Henry Mtns Elk Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 1,300 sq mi
Any-bull unit — no draw, no points
Any-bull permits go on sale July 9. A rifle or muzzleloader hunter may take any bull. The general archery permit (on sale July 7) allows any bull or an antlerless elk on this unit.
What hunting Henry Mtns is like
The Henry Mtns unit runs from low desert benches at 3,600 feet up to peaks near 11,500 feet, and most of the ground in between is rolling, with some steeper breaks rather than truly rugged. Elevation and cover shift together here: lower slopes lean heavily to sagebrush with a bit of grass and meadow, mid elevations are almost solid sagebrush, and the higher country mixes sagebrush with a real share of conifer and a touch of aspen. Foot travel and glassing both work depending on where an elk is sitting in that vertical spread, and hunters who don't already know this herd should plan on spending real time covering ground rather than expecting a quick encounter.
Access runs through BLM and State Trust Land, which together account for the great majority of the unit and are the ground a hunter can count on, though state trust parcels are covered by a standing state access agreement that opens most but not all of them - a handful can still be leased or restricted. A meaningful slice of the unit also falls inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where hunting is allowed with a valid Utah license but is subject to the recreation area's own local closures, worth checking before heading in. Private land is a small fraction of the total, but public access here is not a given - the unit is large and the terrain varied enough that finding elk still takes legwork.
Only the archery season, running from mid-August into mid-September, falls inside the September rut window; the three later seasons all play out after that peak. Through the fall the unit's habitat mapping shows year-round elk use across part of the ground, though that share doesn't tell a hunter which drainage or elevation band to check on a given week - it's a starting point for scouting, not a substitute for it.
General-season any-bull elk — over the counter (2026)
This is a general-season any-bull 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. Any-bull permits go on sale July 9 and have sold out quickly in recent years. The general archery permit goes on sale July 7 and is not capped. It is hunter's choice: on this any-bull unit an archer may take any bull or an antlerless elk.
| Season | Dates | Legal elk |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | August 15 – September 16 | Any bull or an antlerless elk |
| Early Any Legal Weapon | October 3 – October 9 | Any bull |
| Late Any Legal Weapon | October 10 – October 16 | Any bull |
| Muzzleloader | October 28 – November 5 | Any bull |
Archery · August 15 – September 16
Archery season opens in mid-August while bulls are still finishing out the Late Summer / Velvet phase, working through the Pre-Rut Transition, and by early September into Rut Onset and Primary Rut as the season runs to mid-September. Early in that window bulls are freshly out of velvet and still holding close to summer ground, which makes sitting water sources or glassing likely pockets for spot-and-stalk chances a sound approach. As the calendar moves into September and animals shift into rut behavior, working the sagebrush-dominated mid and lower elevations alongside any timber and aspen pockets higher up gives a broader read on where bulls are holding. The general archery permit here is hunter's choice, so an archer can fill it with any bull or an antlerless elk.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 3 – October 9
By the time the Early Any Legal Weapon hunt opens in early October, the rut has moved past its peak and into the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, with bulls past the most active rutting behavior. Any bull is legal for rifle and muzzleloader hunters alike, but covering the unit's mix of open sagebrush flats and steeper breaks takes real time and some knowledge of how this herd uses the ground - hunters without either should not expect a fast or easy hunt. Given the size and varied terrain of the unit, scouting beyond the most obvious access roads pays off more than it does on smaller ground.
Late Any Legal Weapon · October 10 – October 16
The Late Any Legal Weapon hunt picks up just after the early rifle season, spanning the tail end of the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase into Post-Rut Recovery, when bull behavior has settled further from the rut's peak activity. Any bull remains legal, but as with the preceding hunt, this is not a stretch suited to hunters short on time or unfamiliar with the herd's habits - covering ground methodically across the unit's gentle-to-moderate slopes and glassing the sagebrush and higher timber pockets is the more reliable approach than hoping to stumble onto elk near a road. Patience over the full week matters more than any single day's effort.
Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
Muzzleloader season in late October into early November falls across Post-Rut Recovery and into the Migration Transition phase, meaning elk behavior is well removed from rut activity and animals may be shifting as the season progresses. Any bull is legal, and the same caution applies here as in the two preceding rifle hunts: without prior knowledge of the herd or a substantial time budget, this is a demanding hunt rather than a sure one. Given the transition underway, checking a range of elevations rather than committing to a single drainage is a reasonable way to account for elk on the move.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 3,600–11,500 ft, typically around 5,200 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 50% gentle · 31% moderate · 16% steep · 3% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1,152 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
- Sagebrush67%
- Other cover32%
- Grass and meadow1%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush89%
- Other cover9%
- Conifer1%
Higher elevations
- Sagebrush64%
- Conifer34%
- 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.
Land & access
About 89% of Henry Mtns is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land.
- BLM79%
- State Trust Land10%
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area10%
- Unclassified ownership<1%
- Private1%
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.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is National Park Service land where hunting is allowed with a Utah licence, subject to the recreation area's own local closures — check them before you go. National parks and monuments are closed to hunting.
Where elk live in the unit
Utah's statewide elk habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Henry Mtns 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 Range18%the only layer that means year-round use
Fall weather
- September — highs around 82°F, lows around 54°F
- October — highs around 68°F, lows around 42°F
- November — highs around 53°F, lows around 30°F, about 0.1 in of snowfall
Henry Mtns elk hunting FAQ
Do I need points to hunt elk on the Henry Mtns unit?
No. The general-season archery, any-bull rifle, and muzzleloader elk permits on this unit are sold over the counter with no application, draw, or points involved. Points in Utah apply to limited-entry and antlerless elk draws, not to these general-season hunts.
What can I legally take with a general archery permit here?
The Henry Mtns is an any-bull unit, so the general archery permit is hunter's choice: an archer may take any bull or an antlerless elk. That's broader than what's allowed on spike-only units, where archery is restricted to a spike bull or an antlerless elk.
Which Henry Mtns elk season falls during the rut?
Only the general archery season, which runs from mid-August to mid-September, overlaps the September rut. The three fall weapon seasons - both any-legal-weapon hunts in October and the muzzleloader hunt in late October into November - all take place after the rut's peak.
How much of the Henry Mtns unit is public land I can hunt?
About 89 percent of the unit, roughly 1,152 square miles, is BLM and State Trust Land generally open to public hunting. State trust parcels are covered by a standing access agreement that opens most but not all of them, since individual parcels can still be leased or restricted.
Can I hunt inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on this unit?
Yes, hunting is allowed there with a valid Utah license, but it's subject to the recreation area's own local closures. That area covers close to 10 percent of the unit, and it's worth checking current closures before planning a hunt there.
Is the Henry Mtns unit an easy elk hunt for someone without much time?
Not really. The terrain is rolling with some steeper breaks across a large, 1,300-square-mile unit, and the October and November weapon seasons in particular call for either prior knowledge of the herd or a substantial time commitment to locate elk.
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.