News & Updates

Forest Service (Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests)

Devil’s Nose Target Range Now Open

On Aug. 13, 2025, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests’ Clear Creek Ranger District opened the Devils Nose Target Range, located southwest of Idaho Springs, approximately 1.5 miles northeast of Echo Lake. This shooting range is an important part of the effort to manage recreational sport shooting in a safe and sustainable manner.

This range opening prompts the closing of 94,900 acres of unsuitable areas of National Forest System lands (view interactive map) identified in the 2019 Recreational Sport Shooting Management Decision for public safety. The decision outlined geographic areas where ranges needed to be built before closures could be implemented, ensuring recreational shooting opportunities. These safety closures are in southern Clear Creek, northern Larimer and Grand counties. The closure order and map can be found on the forest website. You can find a full list of public target ranges on Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Shooting Ranges webpage.

“Following years of collaboration, it is exciting for us and our partners to have the first public shooting range opening and these safety closures being implemented,” Forest Supervisor Chris Stubbs said. “We knew it was important to offer safe places for displaced recreational shooters to go, while managing for public safety.”

The 2019 Decision to close unsuitable areas when shooting ranges were constructed and open to the public came about through more than a decade of collaboration with the Northern Front Range Recreational Sport Shooting Management Partnership. This partnership is made up of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Larimer counties. Additional closures in northern Clear Creek and Gilpin counties are planned when the Clear Creek Shooting Sports Park opens in 2026.

“Colorado Parks and Wildlife is thrilled to have this new location for recreational shooters to safely practice their sport,” Shannon Schaller, CPW Northeast Deputy Region Manager, said. “The collaboration of local, state and Federal partners was key in making this balanced project a reality.”

The Devils Nose Target Range is open during daylight hours and managed by the Forest Service. The recreation site includes a vault toilet and three shooting galleries with 24 lanes (25-yard, 50-75 yard and 100 yards), each with shooting benches and shade cover.

These shooting closure orders completed the process outlined in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. A comment period for the closure orders took place May 5 – July 3, 2023, in accordance with the Dingell Act requirements for these types of orders.

View more on the USFS Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests & Pawnee National Grassland shooting webpage.

Clear Creek County

The Clear Creek Shooting Range Project made significant progress on September 6, 2022! Three important steps were completed which started Phase II of the Project.

The first step was the approval by the Clear Creek Board of County Commissioners of an $860,000 grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Phase II will involve completing the design and engineering work, lead mitigation and removal, site work, and renovations to the range. Range improvements will include 45 public shooting lanes, 2 action bays, and a new clubhouse with restrooms, a classroom, office space and a small retail area.

The Clear Creek Board of County Commissioners also approved a contract with EV Studio to provide the final design and engineering for the new facility. The scope of work includes review, analysis, consultation, and all architectural, civil and structural engineering required for state and local permitting.

The third success was the approval by the Gilpin Board of County Commissioners of the Intergovernmental Agreement with Clear Creek County. This document outlines the terms for transferring their committed match of $400,000 to the Project as part of the CPW Grant application. The IGA is scheduled on the Clear Creek BOCC’s agenda for consideration on October 4, 2022. This multi-jurisdictional approach to the Project will accomplish the closure of unsafe shooting areas identified on US Forest Service lands in Clear Creek and Gilpin County.

Clear Creek and Gilpin will be applying for a Colorado Parks and Wildlife construction grant in February 2023 to complete the Project. The new public shooting range is expected to be open to the public in mid-2024.

Colorado Parks & Wildlife

In 2022, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) awarded $909,987 to eight shooting range projects across Colorado through the agency’s Shooting Range Development Program (SRDG). The funds will go toward developing new shooting ranges and upgrading existing ranges. CPW awarded the Boulder Rifle Club two grants, one for construction and one for planning and permitting.