Can a hunter on a general elk licence hunt area 37?

Yes. A Wyoming resident purchases a general elk licence over the counter with no draw involved. A nonresident must draw a Region W general licence to hunt here; that licence is valid in the general-licence hunt areas of that region only and is not specific to hunt area 37.

Do nonresidents need preference points to draw here?

Nonresidents competing for a Region W general licence encounter a draw split three quarters by preference points and one quarter by random draw. Points matter substantially for nonresidents. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points and face a random draw regardless of whether they must draw for a particular hunt.

What access does a nonresident have to designated wilderness in hunt area 37?

A nonresident is legally required to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in any designated wilderness. A nonresident planning to hunt Cloud Peak Wilderness must secure a guide before the hunt begins.

How much of hunt area 37 can a hunter actually get onto?

Public land makes up about 53% of the area, roughly 365 square miles, but roads are limited and interior trails are unimproved. Four walk-in areas and two Hunter Management Areas (which require a printed permission slip) provide additional options. Private land access is extremely limited and requires advance arrangements.

When do the archery and rifle seasons run in hunt area 37?

General-licence archery for any elk runs September 15–30, with regular (rifle) seasons October 10–November 5. The general antlerless season runs November 6–15. Type 6 cow-or-calf hunts span archery September 15–30 and regular October 1–December 31 across the entire area, or regular September 1–30 on private land only. Type 9 archery for any elk runs September 1–30.

Wyoming Hunt Area 37 (Goose) elk hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

53%

Elevation

3,600–13,200 ft

Terrain

Moderate

Elk region

Hunt area 37 spans 684 square miles across the Bighorn Mountains and their foothills, from sagebrush and grassland benches to heavily timbered higher ground. Elevation runs 3,600 to 13,200 feet, with typical ground around 6,400. Slope averages 11.5 degrees; about half the area is gentle, 39% moderate, with steep and rugged ground making up the remainder. The lower elevations are split between sagebrush, grass and meadow, with scattered riparian and conifer. Mid elevations are dominated by conifer forest mixed with grass meadows. Higher elevations remain heavily forested with scattered sagebrush. Public land—chiefly Bighorn National Forest, plus State Trust Land and BLM—makes up 53% of the area, roughly 365 square miles. Private land covers 46%, and roads into the interior are limited; trails are unimproved. The hunt area contains designated wilderness, which a nonresident may not hunt alone without a licensed guide or resident guide in attendance.

Motorized access through the interior is constrained, and hunters should check current Bighorn National Forest travel regulations before planning a hunt. Elk move between the higher timbered country and the lower foothills and benches throughout the seasons. Early in the season, elk often shift into steep terrain or onto private lands where access becomes difficult. Walk-in areas include Sheridan County Walk In Area 11, Johnson County Walk In Area 2, Sheridan County Walk In Area 9, and Sheridan County Walk In Area 12; these require no permission and may be hunted during their posted seasons. Hunter Management Areas—Soldier Creek and PK Lane—require a printed permission slip from Wyoming Game and Fish. Access to private land for elk hunting is extremely limited and requires advance arrangements. Dispersed camping is available on the National Forest. Archery hunting during September can be productive when elk remain on public land, but securing access to private ground ahead of time is essential for hunters targeting late-season cow opportunities.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 37 (Goose) 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 W, 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 Gen — general licence · Any elk
Archery September 15 – September 30Regular October 10 – November 5
Type Gen — general licence · Antlerless elk
Regular November 6 – November 15
Type 6 · Cow or calf valid on private land
Regular September 1 – September 30
Type 6 · Cow or calf valid in the entire area
Archery September 15 – September 30Regular October 1 – December 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 Gen — Any elk (September–November)

Archery hunters for any elk during mid-September find animals still distributed across public land and higher slopes before the primary rut peaks. Temperatures average highs around 63 degrees Fahrenheit with lows near 38, and snowfall is minimal. Regular rifle hunting from early October through early November covers the late rut and post-rut recovery phases into the migration transition. October brings cooling—highs drop to 49 degrees with lows around 28 and roughly 7.7 inches of monthly snowfall—while November highs fall to 38 degrees and lows to 18, with 9.6 inches of snow. Elk shift into steeper terrain and move toward private lands as the season progresses, making public-land access increasingly limited. This general-licence hunt is valid area-wide.

Type Gen — Antlerless elk (November)

The November antlerless hunt targets cow and calf elk during the migration transition as animals move off summer ground. Weather turns cold, with November highs around 38 degrees and lows near 18, and substantial snowfall averaging 9.6 inches. Elk have largely moved into or are moving toward lower-elevation terrain and private land, restricting public-land opportunities. This hunt allows only cow or calf and is valid area-wide on a general licence.

Type 6 — Cow or calf valid on private land (September)

This hunt is limited to private land and runs from September 1 through 30, covering the rut onset and primary rut phases when elk are still widely distributed across both public and private ground. September brings mild weather with highs near 63 degrees and lows around 38, with minimal snowfall. Private access is extremely limited and must be arranged well in advance of applying for the licence. Only cow and calf are legal.

Type 6 — Cow or calf valid in the entire area (September–December)

The full-area cow-or-calf season spans archery in mid-September through rifle hunting into December, covering the primary rut, late rut, post-rut recovery, migration transition, and winter range phases. Archery in September offers relatively mild conditions with highs around 63 degrees and minimal snow. Rifle hunting begins in October as temperatures cool—October highs drop to 49 degrees with 7.7 inches of monthly snowfall—and continues through November and December as the hunt area grows progressively colder and snow accumulates (9.6 inches in November, 12.3 inches in December). Elk shift into terrain and onto private land as the season advances, and hunters must secure private access before hunting. Only cow or calf are legal throughout the entire area.

Type 9 — Any elk, archery only (September)

Archery hunting for any elk during September spans the rut onset and primary rut phases when elk occupy both public and private ground across lower foothills and higher timbered elevations. Weather is mild, with highs averaging 63 degrees and lows around 38, and snowfall minimal. Public land remains more accessible in early September before elk pressure builds and animals move into steeper or private country. This hunt allows any elk on archery equipment only.

Land and access

National Forest49%

Generally open to public hunting

private land46%

Private

State Trust Land4%

Generally open to public hunting

About 53% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, State Trust Land and BLM, roughly 365 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 4 enrolled walk-in areas. It also holds 2 Hunter Management Areas. Both are private ground enrolled for public access, not public land. A Hunter Management Area requires a printed permission slip from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department before hunting it. 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 Range49%

used in summer

Parturition Areas12%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

Winter Range7%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range6%

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

Lower elevations

Sagebrush40%

Grass and meadow27%

Other cover18%

Riparian9%

Conifer4%

Aspen2%

Mid elevations

Conifer79%

Grass and meadow13%

Sagebrush7%

Aspen1%

Higher elevations

Conifer72%

Sagebrush24%

Grass and meadow2%

Other cover2%

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	31°F	12°F	11.6 in
February	32°F	11°F	12.4 in
March	40°F	18°F	15 in
April	46°F	24°F	12.3 in
May	55°F	33°F	2 in
June	64°F	40°F	0 in
July	74°F	47°F	0 in
August	73°F	46°F	0 in
September	63°F	38°F	0.8 in
October	49°F	28°F	7.7 in
November	38°F	18°F	9.6 in
December	31°F	11°F	12.3 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter on a general elk licence hunt area 37?: Yes. A Wyoming resident purchases a general elk licence over the counter with no draw involved. A nonresident must draw a Region W general licence to hunt here; that licence is valid in the general-licence hunt areas of that region only and is not specific to hunt area 37.
Do nonresidents need preference points to draw here?: Nonresidents competing for a Region W general licence encounter a draw split three quarters by preference points and one quarter by random draw. Points matter substantially for nonresidents. Wyoming residents have no elk preference points and face a random draw regardless of whether they must draw for a particular hunt.
What access does a nonresident have to designated wilderness in hunt area 37?: A nonresident is legally required to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in any designated wilderness. A nonresident planning to hunt Cloud Peak Wilderness must secure a guide before the hunt begins.
How much of hunt area 37 can a hunter actually get onto?: Public land makes up about 53% of the area, roughly 365 square miles, but roads are limited and interior trails are unimproved. Four walk-in areas and two Hunter Management Areas (which require a printed permission slip) provide additional options. Private land access is extremely limited and requires advance arrangements.
When do the archery and rifle seasons run in hunt area 37?: General-licence archery for any elk runs September 15–30, with regular (rifle) seasons October 10–November 5. The general antlerless season runs November 6–15. Type 6 cow-or-calf hunts span archery September 15–30 and regular October 1–December 31 across the entire area, or regular September 1–30 on private land only. Type 9 archery for any elk runs September 1–30.

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