Can a hunter take any elk on a general licence here, and does a Region licence cover this area?

A general elk licence—purchased by Wyoming residents over the counter, or drawn by nonresidents applying to Region S—covers any elk during the September–October seasons on this area. The region licence is valid only in general-licence hunt areas of Region S and does not reach limited-quota areas elsewhere.

What do nonresidents need to know about the draw for this area?

Nonresidents apply to Region S for a general licence. The draw allocates three quarters of the available licences through a preference-points draw (highest points first) and a quarter through random draw. Points matter significantly in the preference-points pool, but a nonresident with no points still has a one-in-four chance in the random tier.

How accessible is the public land on this area?

About 255 square miles of public land—roughly 62 percent of the hunt area—is generally dependable to access, including National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas. Trailheads on Sheep Mountain's northern and southern ends and the Forbes Wildlife Habitat Management Area provide established entry, though seasonal closures and conditions still apply.

Can a hunter walk into the Albany County walk-in area, or does a permission slip apply?

The Albany County walk-in area requires no permission slip and no application; a hunter may enter during its open period subject to posted rules. Walk-in areas are different from hunter management areas, which do require written permission.

What do the seasons here allow a hunter to take, and when do they run?

Archery for any elk runs September 1–30; regular any-elk hunting runs October 15–31. Antlerless elk by rifle runs November 1–7. Separate cow-or-calf seasons run with archery in September and by rifle from October through December, and a cow-or-calf hunt valid off national forest runs August 15–January 31.

Wyoming Hunt Area 9 (South Snowy Range) elk hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

62%

Elevation

7,100–10,700 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Elk region

Hunt area 9 spans 409 square miles of mixed country where open prairie and sagebrush at lower elevations give way to forested mountain slopes and alpine tundra above 10,000 feet. Most of the terrain is gentle; slopes average 6.9 degrees with three-quarters grading gentle or moderate. The dominant cover shifts with elevation: lower slopes run to grass and sagebrush in nearly equal measure, mid-elevations hold sagebrush and grass with increasing conifer, and higher ground turns to conifer forest and alpine meadow. Much of the National Forest within the hunt area bears standing dead timber from the 2020 Mullen Creek fire and provides a maze of deadfall and openings where elk move between ridges. Access to the public core is generally reliable. About 255 square miles—roughly 62 percent of the area—is ground a hunter can count on, including National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas. The remaining 36 percent is private, some of it interspersed with public holdings. Seasonal closures on Forest Service winter range and variable trailhead conditions still apply, but the infrastructure for reaching ridges and high basins is present.

The hunt area sits within the Snowy Range herd unit. Summer range covers 43 percent of the ground, winter range 27 percent, and year-round habitat 15 percent. Crucial winter range and calving areas together account for 15 percent. Sheep Mountain, a roadless area on the eastern flank, anchors trailhead access on both its northern and southern ends, and the Forbes Wildlife Habitat Management Area on the southwest side offers additional entry to the higher slopes. A walk-in area at Albany County and a hunter management area at X-Bar Ranch provide supplementary options where enrollment holds. For nonresidents, a Region S general licence is drawn and valid across all general-licence areas in the region; the draw awards three quarters of its licences by preference points—top candidates first—and a quarter by random draw. For Wyoming residents, a general elk licence is purchased over the counter from mid-July with no draw and no points involved.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 9 (South Snowy Range) 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 S, 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 30Regular October 15 – October 31
Type Gen — general licence · Antlerless elk
Regular November 1 – November 7
Type 6 · Cow or calf
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – December 31
Type 7 · Cow or calf valid off national forest
Regular August 15 – 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 Gen — Any elk (September–October)

Archery for any elk runs through September, when bulls shift from velvet into the rut's onset and early intensity. Temperatures fall from summer highs of 74 degrees to the mid-60s, and snowfall is light at under an inch for the month. Hunters access the area on foot and bike, with trailheads and walk-in areas open. The regular any-elk season follows in mid-October through the end of the month, as the rut cools and bulls enter recovery. Conditions cool sharply—highs drop from the low 50s to the mid-40s—and the first substantial snow arrives, averaging 4.3 inches. Both archery and regular seasons target any legal elk with the same equipment rules.

Type Gen — Antlerless elk (November)

The antlerless-only rifle season runs the first week of November, during the migration transition when herds shift to winter range. Temperatures plummet into the upper 30s for highs, and November snowfall averages 11.1 inches, creating variable winter conditions. Access by foot, horse and bike to the closed National Forest winter range becomes key for reaching migrants. Hunters may take cow or calf only.

Type 6 — Cow or calf (September–December)

Cow-and-calf archery mirrors the early rut in September, then a four-month rifle season runs October 1 through December 31, carrying the hunt through the late rut, post-rut recovery, migration and the onset of winter range use. September remains mild with light snow; October brings the first heavy snow and sharp cooling; November continues to cool and accumulate snow at 11.1 inches; December deepens winter with highs near 30 degrees and 15.6 inches of monthly snow. Public access remains open, though snow and seasonal closures complicate foot travel. The hunt is restricted to cow or calf only, not any elk.

Type 7 — Cow or calf valid off national… (August–January)

The cow-and-calf season valid off national forest runs August 15 through January 31, spanning late summer, the full rut, post-rut recovery, migration and deep winter. August is warm and nearly snow-free; temperatures fall steadily through autumn into winter's lows near 10 degrees by January, while snowfall builds from none in August to 15.6 inches in January. Because this hunt is valid only off national forest—on private land and non-national-forest public ground—it does not access the Forest Service core where much of the public land sits. Hunters must confirm access to private holdings or focus on BLM and State Trust Land. The legal animal is cow or calf.

Land and access

National Forest50%

Generally open to public hunting

private land36%

Private

State Trust Land8%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM4%

Generally open to public hunting

unclassified ownership2%

Ownership unclassified

About 62% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas, roughly 255 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.

the Wyoming Game & Fish Department publishes 57% public land for this hunt area. That counts public ownership; the figure above counts ground a hunter can depend on getting onto. They answer different questions, so both are shown rather than blended.

This hunt area has 1 enrolled walk-in area. It also holds 1 Hunter Management Area. 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.

Where elk are mapped

Summer Range43%

used in summer

Winter Range27%

used in winter

Yearlong Range15%

the only layer that means year-round use

Crucial Winter Range12%

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

Parturition Areas3%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

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

Grass and meadow44%

Sagebrush38%

Other cover10%

Riparian9%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush37%

Grass and meadow35%

Conifer14%

Riparian10%

Other cover3%

Aspen1%

Higher elevations

Conifer56%

Grass and meadow31%

Sagebrush7%

Aspen3%

Riparian2%

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	11°F	15.1 in
February	33°F	11°F	14.2 in
March	41°F	18°F	13 in
April	48°F	23°F	9.1 in
May	58°F	31°F	0.7 in
June	69°F	39°F	0 in
July	76°F	45°F	0 in
August	74°F	44°F	0 in
September	66°F	37°F	0.6 in
October	52°F	27°F	4.3 in
November	39°F	18°F	11.1 in
December	30°F	10°F	15.6 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter take any elk on a general licence here, and does a Region licence cover this area?: A general elk licence—purchased by Wyoming residents over the counter, or drawn by nonresidents applying to Region S—covers any elk during the September–October seasons on this area. The region licence is valid only in general-licence hunt areas of Region S and does not reach limited-quota areas elsewhere.
What do nonresidents need to know about the draw for this area?: Nonresidents apply to Region S for a general licence. The draw allocates three quarters of the available licences through a preference-points draw (highest points first) and a quarter through random draw. Points matter significantly in the preference-points pool, but a nonresident with no points still has a one-in-four chance in the random tier.
How accessible is the public land on this area?: About 255 square miles of public land—roughly 62 percent of the hunt area—is generally dependable to access, including National Forest, State Trust Land, BLM and State Wildlife Areas. Trailheads on Sheep Mountain's northern and southern ends and the Forbes Wildlife Habitat Management Area provide established entry, though seasonal closures and conditions still apply.
Can a hunter walk into the Albany County walk-in area, or does a permission slip apply?: The Albany County walk-in area requires no permission slip and no application; a hunter may enter during its open period subject to posted rules. Walk-in areas are different from hunter management areas, which do require written permission.
What do the seasons here allow a hunter to take, and when do they run?: Archery for any elk runs September 1–30; regular any-elk hunting runs October 15–31. Antlerless elk by rifle runs November 1–7. Separate cow-or-calf seasons run with archery in September and by rifle from October through December, and a cow-or-calf hunt valid off national forest runs August 15–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.

All Wyoming elk hunt areas