Can a hunter use a region licence in hunt area 27?

No. Hunt area 27 is a limited-quota area drawn specifically for this ground. A region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region and does not cover limited-quota hunt areas.

How much of hunt area 27 is actually open to hunting?

About 94% of the area—roughly 111 square miles—is public land through national forest, BLM or state trust land that a hunter can generally access. Private land makes up 6%, and most private parcels do not permit hunting access during the season.

What preference points do Wyoming residents need for elk in this area?

Wyoming residents do not use preference points for elk. The resident elk draw is random, with no point system and no point cutoff for any hunt area in the state.

Does hunt area 27 have a walk-in option?

Yes. Fremont County Walk-In Area 17 allows hunters to walk onto enrolled private land during its open period without an application or permission slip, subject to posted rules.

What happens if a nonresident draws this hunt area but wants to hunt the wilderness?

Wyoming law requires any nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide when hunting in designated wilderness. A nonresident planning to hunt wilderness in this area must arrange for one of those before the season starts.

Wyoming Hunt Area 27 (Upper Sweetwater) elk hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

94%

Elevation

7,400–12,500 ft

Terrain

Moderate

Hunt area 27 spans from forested national forest lands down to rolling sagebrush foothills and open sagebrush steppe at lower elevations, with some alkaline flats in the eastern end. Ephemeral streams and creeks run through the country, providing water. The ground is moderate terrain overall—mostly gentle slopes with scattered steeper sections—rising from around 8,400 feet typical to a range between 7,400 and 12,500 feet. Sagebrush dominates the cover at 55%, conifer forest runs about 36%, with grass and meadow, aspen and riparian making up the remainder. Elk are found throughout but concentrate on and near the national forests. The country is remote and far from services or cell coverage; roads vary widely in condition depending on soil type, and wet weather can make certain drainages nearly impassable while sandy areas remain drivable.

Getting onto this ground means navigating a mix of public and private land—about 94% is publicly accessible national forest, BLM or state trust land, but roads, trailheads and seasonal closures still control entry. Private land is intermixed with public, and most private parcels are not open to hunting. Fremont County Walk-In Area 17 provides access to enrolled private ground during its open period with no application required. Designated wilderness is present on this area; Wyoming law requires any nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide when hunting in wilderness.

Hunt area 27 hosts two elk seasons. The September–October any-elk hunt spans archery and regular seasons across the peak of the rut, while the September–November antlerless season extends through the rut and into the early migration period, offering a longer window for hunters targeting cows and calves.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 27 (Upper Sweetwater) 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 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – October 31
Type 4 · Antlerless elk
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – November 20

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)

September archery sees elk in the rut onset and primary rut phases, with bulls responding to calling and cows moving with herds; the period is mild early in the month and cools across September, with highs dropping from the low 60s to around 50 degrees and nights settling into the mid-30s, plus around an inch of snow. October's regular season continues into the late rut and post-rut recovery, when bulls are past the peak but still active and cow movement slows; temperatures drop significantly, with highs in the mid-40s and lows near freezing, and snowfall increases to around 6 inches for the month. Access is controlled by road and trailhead conditions; higher elevation roads may close with snow. This hunt is valid for any elk—bulls, cows, and calves.

Type 4 — Antlerless elk (September–November)

Archery in September coincides with the rut onset and primary rut phases, offering the same calling opportunity and elk movement as the any-elk season, with identical early-month mildness cooling to the low 50s by month's end and nights in the mid-30s. The regular season extends from October through November, taking in the late rut, post-rut recovery and early migration phases; October sees temperatures drop to highs near 50 degrees and lows around freezing with 6 inches of snow, while November grows significantly colder with highs around 36 degrees, lows near 14 degrees, and heavy snow around 14 inches accumulating through the month. Fall snowstorms can trigger migration out of higher elevations, concentrating elk lower on the range. This hunt is valid for cows and calves only, targeting antlerless elk throughout the full season.

Land and access

National Forest57%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM33%

Generally open to public hunting

private land6%

Private

State Trust Land4%

Generally open to public hunting

About 94% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 111 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 1 enrolled walk-in area. 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.

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 elk are mapped

Summer Range43%

used in summer

Winter Range43%

used in winter

Yearlong Range40%

the only layer that means year-round use

Parturition Areas21%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

Crucial Winter Range3%

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 elk are mapped, not where inside the area they are, and not when they move.

Habitat and cover

Across the unit

Sagebrush55%

Conifer36%

Grass and meadow6%

Aspen2%

Riparian1%

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	29°F	6°F	14 in
February	30°F	7°F	16 in
March	38°F	14°F	14.5 in
April	45°F	21°F	13.4 in
May	55°F	30°F	3.1 in
June	65°F	38°F	0 in
July	74°F	45°F	0 in
August	72°F	43°F	0 in
September	62°F	36°F	1.1 in
October	49°F	25°F	6.4 in
November	36°F	14°F	14.1 in
December	28°F	6°F	18.2 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter use a region licence in hunt area 27?: No. Hunt area 27 is a limited-quota area drawn specifically for this ground. A region licence is valid only in the general-licence areas of its region and does not cover limited-quota hunt areas.
How much of hunt area 27 is actually open to hunting?: About 94% of the area—roughly 111 square miles—is public land through national forest, BLM or state trust land that a hunter can generally access. Private land makes up 6%, and most private parcels do not permit hunting access during the season.
What preference points do Wyoming residents need for elk in this area?: Wyoming residents do not use preference points for elk. The resident elk draw is random, with no point system and no point cutoff for any hunt area in the state.
Does hunt area 27 have a walk-in option?: Yes. Fremont County Walk-In Area 17 allows hunters to walk onto enrolled private land during its open period without an application or permission slip, subject to posted rules.
What happens if a nonresident draws this hunt area but wants to hunt the wilderness?: Wyoming law requires any nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide when hunting in designated wilderness. A nonresident planning to hunt wilderness in this area must arrange for one of those before the season starts.

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