Unit 57 Elk Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · South Hills Elk Zone · 405 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 57 is in the South Hills Elk Zone, whose A and B tags carry different seasons. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. It also has 3 controlled hunts, drawn by pure random draw with no points — resident odds from good odds to very long odds. The zone's B tag is capped: a limited number, sold first-come, first-served.
What hunting Unit 57 is like
Unit 57 sits in gentle and rolling country, with most of the ground classed as gentle terrain and only a small share qualifying as steep. Elevations run from around 4,400 feet up to 9,400 feet, and across that range the cover leans heavily to sagebrush and grass and meadow, with a modest amount of timber showing up only at the higher elevations. This is largely open, walkable ground rather than tight, timbered wilderness, and hunters can expect long looks across sagebrush flats and grassy benches more often than bushwhacking through dense cover. Sawtooth National Forest lies within the unit and its designated wilderness portions are closed to motorized travel, so foot or horse access matters in those areas.
About 68 percent of Unit 57, roughly 274 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through a mix of BLM, National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and a State Wildlife Management Area. That is the only ground a hunter can count on without asking permission, and even endowment land can be posted closed or leased on a given parcel, so it pays to check before setting out. The remaining 32 percent is private and requires written permission to access.
Elk in Unit 57 are managed through the South Hills Elk Zone, which also covers Units 46, 47, 54, 55 and 56. Residents can buy a general elk tag over the counter with no draw required, while nonresidents must apply for a specific zone tag, either the A or B tag, through a random draw at the time of application. The zone's B tag is capped and sold first-come, first-served once tags become available, though only the A tag's archery window applies in Unit 57. Beyond the general season, three controlled hunts add antlerless and antlered opportunities later in the fall through a separate pure random draw with a limited number of tags each.
General-season elk (2026)
General elk tags are sold by zone. Unit 57 is in the South Hills Elk Zone (Units 46, 47, 54, 55, 56 and 57); 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 57. 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 55, 56 and 57 | August 30 – September 30 | Any elk | Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, Primary Rut |
A tag · Archery · August 30 – September 30
This is the rut hunt in Unit 57, running from late August into the end of September and spanning the Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases. Early on, bulls are shedding velvet and still holding close to their summer haunts, which makes sitting water or glassing the open sagebrush and grass benches for a spot-and-stalk a sound approach in this gentle, rolling terrain. As the season rolls into the rut proper, the same open sightlines that make glassing effective here also mean elk can see hunters coming, so using the terrain's gentle folds for cover matters. Any hunter holding the A tag for this window may take any elk, and the tag is valid across Units 55, 56 and 57.
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 57 is valid only in its own hunt area.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk | Resident draw | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled hunt 55-2 · Any weapon | August 1 – August 29 | Antlerless only | Good odds | Late Summer / Velvet, Pre-Rut Transition |
| Controlled hunt 55-1 · Any weapon | October 1 – October 31 | Antlered only | Very long odds | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery |
| Controlled hunt 55-2 · Muzzleloader | November 1 – November 14 | Antlered 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 55-2 · Any weapon · August 1 – August 29
This early-season hunt runs from the start of August through the end of the month, falling in the Late Summer / Velvet phase and the Pre-Rut Transition phase, and it is antlerless only. A hunter filling this tag should focus on locating cow and calf groups using the sagebrush and grass and meadow cover that dominates every elevation band in this unit, working the open, gentle ground where elk have room to be spotted at distance. Because the terrain here is mostly gentle rather than steep, covering ground on foot to locate animals is more practical than in tighter country. Resident hunters drawing this hunt face good odds relative to the unit's other controlled hunts, and the tag allows antlerless elk only, taken any weapon.
Controlled hunt 55-1 · Any weapon · October 1 – October 31
Running through all of October, this hunt covers the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase and the Post-Rut Recovery phase, after the breeding activity of September has wound down. Elk have settled back into more routine patterns by this point, and the open, low-slope character of Unit 57 still favors a glassing approach across the sagebrush and grass cover found at all elevations. This is an antlered-only hunt taken with any weapon, and it draws by pure random chance with very long odds for resident first-choice applicants, so it is a hard tag to draw even without a points system to lean on.
Controlled hunt 55-2 · Muzzleloader · November 1 – November 14
Covering the first two weeks of November, this muzzleloader hunt falls in the Migration Transition phase, when elk are shifting off summer and early-fall ranges. Snowfall picks up modestly this time of year, with lows dropping into the high 20s, which can help push animals toward lower-elevation sagebrush and grass cover and make tracking or spotting movement across the unit's open, gentle terrain more productive. This is an antlered-only tag, and resident first-choice applicants face long odds in the random draw for this hunt.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,400–9,400 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 75% gentle · 18% moderate · 7% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~274 sq mi
- National forests
- Sawtooth National Forest
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
- Sagebrush42%
- Other cover36%
- Grass and meadow22%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush59%
- Grass and meadow32%
- Other cover7%
- Conifer1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush64%
- Grass and meadow21%
- Conifer12%
- Other cover3%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 68% of Unit 57 is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and State Wildlife Management Area.
- BLM38%
- National Forest28%
- Idaho state endowment land1%
- State Wildlife Management Area<1%
- Private32%
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 87°F, lows around 56°F
- September — highs around 76°F, lows around 47°F
- October — highs around 61°F, lows around 36°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 46°F, lows around 27°F, about 1.3 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 36°F, lows around 19°F, about 5 in of snowfall
Unit 57 elk hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy an elk tag for Unit 57 over the counter?
Yes. Residents can purchase a general elk tag for the South Hills Elk Zone, which includes Unit 57, over the counter with no draw or application required. The A tag's archery season, valid in Units 55, 56 and 57, is the general-season option that applies here.
How do nonresidents get a general elk tag valid in Unit 57?
Nonresidents cannot simply buy a general tag; they must apply for it through a random draw. When applying, the nonresident chooses a specific tag ahead of time, either the South Hills Elk Zone's A tag or its capped B tag, and that choice determines which season and area they are eligible to hunt.
How hard are the controlled hunts in Unit 57 to draw?
All three controlled hunts tied to Unit 57 are pure random draws with a limited number of tags and no points system involved. Controlled hunt 55-2 Any weapon in August carries good odds for resident first-choice applicants, Controlled hunt 55-2 Muzzleloader in November carries long odds, and Controlled hunt 55-1 Any weapon in October carries very long odds.
Which elk zone and tags cover Unit 57?
Unit 57 falls within the South Hills Elk Zone, alongside Units 46, 47, 54, 55 and 56. General tags in this zone come as an A tag or a capped B tag, each with its own season, though only the A tag's archery window is valid in Unit 57 itself.
How much of Unit 57 is public land a hunter can count on?
About 68 percent of the unit, roughly 274 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, Idaho state endowment land and a State Wildlife Management Area. The remaining 32 percent is private and requires written permission before hunting it.
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.