Can a hunter use a general elk licence on hunt area 15?

Yes. Residents of Wyoming buy a general elk licence over the counter with no draw or preference points required. Nonresidents must draw a Region S general licence, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in that region, including hunt area 15.

How much of hunt area 15 is public land open to hunting?

About 62 percent of the area—roughly 310 square miles—is publicly managed ground on the National Forest, BLM, or State Trust Land. Access is rated fair; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings mean that a hunter cannot count on every part of it being reachable or open.

What do nonresident preference points mean for a nonresident applying for hunt area 15?

A nonresident enters the Region S general licence draw pool, where three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point draw, awarded top-down by points, and a quarter go to a random draw open to all applicants. Points matter significantly in the preference-point pool.

When does the rut peak on hunt area 15?

The rut peaks between the third week and the last week of September. Most of the archery hunting on this area overlaps the primary rut, while the regular seasons begin as the rut winds down.

Where can a hunter find the most accessible elk on hunt area 15?

Early-season hunts have better access to elk on public land at higher elevations. As fall and winter weather worsen through the season, elk migrate to lower elevations and private lands, particularly along the North Platte River, where access becomes much more restricted. A large concentration of fall elk uses the Cow Creek area west of Highway 230, which has very limited public access.

Wyoming Hunt Area 15 (Spring Creek) elk hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

62%

Elevation

6,600–11,000 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Elk region

Hunt area 15 spans 503 square miles of mixed terrain across the Sierra Madre region, ranging from 6,600 feet in the lower valleys to 11,000 feet in the high country. The landscape is topographically diverse: river bottoms and irrigated meadows along the North Platte River give way to sagebrush-dominated slopes and scattered mountain shrub, then to high-elevation conifer forests at the upper end. The Sierra Madre Mountains carry spruce-fir, lodgepole, and aspen; extensive mountain pine beetle mortality is visible across thousands of acres of dead standing timber. The terrain grades as gentle overall, with 85 percent gentle slopes, 14 percent moderate, and 1 percent steep. Most of the ground is foot country, traversable by anyone willing to use it, and the typical elevation sits around 7,400 feet.

About 62 percent of the hunt area is publicly managed ground—National Forest, BLM, and State Trust Land—roughly 310 square miles. The remaining 38 percent is private land, concentrated in the southeastern portion, where large ranches often restrict access to outfitted hunters or prohibit hunting entirely. The northern edge involves a checkerboard of public and private ownership that requires careful map work. Public land access is rated fair: roads and trailheads exist, but seasonal closures, private inholdings, and the sheer size of the area mean no part of it opens simply. The western portion around Cow Creek holds significant private land with very limited public entry.

Hunting seasons on this area span from August through January, with the rut peaking in late September. Elk summer at higher elevations on the National Forest and retreat to lower elevations and private lands as fall weather intensifies. During the hunting seasons, elk use heavily timbered areas and deadfall for refuge, and pressure on public land can push animals onto private ground, especially along the river valleys. Severe fall and winter weather increases this shift: private lands become critical winter habitat, particularly for elk that winter at the edge of the lower timberline. A distinct population concentrates west of Highway 230 in the Cow Creek drainage through the fall, where public access is severely restricted.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 15 (Spring Creek) 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 elk 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, elk region S, which is valid across the general-licence hunt areas of that region and nowhere else.

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 7 · Cow or calf valid on private land
Regular August 15 – January 31
Type Gen — general licence · Any elk
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 15 – October 31
Type 6 · Cow or calf
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – December 31

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 7 — Cow or calf valid on private land (August–January)

Hunting for cow or calf on private land runs from mid-August through the end of January, starting in velvet and extending well into deep winter. Early in this window, before the rut, elk are scattered at higher elevations, but as temperatures drop and snow accumulates from October onward, more animals move to lower-elevation private lands, especially along the North Platte River, where they concentrate to survive the winter. This is a late-season hunt with changing access: early August offers public-land opportunity, but by December and January, the best chance for success depends on private-land permission. Weather ranges from warm and dry in August to brutally cold in January, with normal monthly snowfall climbing from nearly zero in August and September to 15 inches in December and 14 inches in January. Hunters need prior arrangement with private landowners, as this hunt targets the animals that move off public ground as the season deepens and winter advances.

Type Gen — Any elk (September–October)

Archery hunting for any elk runs from September 1 through 30 and overlaps the primary rut; regular rifle hunting for any elk runs October 15 through 31, catching the tail end of the rut and early post-rut recovery period. The two seasons are distinct in their hunting character: September archery coincides with bugling and rutting behavior, when bulls respond to calls and are concentrated; October regular hunting begins after the peak of the rut, when bulls are recovering and more dispersed. Both windows have access to public National Forest and BLM, though rifle-season crowds can pressure elk onto private lands. September temperatures average in the high 60s with minimal snow; October cools to the mid-50s with an average of 2.1 inches of snow, which can improve tracking and scenting but may close higher-elevation access. This is the only hunt on this area that allows any-elk hunting, available to holders of a general elk licence.

Type 6 — Cow or calf (September–December)

Archery hunting for cow or calf runs September 1 through 30, overlapping the primary rut when bulls are vocal and concentrated; regular hunting for cow or calf extends from October 1 through December 31, spanning the late rut, post-rut recovery, migration transition, and into winter. The archery phase offers the advantage of elk movement and response during the rut, though the hunt is limited to females and young animals. The regular phase is long and changes throughout: October brings cooling and moderate snow to public lands at mid and higher elevations, while November transitions the rut phase and pushes more elk downslope and onto private ground as winter approaches. December brings deep winter conditions, with highs around 32 degrees and an average of 15 inches of snow, making higher public ground difficult to access and concentrating remaining huntable elk on private lands and lower-elevation refugia. Access to public land decreases as winter advances and snow accumulation restricts trailhead access.

Land and access

private land38%

Private

BLM38%

Generally open to public hunting

National Forest17%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land7%

Generally open to public hunting

About 62% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — BLM, National Forest and State Trust Land, roughly 310 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.

Where elk are mapped

Summer Range21%

used in summer

Winter Range3%

used in winter

Yearlong Range3%

the only layer that means year-round use

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

Lower elevations

Sagebrush78%

Other cover16%

Riparian5%

Grass and meadow1%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush86%

Other cover7%

Riparian5%

Grass and meadow2%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush48%

Conifer43%

Grass and meadow4%

Aspen3%

Other cover1%

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	14°F	14.1 in
February	35°F	15°F	11.6 in
March	44°F	22°F	9.9 in
April	52°F	27°F	5.7 in
May	62°F	35°F	0.3 in
June	73°F	43°F	0 in
July	81°F	50°F	0 in
August	78°F	48°F	0 in
September	69°F	41°F	0.1 in
October	55°F	31°F	2.1 in
November	41°F	21°F	9.8 in
December	32°F	14°F	15 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a general elk licence on hunt area 15?: Yes. Residents of Wyoming buy a general elk licence over the counter with no draw or preference points required. Nonresidents must draw a Region S general licence, which is valid across all general-licence hunt areas in that region, including hunt area 15.
How much of hunt area 15 is public land open to hunting?: About 62 percent of the area—roughly 310 square miles—is publicly managed ground on the National Forest, BLM, or State Trust Land. Access is rated fair; roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings mean that a hunter cannot count on every part of it being reachable or open.
What do nonresident preference points mean for a nonresident applying for hunt area 15?: A nonresident enters the Region S general licence draw pool, where three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point draw, awarded top-down by points, and a quarter go to a random draw open to all applicants. Points matter significantly in the preference-point pool.
When does the rut peak on hunt area 15?: The rut peaks between the third week and the last week of September. Most of the archery hunting on this area overlaps the primary rut, while the regular seasons begin as the rut winds down.
Where can a hunter find the most accessible elk on hunt area 15?: Early-season hunts have better access to elk on public land at higher elevations. As fall and winter weather worsen through the season, elk migrate to lower elevations and private lands, particularly along the North Platte River, where access becomes much more restricted. A large concentration of fall elk uses the Cow Creek area west of Highway 230, which has very limited public access.

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