Unit 20 Elk Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · Selway Elk Zone · 474 sq mi
General season — resident tags over the counter
Residents buy general elk tags over the counter — no draw, no points. General elk is sold by zone: Unit 20 is in the Selway Elk Zone, whose A and B tags carry different seasons. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. The zone's A tag and B tag are capped: a limited number, sold first-come, first-served.
What hunting Unit 20 is like
Unit 20 sits deep in Idaho's backcountry, spanning elevations from 2,200 feet up to nearly 8,900 feet, with the Bitterroot National Forest and Nezperce National Forest covering nearly all of it. About 62% of the unit lies within the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness, where no motorized access is allowed, meaning most of this country is a foot-and-horseback proposition. Terrain here is mixed, with substantial steep ground; mean slope runs near 22 degrees, and hunters should expect long climbs between drainages and few shortcuts. Lower and mid elevations carry a mix of conifer, sagebrush, and grass and meadow, while higher country shifts toward sagebrush and timber with less open ground.
Nearly all of Unit 20, about 99 percent, is national forest generally open to public hunting, which is as dependable a starting point as this unit offers — though wilderness travel and steep ground make that access anything but easy. Two fires have reshaped parts of the landscape: the Dixie fire burned about 44,000 acres on the unit's west side, and the Elkhorn fire burned roughly 12,000 acres through the middle of the unit. Both are now past the initial regrowth stage and into distinct phases of recovery that change how elk use them season to season. Hunters should check for current fire closures before heading in.
General elk tags here are sold through the Selway Elk Zone, shared with Units 16A, 17, and 19. Residents buy zone tags over the counter, while nonresidents enter a random draw in which they apply for a specific A or B tag rather than choosing after the fact. Both the A and B tags are capped, sold first-come, first-served until gone, and the zone's A and B seasons carry different dates and fall in different parts of the elk's fall cycle.
General-season elk (2026)
General elk tags are sold by zone. Unit 20 is in the Selway Elk Zone (Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20); a hunter chooses its A tag or its B tag, and each carries its own seasons. The windows below are the ones valid in Unit 20. Residents buy the tag over the counter; nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| B tag · Any weapon Valid area: Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20 | September 15 – September 30 | Antlered only | Primary Rut |
| A tag · Any weapon Valid area: Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20 | October 1 – October 31 | Antlered only | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| B tag · Any weapon Valid area: Units 16A, 17, 19 and 20 | November 1 – November 11 | Antlered only | Migration Transition |
B tag · Any weapon · September 15 – September 30
This early season lands square in the primary rut, when bulls are most vocal and most likely to respond to calling or come looking for cows. The B tag here is antlered-only and any-weapon, giving hunters a stretch of prime rutting behavior to work with before pressure builds. Steep, mixed terrain makes for tough access, and hunters willing to get into the timber-and-meadow mix at mid and lower elevations, or push into the wilderness on foot, stand the best chance of catching bulls still fired up. The Dixie and Elkhorn burns are both worth a look this time of year, though thick regrowth on the older burn can make animals hard to spot even when they're close.
A tag · Any weapon · October 1 – October 31
By October, the rut is winding down and elk shift into late-rut and post-rut recovery, meaning bulls are less vocal and more focused on feeding and recovering condition after weeks of breeding activity. The A tag covers this entire month with any weapon, antlered-only, and it's the longest window of the three general seasons in Unit 20. Snow starts to arrive later in the month, with lows dropping toward 25 degrees, which can push elk out of the highest country and make them easier to pattern near feed. The Elkhorn fire, only two to four years old, is worth particular attention now — the open ground left by the burn makes glassing easier, and elk still feeding heavily in the new grass and brush there move between the burn and adjacent timber morning and evening.
B tag · Any weapon · November 1 – November 11
This late-season B tag falls during the migration transition, when elk are shifting off summer and fall range toward lower wintering ground, and hunting shifts from calling tactics to reading terrain and travel routes. It's a short window, antlered-only and any-weapon, running into mid-November with snowfall averaging around 15.5 inches for the month and lows near 17 degrees — conditions that can accelerate movement out of high country. Hunters who can access lower-elevation timber and sagebrush country, where elk tend to funnel during migration, have the better shot as animals leave the steep, rugged high ground behind for the season.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 2,200–8,900 ft, typically around 6,000 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 17% gentle · 43% moderate · 34% steep · 5% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~471 sq mi
- National forests
- Bitterroot National Forest and Nezperce National Forest
- Designated wilderness
- Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness (62%) — closed to motorized vehicles
Habitat & cover
What grows here, by elevation. Each band adds to 100% on its own — these are shares of that band, not of the unit.
Lower elevations
- Conifer46%
- Sagebrush37%
- Grass and meadow16%
- Other cover1%
Mid elevations
- Conifer46%
- Sagebrush30%
- Grass and meadow24%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush49%
- Conifer39%
- Grass and meadow11%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Unit 20. Fire perimeters show where a fire burned, not how hot — and closures change through the year, so check current fire closures and restrictions before you go.
- Dixie fire, 2021 — about 44,000 acres in the unit (14%), mostly on its west side.
- Elkhorn fire, 2023 — about 12,000 acres in the unit (4%), toward the middle of the unit.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 99% of Unit 20 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest.
- National Forest99%
- Private<1%
Fall weather
- August — highs around 75°F, lows around 38°F
- September — highs around 66°F, lows around 32°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- October — highs around 52°F, lows around 25°F, about 3.3 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 39°F, lows around 17°F, about 15.5 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 31°F, lows around 10°F, about 29.6 in of snowfall
Unit 20 elk hunting FAQ
Can a resident hunter buy an elk tag for Unit 20 over the counter?
Yes. Residents buy general elk tags for the Selway Elk Zone, which covers Unit 20, directly over the counter with no application or draw required. The zone's A and B tags are capped and sold first-come, first-served, so availability can run out.
How does a nonresident get a general elk tag for Unit 20?
Nonresidents go through a random draw rather than buying over the counter, and they apply for a specific A tag or B tag in the Selway Elk Zone at the time of application. The tag choice is made when applying, not after the draw, and both tags are capped in number.
Which elk zone and tags cover Unit 20?
Unit 20 falls in the Selway Elk Zone alongside Units 16A, 17, and 19. The zone offers an A tag and a B tag, each with its own season dates and both allowing antlered elk only under any-weapon rules.
Which Unit 20 elk seasons fall during the rut?
The B tag season running September 15 through September 30 falls entirely within the primary rut phase, making it the rut-focused option among Unit 20's general seasons. The A tag season in October and the second B tag season in November both occur after the primary rut has ended.
How much of Unit 20 is public land a hunter can count on?
About 99 percent of Unit 20, roughly 471 square miles, is national forest generally open to public hunting. That said, a large share of the unit lies within designated wilderness closed to motorized travel, so access still demands foot or horseback effort even though the land itself is open.
Data sources & methodology
- Idaho Fish and Game — Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules — general and controlled season dates, legal animals and the brochure's unit notes
- Idaho Fish and Game — Idaho Hunt Planner — unit boundaries, the national forests and wilderness areas in each unit, and controlled-hunt drawing results behind the odds bands
- Idaho Fish and Game — 2026 Nonresident General Tags and Tags Allocated to Outfitters — which general elk zone tags are capped
- USGS / MRLC — National Land Cover Database — habitat and cover classes by elevation band
- USGS PAD-US — Protected Areas Database of the United States — land ownership and access
- Daymet daily climate, 1991–2020 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) — fall weather
- National Interagency Fire Center — wildfire perimeters — recent fires, their size and where they burned
Controlled-hunt draw difficulty is a qualitative band from resident first-choice results, not published odds. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories. Confirm current dates and rules in the Idaho Big Game Seasons & Rules brochure before you hunt. Unit data last updated September 29, 2026.