Wyoming Hunt Area 82 (Crystal Peak) elk hunting
Hunt area 82 is mountainous, high country in the Jackson herd unit, ranging from 6,700 feet to above 11,700 feet with typical ground around 9,200 feet. The terrain pitches steeply—the area averages 16 degrees of slope—and is split between forested hillsides and open drainages. South-facing slopes grow sagebrush and aspen stands, while lodgepole pine covers moderate elevations and transitions to spruce, fir, and whitebark pine higher up. Deep meadows and wide valleys bisect the area, and nearly all of this terrain lies within the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
National Forest land makes up 99% of the hunt area, making access public in principle but demanding in practice. Designated wilderness covers most of the ground, meaning a nonresident must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide to hunt it legally. The few trails that reach the interior come from the Gros Ventre Road and from trailheads in the Granite Creek and Shoal Creek drainages of adjacent hunt area 84; in practice, most hunters reach the high country on horseback or on foot and hunt the backcountry throughout the season. Access to this wilderness ground is not straightforward—roads, trailheads, and seasonal closures all apply.
Rut timing and snow dictate where elk are found and how accessible they are. During September and October, elk scatter through the higher elevations. Snow typically accumulates in late October, pushing elk down to lower elevations in the Gros Ventre drainage where they are more reachable to hunters on foot. Grizzly bear densities are moderate throughout the area, and hunters should prepare to encounter bears.
Licence and how this hunt area is drawn
Hunt Area 82 (Crystal Peak) 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 elkArchery September 1 – September 25
- Type Gen — general licence · Antlered elk, spikes excludedRegular September 26 – October 25
- Type 4 · Antlerless elkArchery September 1 – September 9Regular September 10 – November 5
- Type 4 · Antlerless elk valid on private land; also valid on private land in Areas 70 and 81Regular November 6 – January 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 4 — Antlerless elk valid on private land (November–January)
Hunting antlerless elk on private land runs from November through January, after the general seasons close. By late November, weather in the high country grows severe, with nighttime lows dropping to around 11 degrees Fahrenheit and snowfall averaging 17 inches per month, rising to 21 inches in January as highs fall to the mid-20s. The second rut phase comes and goes during this span, and elk drift through the Migration Transition and onto winter range. Most of hunt area 82 is National Forest and wilderness, so this season primarily serves hunters with private-land access in the lower Gros Ventre drainage, though the licence is valid there and in adjacent hunt areas 70 and 81 as well.
Type Gen — Any elk (September)
Archery hunting for any elk begins September 1, as elk scatter at high elevations through the early rut, with September highs around 60 degrees Fahrenheit and virtually no snow. This general-licence hunt ends September 25 and reaches only the rut-onset phase, before bulls fully respond to calling. The vast majority of this hunt area is wilderness, requiring a nonresident to bring a licensed guide or a resident guide, and most hunters access the backcountry on foot or horseback through trails from the Gros Ventre Road or from the Granite Creek and Shoal Creek drainages.
Type Gen — Antlered elk, spikes excluded (September–October)
The general-licence antlered season runs September 26 through October 25, spanning the primary rut and its decline into the post-rut phase. September hunting is warm and dry, with highs near 60 degrees, but October brings rapid cooling, dropping to the mid-40s and introducing snow—normal October snowfall averages 5 inches. Bulls vocalize through the primary rut but become less responsive as October progresses and cows drop into oestrus. This entire hunt area lies within the Gros Ventre Wilderness, where a nonresident must hunt with a licensed guide or a resident guide. Access is backcountry throughout, via trails and on horseback or on foot.
Type 4 — Antlerless elk (September–November)
Archery for antlerless elk begins September 1–9, catching the rut-onset phase in warm September weather, then transitions to a regular rifle hunt September 10–November 5. October brings snow averaging 5 inches as weather cools into the 40s, and November snowfall rises to 17 inches as the rut enters its late phases and transitions into early migration and winter range. Elk scatter at high elevations through September and October, becoming more accessible to foot traffic once October snow drives them lower into the Gros Ventre drainage. This hunt area is overwhelmingly wilderness, and a nonresident must be accompanied by a licensed guide or a resident guide. Most hunters reach the backcountry via trail from the Gros Ventre Road or from trailheads in hunt area 84.
Land and access
About 99% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, roughly 232 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
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
Mid elevations
Higher elevations
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 | 26°F | 3°F | 21.4 in |
| February | 29°F | 4°F | 19.2 in |
| March | 38°F | 11°F | 17.3 in |
| April | 44°F | 19°F | 11.1 in |
| May | 53°F | 28°F | 1.8 in |
| June | 62°F | 34°F | 0 in |
| July | 71°F | 40°F | 0 in |
| August | 69°F | 39°F | 0 in |
| September | 60°F | 32°F | 0.2 in |
| October | 46°F | 23°F | 5.3 in |
| November | 33°F | 11°F | 17.4 in |
| December | 24°F | 3°F | 22.9 in |
Snowfall is the monthly total, not depth lying on the ground.
Common questions
- Can a hunter use a general elk licence to hunt hunt area 82?
- A Wyoming resident can buy a general elk licence over the counter with no draw and no preference points involved. A nonresident cannot buy a general licence; a nonresident must draw a Region W general licence, which is valid in all general-licence areas of the region, including hunt area 82.
- Is a nonresident's region licence valid in hunt area 82?
- A Region W general licence is valid in all general-licence areas of the region, and hunt area 82 is a general-licence area, so yes. A nonresident holding a Region W general licence can hunt the general seasons here.
- How much of hunt area 82 can a hunter actually get onto?
- Nearly the entire area is within the Gros Ventre Wilderness, which requires a nonresident to hunt with a licensed guide or a resident guide. The area is 99% National Forest land, but trails and trailheads still control access, and most hunters reach the interior on horseback or on foot through the backcountry.
- Does hunt area 82 require preference points for a nonresident?
- The Region W general licence is drawn for nonresidents; three quarters of those licences go to the preference-point draw, awarded by points, and a quarter goes to a random draw open to all. Nonresidents without points can enter the random draw, but preference points improve odds significantly.
- When do the general seasons run in hunt area 82?
- The September any-elk archery season runs September 1–25. The September–October antlered-elk regular season runs September 26–October 25. An antlerless archery season runs September 1–9, with a regular antlerless season September 10–November 5. Antlerless elk are valid on private land November 6–January 31.
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.