Vernal/Bonanza Elk Hunting, Utah
Utah hunt unit · 2,063 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 Vernal/Bonanza is like
The Vernal/Bonanza unit covers 2,063 square miles of rolling ground, with some steeper breaks where the terrain pushes into moderate and steep country. Most of the unit — roughly seven in ten acres — is gentle by area, so the hunt is less about technical climbing and more about covering ground on foot or by vehicle to find elk, with the harder pockets concentrated in a small share of the unit. Elevation runs from around 4,600 feet up to 12,200 feet, with 5,600 feet typical, so a hunter can find sagebrush and grassland flats low and timbered high country without leaving the unit.
Access holds up well on paper: about 72 percent of the unit, close to 1,495 square miles, is generally open to public hunting through BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Area ground, with most state trust parcels open to hunting under a standing state access agreement (though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted). That leaves a meaningful private share, around 16 percent, plus a smaller piece of tribal and National Park Service land that is closed to state-licensed hunting and requires its own permission where applicable. Public land is there to work with, but it is not automatically easy ground — a hunter still has to sort out boundaries and access points before the season starts.
Through the fall, elk use ranges mapped across summer, crucial summer, winter and crucial winter range, without any single layer pinning elk to one part of the unit or one time of year. The archery hunt runs into the September rut, while the rifle and muzzleloader seasons that follow in October and November fall outside it, which changes how elk behave and how they're best hunted across the season.
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 August 15 and runs into mid-September, spanning the Late Summer / Velvet phase, the Pre-Rut Transition phase, and on into Rut Onset and Primary Rut by its close. In the opening week or two, bulls are still shedding velvet and holding close to the same ground they used all summer, which makes sitting water sources or glassing for a spot-and-stalk approach a sound plan. As the season moves into Rut Onset and Primary Rut, hunting the mixed sagebrush, grassland and timber cover at mid and higher elevations gives a better shot at intercepting bulls as their behavior shifts. This permit is hunter's choice on this any-bull unit, so an archer can fill it with any bull or an antlerless elk.
Early Any Legal Weapon · October 3 – October 9
The Early Any Legal Weapon hunt runs October 3 through 9, landing in the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase, after the peak of the rut has passed. Any bull is legal, and with rifles and muzzleloaders in the mix, working the open sagebrush and grassland at lower and mid elevations alongside the timbered higher country gives options depending on where elk are moving as post-rut behavior sets in. Pressure and elk movement patterns can shift quickly in the days after the rut winds down, so covering ground methodically pays off. This is a compact week-long season, so time in the field matters.
Late Any Legal Weapon · October 10 – October 16
Late Any Legal Weapon follows immediately behind, running October 10 through 16 and covering both the tail end of the Late Rut / Early Post-Rut phase and the start of Post-Rut Recovery. Any bull is legal here as well, and elk settling into post-rut patterns tend to be less predictable than during the rut itself, so still-hunting the timber at higher elevations and glassing open country lower down both have a place. The unit's mix of gentle and moderate ground makes it practical to move between elevation bands as conditions dictate. With the rut fully behind by the second half of this season, elk are past the more active behavior of September.
Muzzleloader · October 28 – November 5
Muzzleloader season runs October 28 through November 5, spanning the Post-Rut Recovery phase and the start of the Migration Transition phase, when elk begin shifting off summer range toward winter range. November brings colder weather, with highs near 46°F, lows near 22°F, and modest snowfall around 1.2 inches for the month, enough to start pushing elk movement without locking down access. Any bull is legal, and hunting the transition between the higher timbered country and lower sagebrush and grassland flats can pay off as elk begin moving with the season's changes. Layering for the cold and watching for early snow's effect on elk movement both matter more here than in the earlier fall seasons.
Cow elk hunts are also offered on this unit (archery August 15 – September 16; any legal weapon October 3 – October 16). They are drawn separately, in Utah's antlerless draw, using preference points — a different point bank from limited-entry bonus points.
Terrain & elevation
- Elevation
- 4,600–12,200 ft, typically around 5,600 ft
- Slope breakdown
- 70% gentle · 23% moderate · 6% steep · 1% rugged
- Ground you can count on
- ~1,495 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
- Sagebrush53%
- Other cover22%
- Grass and meadow20%
- Riparian5%
Mid elevations
- Sagebrush64%
- Grass and meadow12%
- Conifer12%
- Other cover11%
- Riparian1%
Higher elevations
- Conifer59%
- Sagebrush29%
- Aspen5%
- Other cover3%
- Grass and meadow2%
- Riparian2%
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 72% of Vernal/Bonanza is public land a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Areas. Another 11% is public land closed to state-licensed hunting — tribal land and National Park Service.
- BLM43%
- National Forest22%
- State Trust Land8%
- Wildlife Management Areas<1%
- tribal land7%
- National Park Service4%
- Unclassified ownership1%
- Private16%
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.
Tribal land requires the tribe's own permission and licence — a state elk permit is not valid there.
“Unclassified ownership” means the source records no owner. It is not known to be public or private.
Where elk live in the unit
Utah's statewide elk habitat mapping, by layer: how much of Vernal/Bonanza 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.
- Summer Range22%used in summer
- Crucial Summer Range20%the part of Summer Range considered essential to the herd — inside Summer Range, not added to it
- Winter Range18%used in winter
- Crucial Winter Range17%the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it
Fall weather
- September — highs around 77°F, lows around 45°F
- October — highs around 62°F, lows around 33°F, about 0.2 in of snowfall
- November — highs around 46°F, lows around 22°F, about 1.2 in of snowfall
Vernal/Bonanza elk hunting FAQ
Do I need points to hunt general-season elk on the Vernal/Bonanza unit?
No. The general-season any-bull and archery elk permits on this unit are sold over the counter, not drawn, so there is no application and no point requirement. Points in Utah apply only to limited-entry and antlerless draws, not to this unit's general-season bull hunts.
What can I take with a general archery elk permit here?
The Vernal/Bonanza unit is an any-bull unit, so the general archery permit is hunter's choice: an archer can legally take any bull or an antlerless elk during the archery season. That flexibility is specific to how this unit is classified and does not carry over to spike-only units.
Which elk seasons here fall during the rut?
The general archery season, which runs from mid-August into mid-September, overlaps the Rut Onset and Primary Rut phases. The Early and Late Any Legal Weapon rifle seasons and the muzzleloader season all fall in October and November, outside the September rut window.
How much of the Vernal/Bonanza unit is public land?
About 72 percent of the unit, roughly 1,495 square miles, is generally open to public hunting across BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and Wildlife Management Area ground. That leaves around 16 percent private and smaller shares that are either closed to hunting or unclassified, so checking boundaries before the season still matters.
Is the terrain here steep and difficult to hunt?
Most of the unit is gentle by area, with only small shares falling into moderate, steep or rugged ground. The overall character is rolling country with some steeper breaks, rather than a predominantly steep unit.
When do general-season elk permits go on sale for this unit?
The general archery elk permit goes on sale July 7 and is not capped, while the any-bull permit for the rifle and muzzleloader seasons goes on sale July 9 and has sold out quickly in recent years. Neither permit involves an application or a draw.
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.