Can a hunter draw hunt area 55 with a general or region licence?

No. Hunt area 55 is limited-quota and requires a separate draw for this area alone — neither a general licence nor a region licence covers it. Hunters of either residency must apply for a licence specific to hunt area 55.

How many preference points do Wyoming residents need for elk in this hunt area?

Wyoming residents do not use preference points for elk. The resident elk draw is random across all hunt areas, with no point requirement or point cutoff. Nonresidents, by contrast, draw against preference points — three quarters of nonresident licences go to those with the most points, and the remaining quarter are drawn randomly.

How much of hunt area 55 can a hunter actually get onto without paying an outfitter?

All 392 square miles are public Forest Service land, but getting onto it is not straightforward. Roads and trailheads are limited, seasonal closures apply, and the terrain is rough enough that foot travel is very slow. Much of the area is designated wilderness, where Wyoming requires a nonresident to hunt with a licensed guide or a resident guide. Most accessible elk are in the wilderness, making a nonresident's self-guided hunt extremely challenging without horses.

When do the archery and rifle seasons run on hunt area 55?

Archery hunting runs September 1–30 for Type 1 (any elk) and also September 1–30 for Type 9 (any elk, archery only). Rifle hunting for Type 1 runs October 1–31. The two seasons are separate draws; a hunter applies for one or the other.

Are elk in hunt area 55 migratory or year-round residents?

Elk here are primarily migratory from Yellowstone National Park, so their presence is driven by weather and snowfall. Early-season hunts may have relatively few elk in the area, especially before autumn snow pushes animals down from higher country or brings them in from outside. Snow and cold are the main levers controlling how many elk are present.

Wyoming Hunt Area 55 (Grinnell) elk hunting

Licence

Limited quota — drawn

Open public land

100%

Elevation

6,000–11,900 ft

Terrain

Rugged

Hunt area 55 spans high mountainous terrain broken by steep drainages, with elevations ranging from 6,000 to 11,900 feet and typical ground around 8,700 feet. The country grades as rugged, with nearly half its slopes steep or steeper and only 11% gentle. Sagebrush and conifer forest split the land cover nearly equally at 44% and 43%, with smaller shares of grass and meadow. This is entirely public land managed by the Forest Service, but public ownership does not guarantee easy entry — roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all constrain where a hunter can actually get to.

The hunt area draws its elk primarily from the Yellowstone migratory herd, meaning weather and snowfall drive how many animals are present and when they move through. Elk distribution is highly weather-dependent: early in the season, especially before significant snow, most animals stay high or do not yet enter the area, and the wilderness that covers much of the hunt area holds most of the accessible elk. Hunting without horses and mules is extremely difficult here because the rough country and the distribution of elk make travel on foot slow and the elk themselves remote from the few places a walker can reach. A nonresident wishing to hunt this area without hiring an outfitter faces a serious logistical challenge. The hunt area does contain designated wilderness, and Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide within those boundaries.

Early-season hunts (September) occur while weather is still mild and elk are spread widely across high country. By October, conditions cool and snowfall increases, shifting both weather and elk behavior. Late-season conditions (late October) may concentrate elk lower as snow mounts, potentially improving access and visibility, though by then the rut is receding.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 55 (Grinnell) 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 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)

Early archery (September 1–30) coincides with rut onset and the primary rut, when bulls are vocal and responding to calls, but the season opens into cooling days and cold nights, with temperatures falling through the month as highs drop from around 66°F toward the low 50s. Regular-season hunting (October 1–31) carries the rut into late and post-rut phases, when bulls are less responsive but still moving to find cows, while October weather cools markedly and snowfall averages nearly 3 inches, potentially concentrating elk lower and improving visibility but also making access harder. Most accessible elk are in the wilderness, which requires a nonresident to hunt with a licensed guide or a resident guide. The hunt allows any elk.

Type 9 — Any elk, archery only (September)

Archery-only hunting (September 1–30) takes place during rut onset and the primary rut, when bulls answer calls and chase cows, yet the season tracks cooling conditions from warm early September days into nights near freezing, with highs declining from roughly 66°F through the month. Early-season snow is minimal, leaving most elk distributed high or outside the area before weather pushes them down. Much of the hunt area is designated wilderness, and Wyoming law requires a nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide within those boundaries. This hunt allows any elk.

Land and access

National Forest100%

Generally open to public hunting

About 100% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, roughly 392 square miles. Public ownership is not the same as easy entry: roads, trailheads, seasonal closures and private inholdings all still apply.

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 Range77%

used in summer

Parturition Areas45%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

Winter Range23%

used in winter

Crucial Winter Range12%

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

Yearlong Range8%

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

Across the unit

Sagebrush44%

Conifer43%

Grass and meadow8%

Other cover5%

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	16.4 in
February	34°F	11°F	14.4 in
March	42°F	18°F	12.2 in
April	49°F	24°F	6.5 in
May	58°F	32°F	0.5 in
June	68°F	38°F	0 in
July	78°F	44°F	0 in
August	77°F	43°F	0 in
September	66°F	36°F	0.1 in
October	51°F	28°F	2.9 in
November	38°F	19°F	13.1 in
December	30°F	12°F	17.9 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter draw hunt area 55 with a general or region licence?: No. Hunt area 55 is limited-quota and requires a separate draw for this area alone — neither a general licence nor a region licence covers it. Hunters of either residency must apply for a licence specific to hunt area 55.
How many preference points do Wyoming residents need for elk in this hunt area?: Wyoming residents do not use preference points for elk. The resident elk draw is random across all hunt areas, with no point requirement or point cutoff. Nonresidents, by contrast, draw against preference points — three quarters of nonresident licences go to those with the most points, and the remaining quarter are drawn randomly.
How much of hunt area 55 can a hunter actually get onto without paying an outfitter?: All 392 square miles are public Forest Service land, but getting onto it is not straightforward. Roads and trailheads are limited, seasonal closures apply, and the terrain is rough enough that foot travel is very slow. Much of the area is designated wilderness, where Wyoming requires a nonresident to hunt with a licensed guide or a resident guide. Most accessible elk are in the wilderness, making a nonresident's self-guided hunt extremely challenging without horses.
When do the archery and rifle seasons run on hunt area 55?: Archery hunting runs September 1–30 for Type 1 (any elk) and also September 1–30 for Type 9 (any elk, archery only). Rifle hunting for Type 1 runs October 1–31. The two seasons are separate draws; a hunter applies for one or the other.
Are elk in hunt area 55 migratory or year-round residents?: Elk here are primarily migratory from Yellowstone National Park, so their presence is driven by weather and snowfall. Early-season hunts may have relatively few elk in the area, especially before autumn snow pushes animals down from higher country or brings them in from outside. Snow and cold are the main levers controlling how many elk are present.

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