Brush Hogging Cost Per Acre in Colorado (2026)

The acreage that came with the house has gone to knee-high grass and oak sprouts, or the ring around your home needs cutting down before fire season, and you want to know what a tractor and rotary cutter will cost. Brush hogging in Colorado runs $75 to $400 an acre with Cut Brush, with a $250 to $500 minimum per visit. Our crew mows across Denver, Jefferson, Douglas, Elbert, Adams and Arapahoe counties, and around Colorado Springs across El Paso, Teller and Fremont counties.

At a glance:

• Our rates: $75 to $150 an acre for a field mowed within the past year, $125 to $250 after one or two seasons, and $200 to $400 once it has gone three years or more.
• Past a mower: when saplings pass 2 to 3 inches, the job becomes understory work at $1,500 to $2,500 an acre.
• Oak sprouts: the Colorado State Forest Service asks for Gambel oak sprouts near a home to be mowed at least once a year.
• Defensible space: grass at 4 inches or less from 5 to 30 feet out; beyond 30 feet the state’s guide says mowing is not necessary.
• Red Flag days: in unincorporated Jefferson County, a Red Flag Warning puts Stage 1 fire restrictions in force automatically until 11:59 p.m. on its last day.

Mowing sits on our Denver services page and our Colorado Springs services page alongside the heavier work, so one crew can mow the open ground and thin the woody edges on the same trip.

How Much Does Brush Hogging Cost in Colorado?

Brush hogging is a tractor pulling a heavy rotary cutter through growth a lawn mower cannot handle: tall grass, weeds, soft oak sprouts and saplings up to about 2 inches. The clippings stay where they fall. How long since the last cut is what sets the price:

Field condition	Our price per acre	What it looks like in Colorado
Mowed within the past year	$75 – $150	Short blue grama on a plains parcel, or a home ring cut last summer
1–2 seasons of growth	$125 – $250	Bluestem and needlegrass to the knee, soft oak sprouts along the edges
3+ years overgrown	$200 – $400	Dense sprouts and brush up to 2 inches thick
Saplings past 2 to 3 inches	Not a brush hog job	Oak or Russian olive gone woody; priced as understory work

Where these numbers come from. This is the brush hogging rate card Cut Brush publishes, and it is what we charge on a Colorado field. The $250 to $500 minimum covers loading, trailering and unloading the tractor. It is a minimum charge, not a fee added on top, so a one-acre lot usually starts there. Once stems outgrow the cutter, we price the ground from the regrowth and understory row on our Denver pricing page, at $1,500 to $2,500 an acre.

What Changes the Price of Mowing a Colorado Field

Oak sprouts that need cutting every year. Once Gambel oak has been mulched or cut, it comes back from the roots, and mowing is how you keep it from turning into a thicket again. The State Forest Service’s Home Ignition Zone guide says to mow oak sprouts at least once a year and to retreat oak near a home every three to five years. Douglas County gives the same advice for oak it has masticated: mow before the shoots get too woody for a lawnmower. Skip two summers and the stems harden, the deck rides over them, and the field moves to the understory row.

Rock on foothill pasture. The Ratake series covers foothill ground at the edge of the mountains in northern and central Colorado. It sits 10 to 20 inches above soft bedrock, carries 35 to 80 percent rock fragments and runs on slopes up to 60 percent, mostly as native pasture under mountain mahogany, sideoats grama and cactus. Stones get thrown or strike the blades, so our operator raises the deck and slows down, and the acre climbs toward the top of its row.

Fire weather on the calendar. During fire restrictions, the Jefferson County Sheriff asks residents to avoid any outdoor activity that could cause a spark or flame, and Stage 2 adds spark arrester, extinguisher and shovel rules for chain saws. A dry, windy week in August can move a mowing date, so we like to book grass work early in the season or after a wet spell.

Ditch banks full of tamarisk. The Colorado Department of Agriculture says saltcedar spreads both by seed and from the plant itself, and a mature plant can set up to 600,000 seeds a year. Mowing a ditch bank of it buys a season, not a cure, and stems past the cutter’s reach need a mulching head.

The drive out to the plains. East of Bennett the fields are flat and clean, which is the cheapest mowing there is, but the trailer still has to get there. On a small parcel that far out, the minimum usually sets the price.

Pro tip: Around a foothills house, ask us to mow only the ring from 5 to 30 feet out. That is where the State Forest Service wants grass kept at 4 inches or less. Past 30 feet its guide says mowing is not necessary, so you skip paying for cutting that buys no fire protection.

Brush Hogging Costs Across Colorado

The plains east of Denver

Around Bennett, Strasburg, Byers and Deer Trail much of the upland is Ascalon-type ground: deep sandy loam under blue grama between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, most of it farmed or grazed. Short grass, few stones and open gates put these fields in the cheapest rows of our table, provided someone mows them every year.

The Palmer Divide: Elbert and Douglas counties

From Elizabeth to Franktown and Larkspur, the Pring series, first described in Douglas County, carries big and little bluestem, green needlegrass and blue grama on arkose. The grass stands taller than on the plains, and oak creeping in from the field edges means more passes per acre and the odd fence line that needs a mulcher instead.

The Front Range foothills

Above Golden, Morrison and Evergreen, mowing is mostly upkeep after thinning: keeping oak sprouts soft and grass short inside the zone around the house. Rocky Ratake ground and grade keep the hours up. Our Colorado underbrush removal cost guide prices the thinning that comes first.

Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak area

Our crew mows across El Paso, Teller and Fremont counties through our Colorado Springs market. Much of the work there is keeping scrub oak sprouts soft after a mulching pass, before they turn woody.

The Western Slope

West of the divide, the Progresso series of Montrose County carries galleta, Indian ricegrass and big sagebrush, with some irrigated hay. Tell us where the land is and our crew will tell you what we can do; our rate card is a fair budget for the same field.

Fire Restrictions and Defensible Space Mowing in Colorado

Restrictions. Stage 1 in Jefferson County bans open burning and bonfires among other things, and Stage 2 tightens it further. The county’s own parks and Denver Mountain Parks stay under Stage 2 all year. Inside a town, the municipality or fire district sets its own rules.

Zones. The State Forest Service works in three rings: 0 to 5 feet, 5 to 30 feet and 30 to 100 feet from the house. Mowing belongs in the middle ring. The inner ring is meant to hold no flammable growth at all, which is hand work, not tractor work.

The clippings. A brush hog leaves the cut material on the ground. If fence row cuttings get piled to burn instead, remember the seven metro counties prohibit open burning from November 1 to March 31, with some exemptions. Our Colorado forestry mulching cost guide covers the burn permit rules, and the Colorado land clearing cost per acre guide covers ground that has gone past mowing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to brush hog an acre in Colorado?

With Cut Brush, $75 to $400 an acre depending on how long the field has gone uncut, with a $250 to $500 minimum per visit. A plains pasture mowed last year sits at the bottom. A rocky foothills slope three summers overgrown sits at the top.

How often should Gambel oak sprouts be mowed?

At least once a year, according to the State Forest Service, before the shoots harden. Douglas County gives the same advice for oak it has masticated: mow while a lawnmower can still handle the regrowth.

How short should grass be around my house for wildfire?

Four inches or less in the ring from 5 to 30 feet out, per the State Forest Service’s guide. Inside 5 feet it wants no flammable growth, and beyond 30 feet it says mowing is not necessary.

Can a brush hog cut scrub oak?

Soft sprouts and stems up to about 2 inches, yes. Past 2 to 3 inches the cutter bends and splinters them rather than cutting clean, and the job moves to understory work at $1,500 to $2,500 an acre.

Is there a minimum charge for mowing a small lot?

Yes, $250 to $500 per visit, because loading and trailering the tractor costs the same for one acre as for ten. It is the least a visit costs, not a fee added on top. Pairing the mow with other work on the same trip spreads that cost.

Get a Brush Hogging Quote in Colorado

Request a free quote and we’ll contact you to discuss your property, access and the clearing you need, whether the land is around Denver and the Front Range, around Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak area, or anywhere else in Colorado. We will talk through the finish you want: one cut, a yearly mow inside your defensible space, or ground cleared past mowing.

Sources

• Jefferson County Sheriff: fire restrictions
• Colorado Department of Agriculture: saltcedar (tamarisk)