Can a hunter use a general deer license in hunt area 97?

Yes. Residents may buy a general deer license over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved; nonresidents must draw a Region Q general license, which is valid across all general-license hunt areas in that region.

Which deer species can be hunted in this hunt area?

Hunt area 97 offers hunts for both mule deer and white-tailed deer under different rules. The general archery and regular seasons permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, but most white-tailed deer on the area are found on private land along the Sweetwater River.

How much of hunt area 97 is public land a hunter can access?

About 83% of the area is public land (mostly BLM and State Trust Land), but access is not guaranteed—roads become impassable in wet weather, the country is remote with no cell service, and private inholdings remain scattered throughout. Seven walk-in areas provide enrolled-private-land access during open seasons.

When do the seasons run in hunt area 97?

Archery runs September 1 through September 30, and regular season runs October 15 through October 20. Both hunts permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer.

How many preference points do nonresidents need for hunt area 97?

Three quarters of Region Q general licenses are awarded by preference points to nonresidents, ranked top-down; a quarter are awarded through a random draw that every nonresident in the pool may enter. Specific point cutoffs vary by year and cannot be predicted in advance.

Wyoming Hunt Area 97 (Sweetwater Rocks) deer hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

83%

Elevation

5,900–8,000 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Deer region

Hunt area 97 is a sprawling country of granite mountains, rolling sagebrush steppe, and desert flats cut through by the Sweetwater River and its tributaries. The Sweetwater Rocks dominate the landscape, a series of granite ridges where most of the mule deer concentrate, while white-tailed deer are sparse on public ground and clustered instead along the river's riparian corridors and irrigated lands, nearly all of which is private. Elevation runs from 5,900 to 8,000 feet, with typical ground near 6,600 feet. The terrain is almost entirely gentle—91% gentle, 9% moderate, and 1% steep—and the country is dominated by sagebrush, with smaller shares of conifer, grass, meadow, and riparian brush. Water is reliable: ephemeral streams, creeks, and the river itself provide sources throughout.

Access to public land—83% of the area, mostly BLM and State Trust Land—exists but requires careful attention. Roads vary widely in character: sandy roads often remain drivable after light rain, while others turn muddy and impassable with precipitation, and the area is remote, far from services or reliable cell coverage. Most private land clusters along the Sweetwater River and other streams; public access to these riparian strips is limited, though several walk-in areas are enrolled. Seven walk-in areas provide additional opportunity on private ground during their open seasons. A hunter should carry extra fuel, water, food, and spare tires as a matter of routine.

Fall weather shifts noticeably across the hunt. Early-season archery in September runs mild—highs near 72 degrees, lows near 43 degrees—with minimal snowfall. By late October, regular season brings a hard cooling, with highs dropping to 57 degrees, lows to 32 degrees, and snowfall averaging 1.3 inches per month. Early storms at higher elevations often push mule deer down and out of the Sweetwater Rocks into lower country in the area, making fall migration a productive window. The rut for mule deer typically peaks in late November, well after regular season closes.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 97 (Sweetwater Rocks) 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 Q, 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 deer
Legal: mule deer and white-tailed deer, under different rules
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – October 20

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 hunt spans archery in early fall and regular season in late October, permitting both antlered mule deer and any white-tailed deer. During archery in September, mule deer are still in velvet and early fall transition, often moving through lower elevation terrain as the month progresses; weather is mild with highs near 72 degrees and minimal snow. By October, the regular season opens into early migration and the nocturnal-buck phase, with mule deer ranging more actively in response to cooling weather, though most white-tailed deer remain on private riparian ground along the Sweetwater River. October weather grows notably colder, with highs dropping to 57 degrees and snowfall reaching 1.3 inches per month—early storms in the higher Sweetwater Rocks can push deer downslope into the hunt area. Access to public land is available throughout, though road conditions demand care, especially after precipitation. Walk-in areas provide additional opportunity on private ground when open.

Land and access

BLM76%

Generally open to public hunting

private land17%

Private

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

About 83% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 757 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

State trust land counts toward the open figure above. Wyoming extends hunting on legally accessiblestate trust land to the public unless a parcel is specifically closed — the catch is the access itself, since crossing private ground to reach it still needs the landowner’s permission. Camping, fires and off-road vehicles are not allowed on it.

This hunt area has 7 enrolled walk-in areas. That is private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Walk-In Area needs no permission slip — a hunter may walk in during the open period, subject to its posted rules. Enrollment is renegotiated every year, so check current status before counting on either.

Where deer are mapped

Yearlong Range38%

the only layer that means year-round use

Winter Range26%

used in winter

Summer Range14%

used in summer

Crucial Winter Range11%

the part of Winter Range considered essential to the herd — inside Winter Range, not added to it

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

Across the unit

Sagebrush93%

Riparian3%

Conifer2%

Grass and meadow1%

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	32°F	12°F	2.5 in
February	34°F	14°F	3.7 in
March	45°F	22°F	2.7 in
April	53°F	28°F	2.8 in
May	64°F	37°F	0 in
June	76°F	46°F	0 in
July	85°F	53°F	0 in
August	83°F	52°F	0 in
September	72°F	43°F	0.1 in
October	57°F	32°F	1.3 in
November	42°F	21°F	2.1 in
December	31°F	13°F	3.8 in

Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.

Common questions

Can a hunter use a general deer license in hunt area 97?: Yes. Residents may buy a general deer license over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved; nonresidents must draw a Region Q general license, which is valid across all general-license hunt areas in that region.
Which deer species can be hunted in this hunt area?: Hunt area 97 offers hunts for both mule deer and white-tailed deer under different rules. The general archery and regular seasons permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer, but most white-tailed deer on the area are found on private land along the Sweetwater River.
How much of hunt area 97 is public land a hunter can access?: About 83% of the area is public land (mostly BLM and State Trust Land), but access is not guaranteed—roads become impassable in wet weather, the country is remote with no cell service, and private inholdings remain scattered throughout. Seven walk-in areas provide enrolled-private-land access during open seasons.
When do the seasons run in hunt area 97?: Archery runs September 1 through September 30, and regular season runs October 15 through October 20. Both hunts permit antlered mule deer or any white-tailed deer.
How many preference points do nonresidents need for hunt area 97?: Three quarters of Region Q general licenses are awarded by preference points to nonresidents, ranked top-down; a quarter are awarded through a random draw that every nonresident in the pool may enter. Specific point cutoffs vary by year and cannot be predicted in advance.

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.

All Wyoming deer hunt areas