These reviews are sourced from Google and reflect the opinions of their individual authors, not GuidedHunts. This is a snapshot captured in August 2026, not live data.
★★★★★Archery hunt 2024. If you are looking for a true high altitude backcountry hunt these are your guys. Merlin and Josh had us hunting hard from dawn to dusk and on elk every day. Food was excellent, camp was adequate, scenery was unbelievable, comradery excellent. Merlin and Josh made it their mission to not only provide a great experience but make it a successful hunt. If your in shape and want to be on elk every day with great guys this is your hunt.
★★★★★One of the best experiences of my life. Couldn’t recommend more.
★★★★★Search no further, THIS is the elk hunt guide service you want to book! My father (67) and I (37) hunted elk with the Quaking Aspen team during the 3rd rifle season of 2021. The camp, the guides, the cook, the horses and the experience were all amazing! The team of guides and staff worked around the clock all week long (not exaggerating) to give us the best experience possible! As for the hunt … - The location was perfectly located in the mountains which was secluded and made you feel as though the entire countryside was reserved for you. The experienced guide staff really knew their craft. We had a group of 8 which included seasoned hunters of 40+ years, and two teenage boys who had never hunted in their life; and the guides knew how to make the hunt great for all of us. The horses were great, fun to ride and behaved, making our treks across the ridge lines effortless and breathtaking l. (My advice - get in as good of physical shape as you can! A lot of guys struggled with the elevation the first day or two when it came time to get off the bourse.) The staff are seasoned, in shape, and are great guides / trackers. They work well as a team and will push themselves to give you a great hunt! As for the food & camp… - Sam cooked us amazing and classy meals, three times a day; with snacks made on the spot! Steak, lasagna, pies… you name it, we ate it and loved it! The canvas tents were soooo nice. A real treat at 11k ft elevation when we were ready to crash each night. Carpeted floors, wood stoves and bunk racks (not stacked bunk beds) to keep you off the ground. As for the memories… - We will never forget our time on the hunt! My dad talks about the hunt every time I see him because he loved it so much! The Quaking Aspen team makes the experience, price and quality all match and exceed what you would expect.
★★★★★Dave and Merlin gave our family of six the camping trip of a lifetime! We loved all of the horses and the high altitude experience was out of this world. Dave cooked us amazing and healthy breakfasts and dinners and he taught us how to fly fish. Merlin took us on extra rides and adventures after dinner. We saw elk, moose, sheep, deer & chipmunks. I was impressed how kind and gentle they were with all of their horses and dogs and how they were prepared for everything we encountered. I would give a 6 star rating if I could. Thanks Dave & Merlin!!
★★★★★My four grandsons and I had a wonderful experience in the mountains! My grandsons, two 16 year olds and two 8 year olds had a great time. They had very little equestrian experience but at the end of the trip they “loved their horses” thanks to Dave and Merlyn. Good food for every meal…think I gained 5 lbs:(. Grandsons asked “can we go again next year?”
★★★★★I have hunted with Dave on 3 occasions, and found him truthful on what I could expect in the areas we hunted. I hunted with Dave for Bighorn Sheep in unit S26 in 2002, and harvested a 13 year old ram. I hunted deer and elk with Dave and his crew in 2007 and harvested a beautiful buck and 5 point bull in unit 55. I hunted with Dave last year in 2017, an awesome experience with a muzzleloader in unit 66 and scored on an awesome 6 by 7 bull! Awesome trip!
★★★★★I have hunted with David a number of times. He is extremely knowledgeable about his hunting areas. He will put you on animals if you can keep up with him....lol! He will do everything and anything to ensure you have a quality hunt. On my latest Hunt I shot a nice 6 x 6 Bull. Thank you David and Quaking Aspen Outfitters.
★★★★★I went 1st week rifle 2017 had a great time. Dave and his crew work extremely hard for you. He will push you as hard as you want be. he has a incredible area. a couple of us handicapped Dave by wanting to shoot 300" plus bulls, had several opportunities on smaller bulls. Great outfitter, i will be back!
★★★★★Dave is a great guide, been with him 10 times, harvested 7 Elk, 2 of which were in the Park (a very large open area of 1000 acres or more, hill side). He has good horses, good guides. He will work you as hard or as easy as you wish. I have taken 3 groups with me in the past. Shot I have taken have been from 40 yards to 350 yards and yes I got the 350 yard elk 6X6. I am 69 years young and hunted him last in 2017.
★★★★★Thank you so much for the amazing experience!
★★★★★I went on a amazing horse pack trip with these fine folks. We explored the continental divide on horse back with spectacular high alpine views. We had fantastic meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, that were cooked over the fire or already packed for the day trips. I've also enlisted the help of Dave to set an archery elk drop camp and he put me in a great spot.
★☆☆☆☆I just got back from hunting first rifle season with dave and I have to say I'm very disappointed with him. We had a party of 8 who booked the hunt 3 years ago. From then until now he lost all of his experienced guides and replaced them with very young inexperienced ones. 1 guide never guided before in his life and was getting lost quite often bringing hunters to their spots. These young guides did work very hard, but did not know much about hunting in general. Dave also did not have enough help with the horses leaving much work for the guides to do in the morning and during the day cutting out much hunting time. Many days we were getting to our hunting spots well after daylight in the morning , or much too late in the afternoon, sometimes only an hour and a half before dark. dave himself did not seem to care much about the lack of knowledge in camp nor did he put in effort to work with all the hunters. When we booked with him he stated he was very far away from other hunters and rarely had other hunters near camp. He had other hunters hunting less then 400 yards from his camp. One morning I had a hunter walk right through my area right in front of me. We had 2 shot opportunities and no elk down out of 7 hunters (1 of our party was ill and didn't hunt much). Far less then his boasted 75% on his website. The 2 opportunities were very far shots, not close in timbers like he said . I myself never saw an elk, let alone a bull. many others didn't see one either . Safe to say I will never hunt with them again. It is sad because it seemed he had a good operation at one point, but certainly not anymore.
★★★★★Dave Mapes was without doubt the most accommodating guide I could have ever asked for. We had an exceptional time, especially since it was my first ever elk hunt, which I have been waiting a lifetime for.
★★★★★One of the best times of my life!!! Just got done with my second hunt with Quaking Aspen and have taken a Bull both times. Dave and his crew are first class and the experience of being in the mountains at 10,000+ feet elevation on horseback is as exciting as the hunt. Dave knows the dozens of square miles you hunt like the back of his hand. Don't hesitate to book a hunt with Quaking Aspen, you won't be disappointed.
★★★★★I have Hunted with Dave at Quaking Aspen for over 20 years. The last thing you say about Dave is a cheater. He is an incredible honest man. Not to mention a gifted elk guide and outfitter. Not sure what this guy is commenting on. If you go by grammar alone I think we know what the deal is. Back to the hunt. In the 20 years I hunted with Quaking Aspen I have killed a bull every time. That is 100% kill ratio for me! As a rule his camps have run upwards of 75% each of the 9 times I have hunted with Dave thats what our camps did! He is a keen hunter/guide and a great host. He represents the elk hunting industry with great skill and integrity. Michael Potts