Unit 36 Elk Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · Sawtooth Elk Zone · 1,051 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 36 is in the Sawtooth Elk Zone, whose A and B tags carry different seasons. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. It also has 2 controlled hunts, drawn by pure random draw with no points — resident odds from good odds to long odds. The zone's A tag and B tag are capped: a limited number, sold first-come, first-served.
What hunting Unit 36 is like
Unit 36 covers a big stretch of country between 5,700 and 11,300 feet, and the terrain mix reflects that range: gentle benches and meadows give way to moderate slopes and a fair amount of steep, broken ground, adding up to mixed country with substantial steep ground. Cover shifts with elevation too — lower down it runs to conifer and sagebrush with some grass and riparian strips, mid elevations lean even more conifer and sagebrush, and up high the timber opens into more grass and meadow mixed with sagebrush. Most of this is foot country, and the Sawtooth Wilderness, White Clouds Wilderness and a smaller slice of the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness are all closed to motorized travel, so getting into the best of it means walking or riding stock.
Public land dominates here — about 97% of the unit is Salmon-Challis or Sawtooth National Forest or Idaho state endowment ground, which is the acreage a hunter can plan around, though endowment parcels can be posted closed or leased and are only generally open. Private land is a small sliver, around 3.1%, and needs written permission. Two recent burns are worth knowing: the Wapiti fire burned about 51,000 acres on the unit's west side, and the Ross Fork fire burned about 30,000 acres on the south side, both fires falling in the two-to-four-year window where regrowth and open sightlines tend to draw elk in to feed early and late. Hunters should check for current fire closures before heading in.
Tags here run through the Sawtooth Elk Zone, which covers Units 33, 34, 35 and 36 together. Residents buy general zone tags over the counter, while nonresidents enter a random draw for a specific zone tag — A or B — chosen at the time of application, and both tags are capped and sold first-come, first-served. Beyond the general season, two controlled hunts add antlerless-only opportunity at different times and odds.
General-season elk (2026)
General elk tags are sold by zone. Unit 36 is in the Sawtooth Elk Zone (Units 33, 34, 35 and 36); 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 36. Residents buy the tag over the counter; nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| A tag · Archery Valid area: Units 33, 34, 35 and 36 | August 30 – September 30 | Any elk | Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
| B tag · Any weapon Valid area: Units 33, 34, 35 and 36 | October 15 – November 8 | Antlered only | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery, Migration Transition |
A tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
Archery season opens while the rut is still building, spanning the Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases, which makes it the one general season that lines up with the September rut. Early on, bulls are shedding velvet and still hanging near the same ground they used all summer, so sitting water sources or glassing open slopes for a spot-and-stalk works well before things heat up further. The mixed terrain gives plenty of vantage points for glassing, and the recent burns on the west and south sides are worth a look since regrowth there can pull elk out to feed at the edges of daylight. The A tag covers Units 33, 34, 35 and 36 and is valid for any elk, taken with archery gear only.
B tag · Any weapon · October 15 – November 8
By the time the B tag opens, the rut has passed its peak and elk are moving into Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery and then Migration Transition as the season runs into November. Snowfall picks up through the stretch, from a few inches in October to considerably more by November with lows dropping into the teens, and that weather starts nudging elk toward lower ground as the season closes out. Hunters willing to work the steeper, less-traveled pockets of the mixed terrain, or to still-hunt the timber edges near the burns, have a better shot at animals pushed out of the open. The B tag is any weapon, good for antlered elk only, and like the A tag is valid across Units 33, 34, 35 and 36.
Controlled elk hunts (2026)
Controlled hunts have a limited number of tags and are drawn by pure random draw — Idaho uses no points, so years of applying do not improve the odds. First choices are drawn before second choices. A hunt marked as covering part of Unit 36 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 36-1 · Any weapon Covers only part of this unit; Portion of Unit only | October 1 – October 9 | Antlerless only | Good odds | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Controlled hunt 33-1 · Muzzleloader | November 10 – November 30 | Antlerless only | Long odds | Migration Transition |
Resident draw is a band in words from the 2026 first-choice results: good, fair, long or very long odds. It is not a published percentage, and nonresident odds differ. Youth-only hunts are shown without a band.
Controlled hunt 36-1 · Any weapon · October 1 – October 9
This hunt falls entirely in the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, with early-October snowfall and lows around freezing starting to move animals around. Since the tag is antlerless only, the focus is on locating cow-calf groups rather than reading bull sign, and glassing the open grass and meadow at higher elevations or the sagebrush flats lower down can turn up groups before they filter into timber. The hunt covers only part of Unit 36, not the whole unit, so knowing the boundary of that hunt area matters as much as finding elk. Resident draw odds are rated good for this hunt, making it a reasonable option for a hunter who wants a fall elk tag without waiting on the general season crowds.
Controlled hunt 33-1 · Muzzleloader · November 10 – November 30
Running through most of November, this hunt sits in the Migration Transition phase, when elk are shifting off higher ground as snow accumulates — November brings the heaviest snowfall of the fall with lows near 16°F, weather that pushes antlerless groups toward lower-elevation conifer, sagebrush and riparian cover. A muzzleloader hunter working this season does best watching travel routes between higher meadows and lower wintering ground rather than still-hunting deep timber. The tag is antlerless only, and resident draw odds are long, so it's a hunt worth applying for but not counting on.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 5,700–11,300 ft, typically around 7,700 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 26% gentle · 41% moderate · 30% steep · 3% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1,018 sq mi
- National forests
- Salmon-Challis National Forest and Sawtooth National Forest
- Designated wilderness
- Sawtooth Wilderness (10%), White Clouds Wilderness (8%) and Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness (4%) — 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
- Conifer48%
- Sagebrush30%
- Grass and meadow11%
- Riparian7%
- Other cover4%
Mid elevations
- Conifer53%
- Sagebrush37%
- Grass and meadow9%
- Other cover1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer43%
- Grass and meadow29%
- Sagebrush24%
- Other cover4%
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 36. 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.
- Wapiti fire, 2024 — about 51,000 acres in the unit (8%), mostly on its west side.
- Ross Fork fire, 2022 — about 30,000 acres in the unit (4%), mostly on its south side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 97% of Unit 36 is public land a hunter can generally count on — National Forest and Idaho state endowment land.
- National Forest97%
- Idaho state endowment land<1%
- Private3%
Idaho state endowment land is generally open to hunting unless posted closed or leased — check the parcel before planning around it.
Fall weather
- August — highs around 72°F, lows around 41°F
- September — highs around 63°F, lows around 34°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- October — highs around 49°F, lows around 26°F, about 4.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 35°F, lows around 16°F, about 20.6 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 27°F, lows around 9°F, about 39.6 in of snowfall
Unit 36 elk hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy an elk tag for Unit 36 over the counter?
Yes. Residents purchase a general Sawtooth Elk Zone tag over the counter with no draw or application required, choosing either the A tag or the B tag. Unit 36 falls within that zone alongside Units 33, 34 and 35.
How do nonresidents get a general elk tag for this unit?
Nonresidents enter a random draw for the Sawtooth Elk Zone's general tags, and they apply for a specific tag — either the A tag or the B tag — at the time of application rather than choosing afterward. Both tags are capped in number and sold first-come, first-served once the draw allocates them.
How hard are the controlled hunts in and around Unit 36 to draw?
Controlled hunt 36-1, an antlerless any-weapon hunt covering only part of Unit 36, carries good resident draw odds. Controlled hunt 33-1, an antlerless muzzleloader hunt, carries long resident draw odds. Neither result is guaranteed since both are pure random draws with a limited number of tags.
Which elk zone and tags cover Unit 36?
Unit 36 is part of the Sawtooth Elk Zone, which also includes Units 33, 34 and 35. The zone offers an A tag for archery season and a B tag for the any-weapon season, each with its own dates and legal-animal rules.
How much of Unit 36 is public land?
About 97% of Unit 36 is National Forest or Idaho state endowment land, split between the Salmon-Challis and Sawtooth National Forests plus endowment parcels. That is the acreage a hunter can generally count on, though endowment ground can be posted closed or leased, and the remaining roughly 3.1% is private land requiring written permission.
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.