef, lighter menu, longer evenings on the porch.
The price.At $1,975 for three nights, the turkey hunt is the most accessible price point on the ranch. It’s how a lot of guests first come to Elk Glade — and then come back in October.
Colorado runs spring turkey from mid-April through late-May (the dates shift a day or two year to year). At Elk Glade we mostly hunt the second and third weeks of the season — when toms are still grouped up but the hens have started splitting off to nest, which makes call response the strongest of the year.
Merriam's. Colorado is a Merriam's state west of the Front Range, and the south-slope ponderosa benches are textbook Merriam's country — open pine, scattered Gambel oak, gentle south-facing terrain that warms up early in the morning.
Most Colorado spring turkey tags are over-the-counter for non-residents on the unit we hunt. A few specific subunits run on a limited draw with first-Tuesday-in-February application. We help every guest figure out which route applies to their dates and party size.
Camouflage outerwear (full coverage — turkeys see color), comfortable boots, gloves, face mask, and your shotgun or bow. We have loaner 12-gauges if you'd rather travel light, and we provide all calls, decoys, and blinds. The Trip Planner has a full checklist.
Sure — a few of our guests pair the turkey hunt with a Cattle Drive or a couple of East Beaver Creek fishing days. Spring is one of the prettiest weeks on the ranch and the kitchen runs harder than it does in October. Mention it on the inquiry and we'll plan it together.
Less than for an elk or deer hunt. Turkey is set-up hunting — you're walking maybe 2–4 miles a day and sitting for long stretches when you set up on a tom. Older hunters and hunters with mobility limitations do well on this hunt; let us know what you're working with and we'll match the day to it.
Spring 2026 availability
Most spring weeks have 2–4 hunter slots; book by February for first pick of dates. The turkey hunt is also an easy add-on to a Pikes Peak / Colorado Springs vacation week — fly into COS, hunt for three days, drive south for the rest of the trip.
From the journal
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