Wyoming Hunt Area 46 (Cloud Peak) deer hunting
Hunt area 46 spans 358 square miles of high-elevation country in the Cloud Peak region, ranging from 5,200 feet to 13,200 feet with typical ground around 9,400 feet. The terrain is moderate in grade, with 58% gentle slopes, 37% moderate grades, and steeper ground making up the remainder. The landscape mixes spruce-fir and pine forests with grassy meadows and mountain shrub communities, particularly curl-leaf mahogany. Lower elevations run to conifers and sagebrush; higher terrain shifts toward sagebrush, grassland, and scattered alpine growth. The country is foot country — steep-sided canyons and mountain terrain dominate the western portions where mule deer densities run highest.
Access across hunt area 46 is dependably open on public land covering the entire mapped area — roughly 357 square miles of National Forest and BLM ground. WGFD also publishes Walk-In Areas and Hunter Management Areas for additional opportunity; those private-land agreements shift annually, so a hunter should check current availability before the season. Some roads become nearly impassable when wet and muddy, so early-season travel can demand careful route planning. Hunt area 46 contains designated wilderness; Wyoming law requires any nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide if hunting in those areas.
The archery season runs September 1–30, when velvet is freshly shed and early fall transition begins; September weather runs cool with highs around 56 degrees and lows around 35 degrees, with light snow averaging 1.9 inches for the month. The regular season spans October 15–24 during early fall migration and the nocturnal buck phase; October temperatures drop sharply to highs around 42 degrees and lows near 25 degrees, with substantial snowfall averaging 12 inches that month and making high-elevation movement increasingly difficult.
Licence and how this hunt area is drawn
Hunt Area 46 (Cloud Peak) is a general-licence hunt area, and how a hunter gets a licence for it depends on where they live.
- A Wyoming resident buys a general deer licence over the counter — unlimited statewide, on sale from mid-July. No draw, no application, no preference points.
- A nonresident cannot buy one. They must draw a Region general licence — for this hunt area, deer region R, which is valid across the general-licence hunt areas of that region and nowhere else.
A hunter may hold only ONE general deer licence in a year, so a general licence is a single choice rather than something to stack.
Wyoming residents have no preference points for deer — the resident deer draw is random, and no resident point cutoff exists for any hunt area in the state. For nonresidents points matter a great deal: Wyoming awards 75% of each nonresident pool through the preference-point draw, top-down by points, and the remaining 25% at random. Nonresidents also choose between the Regular and Special pools — the same hunts at two price points, competing separately.
Seasons (2026)
- Type Gen — general licence · Antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deerLegal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rulesArchery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – October 24
The wording of each hunt is the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s and is legally exact — a “doe or fawn” hunt is not a deer hunt in general, and a hunt limited to part of the area is not valid across it. Confirm every hunt in the current regulations before applying.
Hunting each season
Type Gen — Antlered mule deer or any… · mule deer & whitetail (September–October)
The archery and regular seasons together span September 1 through October 24, following two distinct rut phases and weather patterns. During archery (September 1–30), bucks shed velvet and begin their transition to fall feeding and movement patterns; September weather is cool with highs near 56 degrees and lows around 35 degrees, with light snow around 1.9 inches for the month, allowing open travel across the high elevation meadows and forests where mule deer occupy the mountain shrub and conifer communities. Early fall migration and the nocturnal buck phase dominate the regular season (October 15–24), when temperatures drop sharply to highs around 42 degrees and lows near 25 degrees; October snowfall averages 12 inches, making high-elevation travel increasingly challenging and potentially confining deer to lower drainages and accessible country. Both windows permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer—meaning bucks, does, and fawns are legal if white-tailed—though mule deer dominate the hunt area and white-tailed deer remain sparse on creek bottoms and drainages. Access is widespread across public land throughout both seasons, though muddy road conditions in early season may limit vehicle access to certain areas.
Land and access
About 100% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest and BLM, roughly 357 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.
the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 67% public land for this hunt area. That counts public ownership; the figure above counts ground a hunter can depend on getting onto. They answer different questions, so both are shown rather than blended.
This hunt area includes designated wilderness. Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness.
Where deer are mapped
Each figure is the share of the hunt area that layer covers. It says where deer are mapped, not where inside the area they are, and not when they move.
Habitat and cover
Lower elevations
Mid elevations
Higher elevations
Shares are of each elevation band, not of the whole hunt area — they describe what grows up there, not how much of the area sits at that elevation.
Weather through the season
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Snowfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 8°F | 15.9 in |
| February | 27°F | 8°F | 16.9 in |
| March | 35°F | 14°F | 19 in |
| April | 41°F | 19°F | 21.9 in |
| May | 49°F | 29°F | 6.3 in |
| June | 58°F | 36°F | 0.5 in |
| July | 67°F | 43°F | 0 in |
| August | 65°F | 42°F | 0 in |
| September | 56°F | 35°F | 1.9 in |
| October | 42°F | 25°F | 12 in |
| November | 32°F | 15°F | 15.9 in |
| December | 25°F | 8°F | 13.6 in |
Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.
Common questions
- Can a hunter take white-tailed deer in hunt area 46?
- Yes, but opportunities are limited. White-tailed deer are present in very small numbers on creek bottoms and drainages throughout the area, whereas mule deer inhabit the mountain shrub, forest, and alpine communities. The Type Gen season permits any white-tailed deer, meaning bucks, does, and fawns are all legal, but they are far outnumbered by mule deer.
- What license does a Wyoming resident need to hunt hunt area 46?
- A resident buys a general deer license over the counter with no draw required. One general license per hunter per year is available on sale from mid-July, and it is valid across all general-license hunt areas in the state including hunt area 46.
- Does a nonresident need preference points to draw a license for hunt area 46?
- Nonresidents must draw a Region general license to hunt hunt area 46, and preference points are involved in that draw. Three quarters of the available Region general licenses are awarded to applicants with the most preference points, while one quarter go to a random draw open to all applicants regardless of points.
- When do the seasons run in hunt area 46?
- The Type Gen season has two windows: archery from September 1–30, and regular season from October 15–24. Both are part of the same hunt, and archery hunters may switch to rifles after September 30.
- How much of hunt area 46 can a hunter actually get onto?
- All 358 square miles are mapped as publicly accessible on National Forest and BLM land. Additionally, Walk-In Areas and Hunter Management Areas on private land enroll annually; current access should be verified before the season since those enrollments shift year to year.
Sources
- Wyoming Game & Fish — Hunting & Trapping — licence types, general and limited-quota hunts, and season structure
- WGFD Hunt Planner — hunt-area boundaries, season dates and the unit descriptions
- WGFD — Draw results and odds — how the resident random draw and the nonresident preference-point draw work
- WGFD — Regulations — the legal limitations on each hunt, and the statewide licence rules
- USGS National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2021) and 3DEP elevation — land cover and terrain by elevation band
Seasons, licence types and boundaries change. Confirm every detail with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before applying or hunting.