Unit 68A Elk Hunting, Idaho
Idaho hunting unit · Big Desert Elk Zone · 448 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 68A is in the Big Desert Elk Zone, whose A and B tags carry different seasons. Nonresident general tags are allocated by random draw. The zone's B tag is capped: a limited number, sold first-come, first-served.
What hunting Unit 68A is like
Unit 68A is gentle and rolling country from end to end, sitting in a narrow elevation band of roughly 4,300 to 4,800 feet with essentially no relief to speak of. There are no mountains or canyons to break up the terrain here, which means elk have little topography to hide behind and hunters can move through the unit largely on foot without technical obstacles. What the ground lacks in vertical challenge, though, it makes up for in scale — this is a big, open unit, and covering it means long walks or long glassing sessions rather than climbing.
Access is the real challenge in Unit 68A. Only a small sliver of the unit, about 3.5 percent, is generally open to public hunting through BLM and State Wildlife Management Area ground — the only acreage a hunter can count on without asking permission. The rest is almost entirely private, at roughly 95 percent, with a small unclassified remainder, so finding a place to legally hunt takes more work than the flat terrain might suggest, and written permission is necessary across most of the landscape.
Elk tags here run through the Big Desert Elk Zone, which also covers Units 52A, 53 and 68. Residents buy general elk tags over the counter with no draw required, while nonresidents go through a random draw in which they apply for a specific zone tag — either the A tag or the B tag — at the time of application, not after the draw is complete. Unit 68A's own general season window is the zone's A tag archery season, while the zone's B tag is capped with a limited, first-come, first-served supply sold separately.
General-season elk (2026)
General elk tags are sold by zone. Unit 68A is in the Big Desert Elk Zone (Units 52A, 53, 68 and 68A); 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 68A. 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: Unit 68A | August 1 – December 31 | Any elk | Late Summer / Velvet, Pre-Rut Transition, Rut Onset, Primary Rut, Late Rut / Early Post-Rut, Post-Rut Recovery, Migration Transition, Winter Range |
A tag · Archery · August 1 – December 31
Archery season opens with bulls still carrying velvet and settled into the same areas they used through summer, making the first couple of weeks a good stretch for patterning animals before things shift. As the season rolls on it carries hunters through the entire rut cycle, from rut onset through primary rut and into the late rut and post-rut recovery, then on through migration transition and into winter range by season's end. Given the open, gentle terrain here, glassing across the rolling ground and setting up on water sources are the most practical tactics, since there is little cover or relief to close distance quietly on foot. The tag is good for any elk, and by November and December hunters still out will contend with modest snowfall and colder mornings as elk shift toward winter range. Access remains the main constraint throughout — most of the unit is private, so the open BLM and State Wildlife Management Area ground carries a disproportionate share of the pressure.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,300–4,800 ft, typically around 4,400 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 99% gentle · 1% moderate · 0% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~16 sq mi
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.
Across the unit
- Other cover74%
- Riparian19%
- Sagebrush6%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land.
Land & access
About 3% of Unit 68A is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Wildlife Management Area.
- BLM2%
- State Wildlife Management Area1%
- Unclassified ownership2%
- Private95%
Fall weather
- August — highs around 88°F, lows around 52°F
- September — highs around 77°F, lows around 43°F
- October — highs around 62°F, lows around 33°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 46°F, lows around 24°F, about 1.5 in of snowfall
- December — highs around 34°F, lows around 17°F, about 4.2 in of snowfall
Unit 68A elk hunting FAQ
Can a resident buy an elk tag for Unit 68A over the counter?
Yes. Residents purchase a general elk tag over the counter with no application or draw required, choosing between the Big Desert Elk Zone's A or B tag options.
How do nonresidents get a general elk tag for Unit 68A?
Nonresidents enter a random draw for a general elk tag, and they must apply for a specific tag — either the Big Desert Elk Zone's A tag or its B tag — at the time they submit their application. The specific tag cannot be chosen after the draw is complete.
Which elk zone and tags cover Unit 68A?
Unit 68A falls within the Big Desert Elk Zone, alongside Units 52A, 53 and 68. The zone offers an A tag and a B tag with different seasons and weapons, and the B tag is capped with a limited number sold first-come, first-served.
Which Unit 68A elk season falls during the rut?
The general A tag archery season, running August 1 through December 31, spans the entire rut cycle including rut onset and primary rut in September. It is the only general season available in Unit 68A.
How much of Unit 68A is public land a hunter can count on?
Only about 3.5 percent of the unit, roughly 16 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through BLM and State Wildlife Management Area ground. The remaining land is almost entirely private, around 95 percent, so access requires securing permission ahead of time.
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.