Can a hunter draw hunt area 11 with a general or region licence?

No. Hunt area 11 is a limited-quota hunt area that requires a specific draw for this area alone. A general or regional licence does not provide access here; a hunter must be drawn for hunt area 11 specifically to hunt it.

Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw hunt area 11 for elk?

No. Wyoming residents participate in a random draw for elk—there are no preference points in the resident pool. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of licences go to the highest-point applicants and a quarter are awarded randomly.

How much of hunt area 11 can a hunter actually access?

About 38 percent of the area—roughly 264 square miles—consists of dependably open public land on the National Forest, BLM, State Trust Land, and State Wildlife Areas. The Wick/Beumee Wildlife Habitat Management Area opens additional access to public property. The remaining 62 percent is private land, where a hunter must obtain permission before hunting.

Which access roads and trailheads provide the best entry into hunt area 11?

The Wick/Beumee Wildlife Habitat Management Area is accessible via Interstate 80 exits 272 and 267. On the National Forest, U.S. Forest Service roads 101, 111, and 100 provide vehicle access to the foothills. Established trailheads at Rock Creek, Deep Creek, Crater Lake, and Sheep Lake reach into roadless country on the National Forest.

When do elk move to lower elevations on hunt area 11?

Elk are well distributed across all elevations during September and early October. By November, most migrate to lower elevations on winter-range ground in the foothills and lower mountain terrain, concentrating the late-season hunt in those zones.

Wyoming Hunt Area 11 (Medicine Bow River) elk hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

38%

Elevation

6,500–12,000 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Hunt area 11 spans rolling prairie, foothills and heavily timbered mountains between 6,500 and 12,000 feet, with typical elevations around 7,200 feet. The country is roughly half open sagebrush prairie and grassland, with the remainder split between timbered slopes and valleys; above 10,000 feet, the forest gives way to alpine meadows with scattered islands of krummholz. Slope terrain is gentle across most of the area, averaging less than 5 degrees, making foot travel manageable but demanding in the high country. The Medicine Bow National Forest holds the majority of elk habitat during the hunting season, and several established trailheads on Forest Service roads reach into the roadless backcountry from multiple valleys.

Public land—primarily National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, and State Wildlife Areas—makes up about 38 percent of the hunt area, or roughly 264 square miles. This includes the Wick/Beumee Wildlife Habitat Management Area, a publicly accessible property of more than 22,000 acres accessible from Interstate 80 exits, and several well-developed trail systems from established Forest Service roads. The remaining 62 percent is private land, mostly ranch and agricultural ground in the lower elevations and foothills, and hunters pursuing private-land elk should secure access before applying for a license.

Elk distribution shifts markedly through the season. In September and early October, animals are spread throughout the hunt area across all elevations. As November advances, the majority move to lower elevations onto winter-range ground, concentrating the late-season hunt in the foothills and lower mountain terrain. This migration pattern shapes how hunters deploy effort across the draw-winning seasons.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 11 (Medicine Bow River) is limited quota. A licence for it must be drawn for this hunt area specifically, by resident and nonresident alike. A region licence does not reach it — a region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region, so there is no fallback for this hunt.

Wyoming residents have no preference points for elk — the resident elk 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 1 · Any elk
Archery September 15 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 31
Type 2 · Any elk
Regular November 1 – November 30
Type 2 · Any elk valid off national forest
Regular December 1 – January 31
Type 4 · Antlerless elk
Archery September 15 – September 30Regular October 1 – January 31
Type 6 · Cow or calf valid off national forest and off the Wick Wildlife Habitat Management Area
Regular August 15 – September 30
Type 6 · Cow or calf
Regular October 1 – January 31
Type 9 · Any elk, archery only
Regular September 1 – September 30

The wording of each hunt is the Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s and is legally exact — a “cow or calf” hunt is not a elk 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 1 — Any elk (September–October)

Archery hunting from September 15–30 coincides with the primary rut, when bulls are responsive and scattered throughout the hunt area across all elevations. Temperatures range from highs near 70°F to lows around 39°F, with virtually no snow, and the open terrain makes spot-and-stalk hunting feasible though challenging. Regular rifle seasons from October 1–31 span the late rut and post-rut recovery, as elk begin shifting behavior and starting to move off high ground; early October still sees warm days near 55°F, but late October brings freezing nights and an average of 3 inches of snowfall, favoring higher-elevation hunting early and lower-ground hunting as conditions tighten.

Type 2 — Any elk (November)

November hunting falls during the migration transition, when most elk are beginning their move to lower elevations and winter grounds. Temperatures cool through the month from highs near 42°F to overnight lows around 20°F, and snowfall averages 6.7 inches, which can substantially alter access and hunter mobility across the terrain. Success is tied to anticipating where elk will stage as they descend from the high country.

Type 2 — Any elk valid off national forest (December–January)

This hunt is valid off the National Forest only, restricting hunting to lower-elevation private land and foothills terrain where most elk have settled by winter. December through January bring the harshest conditions—highs average 32°F or below, with December averaging 9 inches of snowfall and January 7.8 inches—but elk are concentrated predictably on winter range, and the accessible lower terrain may be easier to navigate than higher elevations buried in snow.

Type 4 — Antlerless elk (September–January)

Archery seasons from September 15–30 target antlerless elk during the primary rut across the full hunt area at all elevations, with September temperatures around highs of 70°F and minimal snow. Regular hunting from October 1 through January 31 spans post-rut recovery, migration, and winter range, allowing hunters to pursue antlerless animals as elk move from the high country to lower elevations by November, with temperatures and snowfall intensifying progressively from October's average of 3 inches to December's 9 inches.

Type 6 — Cow or calf valid off national… (August–September)

This hunt is restricted to areas off the National Forest and off the Wick/Beumee Wildlife Habitat Management Area, limiting hunting to private land and foothills terrain accessible through August 15–September 30. The season spans late summer into the pre-rut transition and early primary rut phases; August temperatures hover near highs of 79°F with virtually no snow, while September cools to highs around 70°F with minimal precipitation, providing favorable conditions for hunting accessible lower elevations before most animals distribute into the higher mountains.

Type 6 — Cow or calf (October–January)

Regular hunting from October 1–January 31 pursues cow and calf elk across the full hunt area as they shift from high-elevation distribution in October through the primary migration and winter concentration on lower grounds by November. Conditions worsen through the period: October brings average highs of 55°F and 3 inches of snow, while by December and January, temperatures drop to 32°F highs with snowfall climbing to 9 inches monthly, concentrating animals increasingly on winter range where late-season success is most predictable.

Type 9 — Any elk, archery only (September)

September archery hunting spans the rut-onset and primary-rut phases, when bulls are active and distributed throughout the hunt area from high elevations to foothills. Early-month temperatures hover near 70°F highs with virtually no snow, offering favorable conditions for backpacking and calling, though early September's rut-onset phase can see less responsive behavior than the intense primary rut of mid- to late September.

Land and access

private land62%

Private

BLM13%

Generally open to public hunting

National Forest12%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land8%

Generally open to public hunting

State Wildlife Areas5%

Generally open to public hunting

About 38% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest, State Trust Land and State Wildlife Areas, roughly 264 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.

the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 51% 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.

Where elk are mapped

Winter Range74%

used in winter

Yearlong Range65%

the only layer that means year-round use

Summer Range14%

used in summer

Crucial Winter Range6%

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

Parturition Areas4%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

Each figure is the share of the hunt area that layer covers. It says where elk are mapped, not where inside the area they are, and not when they move.

Habitat and cover

Across the unit

Sagebrush60%

Grass and meadow19%

Conifer11%

Other cover5%

Riparian5%

Aspen1%

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	13°F	7.8 in
February	34°F	13°F	8.5 in
March	44°F	20°F	7.4 in
April	51°F	26°F	4.3 in
May	62°F	34°F	0.2 in
June	73°F	42°F	0 in
July	81°F	49°F	0 in
August	79°F	47°F	0 in
September	70°F	39°F	0.1 in
October	55°F	29°F	3 in
November	42°F	20°F	6.7 in
December	32°F	12°F	9 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw hunt area 11 with a general or region licence?: No. Hunt area 11 is a limited-quota hunt area that requires a specific draw for this area alone. A general or regional licence does not provide access here; a hunter must be drawn for hunt area 11 specifically to hunt it.
Do Wyoming residents need preference points to draw hunt area 11 for elk?: No. Wyoming residents participate in a random draw for elk—there are no preference points in the resident pool. Nonresidents, by contrast, compete in a preference-point draw where three quarters of licences go to the highest-point applicants and a quarter are awarded randomly.
How much of hunt area 11 can a hunter actually access?: About 38 percent of the area—roughly 264 square miles—consists of dependably open public land on the National Forest, BLM, State Trust Land, and State Wildlife Areas. The Wick/Beumee Wildlife Habitat Management Area opens additional access to public property. The remaining 62 percent is private land, where a hunter must obtain permission before hunting.
Which access roads and trailheads provide the best entry into hunt area 11?: The Wick/Beumee Wildlife Habitat Management Area is accessible via Interstate 80 exits 272 and 267. On the National Forest, U.S. Forest Service roads 101, 111, and 100 provide vehicle access to the foothills. Established trailheads at Rock Creek, Deep Creek, Crater Lake, and Sheep Lake reach into roadless country on the National Forest.
When do elk move to lower elevations on hunt area 11?: Elk are well distributed across all elevations during September and early October. By November, most migrate to lower elevations on winter-range ground in the foothills and lower mountain terrain, concentrating the late-season hunt in those zones.

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 elk hunt areas