Many of Colorado’s natural features carry historic names that play homage to an influential individual of the past, but perhaps no name of a geographical feature in Colorado is more ironic than that of the “Gore Range.”

Editor’s Note: Author of a book on Sir St. George Gore John LaConte reached out related to this article to help us clear up some details and add a little more information and context to this story. For a deep dive into the subject of this piece, check out LaConte’s book titled Notorious Hunter Sir St. George Gore: A Deadly Legacy in Colorado here.

Located in the Summit County area and beyond, the Gore Range is named after Sir St. George Gore, a wealthy Anglo-Irish man who led an infamous hunting expedition across the American West during the 1850s, reportedly killing thousands of animals for ‘sport’ and leaving them to rot in his wake. During his expedition, it’s been reported that Gore killed more than 2,000 bison, 1,600 ungulates (elk and deer), and 105 bears over roughly three years – some think those numbers may be even higher, too, with a report from Colorado Sun estimating that he actually killed 4,000 bison, 1,500 elk, 2,000 deer, 1,500 antelope (pronghorn), and 500 bears, plus a number of small game animals, too. By Colorado Sun’s count, that’s at least 9,500 animals over around three years – more than eight big game animals each day.

Other numbers behind his hunting expedition are equally as wild. Led by famed explorer and trapper Jim Bridger, Gore is said to have hired at least 40 helping hands for various tasks, traveling for nearly three years through the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and North and South Dakota with a convoy of 27 vehicles (wagons, etc.) and more than 100 horses.

During the time of his expedition, Gore’s slaughter of wildlife was considered to be so extreme that it prompted protest from at least one official and a citizen. Ultimately, no punishment would be brought against him, and despite the controversy surrounding Gore’s expedition and animal killings, his name ended up affixed to the Gore Range of Colorado following his return to England – his place of residence according to John LaConte, author of Notorious Hunter Sir St. George Gore.

A 2017 report from Summit Daily brings this namesake into question, asking if it’s time for a change. Per their report, explorers and cartographers of the time started using his name to describe the range in years after his trip, and when the United State Geological Survey was established in 1879, it led to the name becoming a permanent fixture. Summit Daily reports that this happened despite the belief that Gore never actually set foot on peaks in this part of Colorado, though he was recorded using Gore Pass, west of Kremmling. According to LaConte, this pass is on the northern end of the Gore Range, and the naming of a pass after the person who had a route built would have been relatively normal for the time.

As might be expected, there have been numerous attempts to change the name of the Gore Range over the years, though it hasn’t happened yet. Per the Colorado Sun, changing the name would require an act of Congress as the range is within the Eagles Nest Wilderness Area, spanning counties of Eagle, Summit, Routt, and Grand. The mountain range isn’t the only natural feature in Colorado that bears the Gore namesake, either – there’s the aforementioned pass, a lake, two creeks, a canyon, and a mountain, too.

Home to some of the most stunning beauty Colorado has to offer, for those who know the reason behind the Gore Range namesake, the peaks are perhaps a reminder of something else.

As far as any sort of a current push to change the name of the Gore Range goes, there doesn’t seem to be much of an ongoing conversation aside from those who have long expressed concern. The most recent coverage related to the topic appears to have been published in November of 2024 by the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance, and that’s about it.

Sure to be a topic of debate that pops up from time to time as long as the Gore Range bears Gore’s name, that’s a quick look at a bit of the history behind this beautiful part of Colorado and why it’s called what it’s called.

For an in-depth dive into the story of Sir St. George Gore, check out a book titled Notorious Hunter Sir St. George Gore: Deadly Legacy in Colorado by John LaConte.

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