About COA
Greetings from the Colorado Outfitters Association!
If you’re dreaming of exploring Colorado’s vast wilderness – to hunt, fish, ride, or simply breathe in the beauty of the backcountry – you’re in the right place. The Colorado Outfitters Association (COA) was created to help you experience the adventure of a lifetime with trusted, professional outfitters who know this land by heart.
Colorado is a land of wonder, its peaks, prairies, rivers, and wildlife create endless opportunities to explore, connect, and discover. The Colorado Outfitters Association (COA) exists to ensure that every adventure into this landscape is guided with professionalism, integrity, and respect for the wild.
Every COA Outfitter is licensed, bonded, and insured for your protection, ensuring your experience is safe, ethical, and unforgettable. This information is written for you, the adventurer, to introduce who we are, what we stand for, and how booking with a COA member helps preserve the Colorado outdoors for generations to come.
When you choose a COA member outfitter, you’re not just booking a trip, you’re helping protect Colorado’s outdoor heritage for generations to come.
Who We Are
The Colorado Outfitters Association is a statewide alliance of licensed, bonded, and insured professionals dedicated to delivering exceptional outdoor experiences. Our members are hunters, anglers, horsemen, ranchers, and wilderness guides, people who live and work in the heart of Colorado’s backcountry.
Together, we represent a tradition of stewardship that stretches back decades. Since our founding in the 1980s, COA has united outfitters under one purpose: to protect access to the outdoors, advocate for ethical standards, and ensure that every visitor experiences the best of Colorado, safely and responsibly.
What We Do
We connect you directly with Colorado’s most trusted outfitters – professionals who turn adventure into lifelong memory.
Through our Find Your Outfitter Directory, Outfitter Magazine, and Adventure News & Updates, we make it simple to discover, plan, and book your next hunting, fishing, or wilderness experience with confidence.
Behind the scenes, COA also serves as an advocate for conservation and ethical guiding. We work alongside state and national agencies to protect wildlife, public access, and the right to explore the outdoors responsibly.
When you book with a COA Outfitter, your adventure helps support small outdoor-oriented businesses and fund these ongoing efforts to protect Colorado’s outdoor legacy.
The Colorado Outfitters Association began as a merger between The Outfitters Professional Society (TOPS) and the Colorado Guides and Outfitters Association back in the 1980s. Several of our members belonged to one of these original associations and still outfit today, passing down their knowledge and skills to the next generation.
From those early days, the same passion that built this organization continues to define it. Our heritage lives in every sunrise ride through the high country, every trout pulled from a cold mountain stream, and every story told around a campfire after a long day in the field. These experiences are not just the result of our history, they are the reason we exist.
Our members take clients deep into the backcountry of Colorado to hunt, fish, camp, and experience the pristine beauty of our mountains. Seeing an amazing sunset from the back of a horse, glassing your first elk, or sharing laughter beside a campfire, these are the memories that last a lifetime.
Each COA member reflects the spirit of those who came before them: professionals dedicated to skill, tradition, and a genuine love for Colorado’s untamed landscapes and the people who cherish them.
Our Vision
A future where every outdoor adventure in Colorado is safe, sustainable, and led by professionals who honor the land, respect the wildlife, and inspire a lifelong love of the outdoors for generations to come.
Our Mission
Working together to protect, maintain and enhance the opportunity to hunt, fish and enjoy the Colorado outdoors. The Colorado Outfitters Association connects people with Colorado’s wild beauty through trusted, ethical, and unforgettable guided adventures, while protecting the land, wildlife, and traditions that make those experiences possible.
Integrity
Ethical, trusted guidance rooted in professionalism and honesty.
Conservation
Protecting wildlife, land, and long-term outdoor opportunities.
When you trust a COA member to lead your next outdoor experience, you’re choosing safety, professionalism, and integrity.
Each outfitter in our association is fully licensed, bonded, and insured, meeting the highest standards of conduct and care. Together, we share a deep commitment to preserving the land, wildlife, and outdoor traditions that make Colorado one of the most extraordinary places on earth.
Your booking isn’t just a trip. It’s a choice to support local guides, conservation efforts, and the continued protection of the wild places you love.
Our Core Values
Stewardship
Integrity
Heritage
Trust
Community
Conservation
Excellence
Our Guiding Spirit
We believe adventure and conservation go hand in hand. We believe the outdoors has the power to connect families, inspire courage, and remind us of what really matters.
We believe in the skill, dedication, and heart of professional guides who turn an outing into an experience, and an experience into a lifelong memory.
But above all, we believe you, the adventurer, are the heart of this story. You are the reason our members do what they do: to share the wonder of Colorado, to earn your trust, and to help you experience something that you will cherish for a lifetime.
Every trip we guide, every sunrise we share, every memory we help create is a privilege we don’t take lightly.
For us, it’s more than guiding an adventure, it’s about guiding a connection to the land, the wildlife, and the spirit of Colorado itself.
Because when you choose a COA Outfitter, you’re not only planning a trip, you’re joining a legacy of respect, stewardship, and shared gratitude for the great outdoors.
The Gateway to Your Colorado Experience
Where Your Journey With COA Continues.
Whether you’re an adventurer planning your next Colorado experience, or a professional guide or outfitter committed to ethical, responsible outdoor leadership, your journey with the Colorado Outfitters Association doesn’t end here, it begins here.
Everything we do is fueled by our commitment to stewardship, integrity, heritage, trust, community, conservation, and excellence. And now that you know who we are, we invite you to explore the many ways you can connect more deeply with COA and the work we do to protect Colorado’s wild beauty. From learning about our leadership, to joining as a member, to staying informed about conservation issues, there is a place for you here.
Membership & Professional Opportunities
- Planning a trip?
- Curious about membership?
- Want guidance choosing the right outfitter?
We’re here to help.
Colorado Outfitters Association is more than an association. It’s a community built on respect for the land, passion for the outdoors, and a shared commitment to protecting Colorado’s wild places. Whether you’re booking an adventure or joining our mission, we’re honored to walk alongside you.
