Box Elder, Grouse Creek Elk Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 876 sq mi
Premium — 10–19 points
The easiest of the main limited-entry hunts here (Mid-season Rifle (any legal weapon)) for a Utah resident, by the bonus points that drew reliably. 3 limited-entry hunts; 2 of them during the September rut.
What hunting Box Elder, Grouse Creek is like
The Grouse Creek unit is rolling country with some steeper breaks, running from valley floor around 4,400 feet up to about 9,000 feet at the high points, most of it gentle enough to cover on foot or by vehicle without technical difficulty. Sagebrush dominates the cover at every elevation band, mixed with grass and meadow lower down and picking up conifer and a little aspen and riparian cover higher up. The Goose Creek fire burned through about 12% of the unit in 2018, mostly on the southwest side, and this fall that ground sits five to eight years out from the burn — still productive but grown in thick with brush and saplings that can stand five feet or better, with deadfall accumulating as burned timber continues to fall. Hunters working that corner should check for current fire closures and restrictions before heading in.
About half the unit, roughly 442 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through BLM and State Trust Land, with most trust parcels covered by a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted. The other half is private, and several CWMUs operate within the unit's boundaries — permit holders may not hunt those properties, and anyone wanting to hunt other private ground needs written landowner permission before the season opens. Roads and trails vary enough in condition that ATV questions are best directed to the Forest Service, BLM, or county map resources rather than assumed; campgrounds are Forest Service and BLM managed, and camping outside developed sites is allowed on most public land.
Two hunts run in September during the rut — archery and the limited-entry early rifle and muzzleloader seasons — while the general any-legal-weapon and muzzleloader hunts, along with the limited-entry mid-season rifle hunt, fall after the rut has passed. Yearlong Range covers 56% of the unit, meaning a large share of the ground sees elk use across all seasons rather than just passing through.
Limited-entry bull elk (2026)
Limited entry is Utah's drawn bull hunt, managed for older bulls, with far fewer permits than the general season. It is drawn with bonus points: half the permits go to the applicants holding the most points, and the other half are drawn at random with one extra entry for every point held — so applicants below the reliable level do draw. A Utah resident may apply for only one limited-entry species a year.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk | Rut phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Rifle (any legal weapon) | September 16 – September 20 | Bull | Primary Rut |
| Muzzleloader | September 21 – October 2 | Bull | Primary Rut, Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
| Mid-season Rifle (any legal weapon) | October 3 – October 15 | Bull | Late Rut / Early Post-Rut |
This band describes the easiest of the unit's main limited-entry bull hunts (Mid-season Rifle (any legal weapon)) for a Utah resident in the 2026 draw: the lowest bonus-point level that drew reliably. Half of Utah's limited-entry permits go to the applicants with the most bonus points and half are drawn at random, with an extra entry for each point, so applicants below this level can draw. Other weapons and seasons, and nonresidents, can take substantially more points. The band says nothing about the general-season over-the-counter hunt, which needs no points.
Early Rifle (any legal weapon) · September 16 – September 20
The limited-entry early rifle hunt lands square in the Primary Rut, when bulls on the Grouse Creek unit are fully engaged with cows. This is a drawn hunt for any bull, managed on this unit for older-age-class animals, so cover ground methodically rather than settling for the first bull seen. Work the sagebrush country that dominates every elevation band, and push into the mid- and higher-elevation pockets of conifer and aspen where bulls tend to hold cows during the rut. Access runs through the roughly half of the unit open on BLM and State Trust Land, but remember several CWMUs lie within the boundary and are closed to permit holders, and any other private ground needs written permission secured before the hunt opens.
Muzzleloader · September 21 – October 2
By the time the limited-entry muzzleloader hunt opens, the rut is still carrying from Primary Rut into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, so activity can taper as the days pass. Early on, bulls may still be tending cows; later in the hunt, breeding winds down and bulls start to drift from rut behavior. Still hunt the sagebrush flats and benches that make up most of the terrain, and check the timber and aspen pockets at higher elevation for bulls that have pulled off cows. As with the early rifle hunt, this any-bull permit only allows access to BLM and State Trust ground and requires landowner permission on private parcels outside the closed CWMUs.
Mid-season Rifle (any legal weapon) · October 3 – October 15
The limited-entry mid-season rifle hunt falls entirely in the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, after the breeding push has largely wound down, so bulls are less tied to cows and more likely scattered as they recover from the rut. This any-bull permit still rewards covering the rolling, gentle-to-moderate country on foot or by vehicle, working the sagebrush that covers most of the unit and checking the conifer and aspen at higher elevations where bulls may have settled. Public access is limited to the BLM and State Trust Land that makes up about half the unit, with the CWMUs off-limits to permit holders and any other private ground requiring permission arranged ahead of time.
General-season spike elk — over the counter (2026)
This is a general-season spike-only unit. General-season bull elk permits in Utah are sold over the counter — no application, no draw and no points. There is no general-season elk point bank at all. Spike permits go on sale July 16; a rifle or muzzleloader hunter may take only a bull whose antlers do not branch. The general archery permit goes on sale July 7 and is not capped. It is hunter's choice: on this spike-only unit an archer may take a spike bull or an antlerless elk. A branch-antlered bull here needs a separate limited-entry permit.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk |
|---|---|---|
| Archery On a spike-only unit the general archery permit allows a spike bull or an antlerless elk — not a branch-antlered bull. | August 15 – September 4 | Spike bull or an antlerless elk |
| Any Legal Weapon | October 3 – October 15 | Spike bull only |
| Muzzleloader | October 28 – November 5 | Spike bull only |
Archery · August 15 – September 4
The general archery hunt opens in mid-August while bulls are still finishing out the Late Summer / Velvet phase, then carries through the Pre-Rut Transition and into the early days of Rut Onset by its close in early September. In the first week or two, bulls are stripping velvet and still holding close to where they spent the summer, which makes sitting water sources or glassing for a spot-and-stalk approach a solid tactic across the sagebrush-dominated country. This is a spike-only unit for rifle and muzzleloader hunters, but the archery permit is hunter's choice, meaning an archer here may take a spike bull or an antlerless elk, though not a branch-antlered bull. Cover the open sagebrush and grass at lower elevations or push into the timber and aspen pockets higher up, and steer clear of the CWMU properties, which stay closed to general permit holders as they are to everyone else without the specific CWMU tag.
Any Legal Weapon · October 3 – October 15
The general any-legal-weapon hunt runs in early October, squarely in the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, when breeding activity is winding down and bulls are less predictable than during the peak rut. This is a spike-only hunt for rifle and muzzleloader hunters, so a legal bull here has unbranched antlers only. Work the sagebrush that dominates the landscape at every elevation, with grass and meadow low down and conifer and aspen mixed in higher up, and remember the roughly half of the unit open to public hunting is BLM and State Trust Land, with CWMU ground off-limits and other private parcels needing permission arranged in advance. Hunters working the unit's southwest side should also account for the 2018 Goose Creek fire scar, now five to eight years out and grown in thick with brush and saplings that can top five feet along with accumulating deadfall, and should check for current fire closures and restrictions before heading in.
Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
The general muzzleloader hunt closes out the fall in late October into early November, spanning the Post-Rut Recovery and Migration Transition phases as bulls settle away from rut behavior and elk begin shifting with the season. November brings colder weather, with highs near 45°F and lows around 22°F and roughly 3.7 inches of snowfall for the month, enough to affect travel and visibility on higher ground. This is another spike-only permit, so any legal bull must have unbranched antlers, and the same access rules apply: BLM and State Trust Land cover about half the unit, CWMUs stay closed to permit holders, and other private ground requires permission obtained before the hunt begins. The southwest corner's Goose Creek burn scar remains thick with brush, saplings and deadfall this many years out, so hunters heading that way should check on current fire closures and restrictions first.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,400–9,000 ft, typically around 5,800 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 68% gentle · 27% moderate · 5% steep · 0% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~442 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.
Lower elevations
- Sagebrush83%
- Grass and meadow13%
- Other cover5%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush70%
- Grass and meadow18%
- Conifer10%
- Riparian1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush76%
- Conifer13%
- Grass and meadow10%
- Aspen1%
Cover classes from the USGS National Land Cover Database. “Other cover” is the remainder — bare ground, water, agriculture and developed land — left unnamed rather than guessed at.
Recent fires
Wildfires in the last several seasons that burned a meaningful share of Box Elder, Grouse Creek. 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.
- Goose Creek fire, 2018 — about 68,000 acres in the unit (12%), mostly on its southwest side.
Fire perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center.
Land & access
About 50% of Box Elder, Grouse Creek is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land.
- BLM43%
- State Trust Land7%
- Private50%
Most Utah State Trust Land is open to hunting under a standing state access agreement. Individual parcels can be leased or restricted, so check the parcel before planning around it.
Where elk live in the unit
Utah's statewide elk habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Box Elder, Grouse Creek each one covers. The layers overlap, so they do not add to 100%, and a layer that is small or missing here says nothing on its own about where elk are.
- Yearlong Range56%the only layer that means year-round use
- Winter Range7%used in winter
- Crucial Winter Range7%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
Fall weather
- September — highs around 75°F, lows around 42°F
- October — highs around 60°F, lows around 31°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 45°F, lows around 22°F, about 3.7 in of snowfall
Box Elder, Grouse Creek elk hunting FAQ
Can an archer take a branch-antlered bull on the Grouse Creek unit?
No. Grouse Creek is a spike-only unit for general-season hunters, and the general archery permit is hunter's choice, which on this unit means a spike bull or an antlerless elk. Taking a branch-antlered bull requires the separate limited-entry permit, which is a drawn hunt with far fewer tags.
Do I need bonus points to apply for the limited-entry bull hunt here?
Points are not required to apply, and none are needed at all for the general-season spike or archery permits, which are bought over the counter with no application. For the limited-entry bull hunt, half of the permits go to the applicants with the most bonus points while the other half are drawn at random with one extra entry per point, so an applicant at any point level can draw, just not reliably.
How hard is it to draw the limited-entry bull tag on Grouse Creek?
The Mid-season Rifle limited-entry hunt, the easiest of the unit's main limited-entry bull seasons for a resident, falls in the Premium band at 10 to 19 bonus points for the point level that has drawn reliably. That figure describes only that hunt and only the reliable half of the draw; the random half can still put a lower-point applicant on the unit.
How much of the Grouse Creek unit can I actually plan to hunt on public land?
About half the unit, roughly 442 square miles, is generally open through BLM and State Trust Land, with most trust parcels covered under a standing state access agreement. That leaves the other half private, and several CWMUs also operate inside the boundary that limited-entry and general permit holders may not hunt regardless of ownership.
Which Grouse Creek elk seasons overlap the rut?
The general archery season and the limited-entry Early Rifle and Muzzleloader seasons all fall inside the September rut window. The general Any Legal Weapon and Muzzleloader hunts, along with the limited-entry Mid-season Rifle hunt, run after the rut has passed.
Is the Goose Creek fire scar still worth hunting, and is there anything to check before going in?
The 2018 Goose Creek fire burned about 12% of the unit on the southwest side, and this fall that ground is five to eight years removed from the burn, meaning it still produces but has grown in thick with brush and saplings five feet or taller, with deadfall building as burned trees continue to come down. Anyone working that corner should check for current fire closures and restrictions before heading in.
Data sources & methodology
- Utah Division of Wildlife Resources — Big game hunting — general-season, limited-entry and antlerless elk permits
- Utah DWR — What hunters should know for the 2026 deer and elk hunts — 2026 general-season elk dates, including the split any-bull rifle hunt
- Utah DWR — Big Game Application Guidebook — how bonus points and the limited-entry draw work
- Utah DWR — Hunt Planner — unit boundaries, and the DWR's unit and biologist notes the written guide draws on
- Utah DWR — Elk (elk habitat mapping) — elk seasonal range
- Utah Trust Lands Administration — Trust Lands & You — the hunter access agreement that opens most state trust land
- 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
Limited-entry draw difficulty is a qualitative band, not published odds — the note under the limited-entry seasons states exactly which hunt it describes. Land shares are separate, non-overlapping categories. Confirm current dates and rules in the Utah Big Game Field Regulations guidebook before you hunt. Unit data last updated September 28, 2026.