Can a hunter in hunt area 70 use a general elk license?

Yes. Hunt area 70 is a general-licence area, meaning a Wyoming resident can buy a general elk licence over the counter with no draw or preference points involved. A nonresident cannot buy a general license; instead, a nonresident must draw a Region general licence for Region W, which is then valid in all general-licence areas of that region, including hunt area 70.

How much of hunt area 70 is actually accessible to a hunter on foot?

Approximately 99% of the area is National Forest land. However, the majority of this area lies within the Teton Wilderness, where motorized travel is prohibited. Most elk hunting here is done via horseback or on foot in the backcountry, meaning access to productive country requires substantial hiking or packing.

Can a nonresident hunt designated wilderness in hunt area 70 without a guide?

No. Wyoming law requires any nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness. Since the majority of hunt area 70 lies within the Teton Wilderness, a nonresident without a guide arrangement cannot legally hunt the core of the area.

When do the elk seasons run in hunt area 70?

The general-licence archery season runs September 1–19 and allows any elk. The regular general-licence season runs September 20–October 31 and is limited to antlered elk, excluding spikes. These are the only two elk seasons available in hunt area 70 for general-licence hunters.

What wildlife other than elk can a hunter pursue in hunt area 70?

Mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, mountain lions, and wolves are present in the area, and seasons exist for those species. Grizzly bears are also present in high densities and should be expected. Moose seasons are closed in this area. Dusky and ruffed grouse can also be hunted in forested regions.

Wyoming Hunt Area 70 (Buffalo Fork) elk hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

99%

Elevation

6,700–11,400 ft

Terrain

Steep

Elk region

Hunt area 70 spans rolling timber hills to steep mountain terrain between 6,700 and 11,400 feet, with typical ground around 8,700 feet. South-facing slopes carry sagebrush and aspen; higher elevations shift to spruce-fir and whitebark pine. The terrain is steep overall—44% of the area slopes at moderate angles and 17% at steep grades—and it is laced with major drainages and open meadows. Nearly all of it is public land, and nearly all of that is wilderness: the area sits mostly within the Teton Wilderness, where motorized travel is forbidden and nearly all elk hunting happens on foot or by horseback deep in the backcountry. Grizzly bears are numerous, and a hunter here should expect to encounter them regularly.

Access to the National Forest land is solid, with major trailheads at Highway 26/287, Angles, Brooks Lake, Turpin Meadow on the Buffalo Fork, and Pacific Creek. Roads thin quickly once the area is entered, and the wilderness core demands backcountry miles to reach the best elk country. That remoteness cuts two ways: it limits how many hunters can effectively hunt the ground, but it also means a hunter willing to go deep will find room to work.

Nonresidents hunting in the designated wilderness must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide—this is required by Wyoming law and cannot be bypassed. A nonresident planning a trip here without that arrangement will not be able to legally hunt the area's core ground.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 70 (Buffalo Fork) 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 1 – September 19
Type Gen — general licence · Antlered elk, spikes excluded
Regular September 20 – October 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 Gen — Any elk (September)

Archery hunting during September targets elk that are entering the rut and becoming more vocal and responsive to calls. Early in the month, bulls are still in velvet and scattered at higher elevations; as September progresses, antlers harden and bulls begin to respond more predictably. Temperatures stay mild, with highs around 60°F and virtually no snow, making high-country access straightforward. Nearly all hunting happens deep in the Teton Wilderness, requiring backpack or horse access to reach elk; a hunter here should plan for substantial miles on foot or animals to pack.

Type Gen — Antlered elk, spikes excluded (September–October)

Regular-season hunting from September 20 through October is the meat of the hunt—bulls are in the primary rut through late September and early October, gathering cows and calling, then shift into post-rut recovery as November approaches. Weather deteriorates sharply: October highs drop to 47°F, lows to 25°F, and snowfall averages 6.2 inches for the month, with late-October storms capable of driving elk from high ridges to lower elevations. The season allows antlered elk only (spikes are excluded), narrowing legal quarry. As with the archery season, hunting is frontier backcountry work—horseback and foot miles dominate the hunt, and private lands in the lower valleys become more relevant to hunters pushing down ahead of heavy snow. A nonresident must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide anywhere in the Teton Wilderness.

Land and access

National Forest99%

Generally open to public hunting

About 99% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, roughly 444 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 Range94%

used in summer

Parturition Areas16%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

Winter Range6%

used in winter

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

Lower elevations

Conifer60%

Sagebrush30%

Riparian7%

Grass and meadow2%

Other cover1%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush50%

Conifer40%

Grass and meadow6%

Riparian3%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush59%

Conifer29%

Grass and meadow10%

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	27°F	7°F	32.5 in
February	30°F	8°F	26.4 in
March	38°F	14°F	25 in
April	45°F	20°F	15.3 in
May	54°F	29°F	2.3 in
June	62°F	35°F	0 in
July	71°F	42°F	0 in
August	70°F	40°F	0 in
September	60°F	34°F	0.2 in
October	47°F	25°F	6.2 in
November	33°F	15°F	25.8 in
December	25°F	7°F	33.3 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter in hunt area 70 use a general elk license?: Yes. Hunt area 70 is a general-licence area, meaning a Wyoming resident can buy a general elk licence over the counter with no draw or preference points involved. A nonresident cannot buy a general license; instead, a nonresident must draw a Region general licence for Region W, which is then valid in all general-licence areas of that region, including hunt area 70.
How much of hunt area 70 is actually accessible to a hunter on foot?: Approximately 99% of the area is National Forest land. However, the majority of this area lies within the Teton Wilderness, where motorized travel is prohibited. Most elk hunting here is done via horseback or on foot in the backcountry, meaning access to productive country requires substantial hiking or packing.
Can a nonresident hunt designated wilderness in hunt area 70 without a guide?: No. Wyoming law requires any nonresident to be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide in designated wilderness. Since the majority of hunt area 70 lies within the Teton Wilderness, a nonresident without a guide arrangement cannot legally hunt the core of the area.
When do the elk seasons run in hunt area 70?: The general-licence archery season runs September 1–19 and allows any elk. The regular general-licence season runs September 20–October 31 and is limited to antlered elk, excluding spikes. These are the only two elk seasons available in hunt area 70 for general-licence hunters.
What wildlife other than elk can a hunter pursue in hunt area 70?: Mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, mountain lions, and wolves are present in the area, and seasons exist for those species. Grizzly bears are also present in high densities and should be expected. Moose seasons are closed in this area. Dusky and ruffed grouse can also be hunted in forested regions.

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