Can a hunter with a general elk licence hunt this area?

Yes, on a general elk licence. Wyoming residents can buy a general licence over the counter with no draw and no points required. Nonresidents must draw a Region W general licence, which is valid in this hunt area and other general-licence hunt areas in that region.

How many points does a nonresident need for elk in this hunt area?

A nonresident does not need a specific point cutoff to hunt here on a general licence, because this is a general-licence hunt area with no draw required. However, nonresidents must draw a Region W general licence; within that pool, three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point draw (awarded top-down by points) and a quarter to a random draw open to everyone.

What seasons run in this hunt area?

Hunt area 92 has four seasons: general-licence any-elk archery September 1–30 and regular October 15–31; general-licence antlerless elk November 1–20; and cow-or-calf (restricted to the northern portion above certain county roads) archery September 1–30 and regular October 1–November 30.

Where can a hunter actually access the elk country in this hunt area?

Most elk are on National Forest lands in the western portion. Horse Creek Road, Blind Bull Road, and North Cottonwood Creek Road provide entry from the valleys, but productive hunting requires traveling upslope on foot into the high basins where thick conifers concentrate elk. About 55% of the hunt area is dependably accessible public land, but private ground, inholdings, and seasonal closures all limit where a hunter can actually reach.

When is the best time to hunt this area if snow is heavy?

Deep snow (12 inches or more) typically pushes elk down to lower elevations and ground closer to roads, making them more accessible. In dry seasons, elk stay in the high basins and require much longer foot travel to reach from the valley trailheads.

Wyoming Hunt Area 92 (Piney-Horse Creek) elk hunting

Licence

General licence area

Open public land

55%

Elevation

6,800–11,100 ft

Terrain

Gentle

Elk region

Hunt area 92 spreads across 659 square miles of the western Wyoming Range and its foothills, from 6,800 feet in the lower valleys to 11,100 feet in the high country. The terrain is predominantly gentle—three-quarters of the area slopes at 6 degrees or less—and the cover changes with elevation in a clear pattern: sagebrush and riparian ground dominate the lower foothills and valleys, aspen and sagebrush mix in at mid-elevations, and conifers take over higher up, with alpine rock at the summits. Elk in this hunt area live almost entirely on the National Forest lands in the western portion, concentrated in the upper basins where thick stands of conifers provide cover and forage. The country is foot country—productive hunting means traveling upslope and away from the valley roads, often for hours, to find animals among the dense timber in the high basins.

Getting onto the public ground requires using one of three main drainages: Horse Creek, Blind Bull, and North Cottonwood Creek all have road access from the valleys, but these are entry points, not hunting destinations. About 55% of the hunt area is dependably huntable public land—National Forest, BLM, and State Trust Land—but roads, trailheads, seasonal closures, and private inholdings throughout the area all affect where a hunter can actually reach. The eastern and southern portions of the hunt area are predominantly private agricultural ground near the valley floors, and the high basins where elk concentrate lie on the western side. Reaching the thick-timber elk country requires traveling upslope and away from trailheads on foot. Snow depths of 12 inches or greater typically push elk to lower elevations and more accessible ground, but in dry conditions hunting the high basins is the only consistent option.

Seasons here span the full autumn and winter cycle and fall into two licence types. The general-licence seasons in September and October fish the rut, while the November antlerless season and the December–January cow-or-calf hunt target a different animal and a different part of the year. The September–November cow-or-calf season is restricted to the northern portion of the hunt area, above a set of county roads, and does not extend across all the ground.

Licence and how this hunt area is drawn

Hunt Area 92 (Piney-Horse Creek) 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 30Regular October 15 – October 31
Type Gen — general licence · Antlerless elk
Regular November 1 – November 20
Type 6 · Cow or calf
Archery September 1 – September 30Regular October 1 – November 30
Type 6 · Cow or calf valid north of Wyoming Highway 354 and Sublette County Road 112, east of Sublette County Road 115, and south of South Beaver Creek
Regular December 1 – 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 6 — Cow or calf valid north of Wyoming… (December–January)

Hunters pursuing cow or calf in the northern portion of hunt area 92 (north of Wyoming Highway 354 and Sublette County Road 112, east of Sublette County Road 115, and south of South Beaver Creek) hunt in December and January as elk winter on their lower-elevation range. Weather in December brings highs around 27 degrees and lows around 6 degrees, with roughly 18 inches of snow, while January is similar with highs near 28 degrees and lows near 6 degrees, adding another 19.5 inches. The heavy snow keeps elk on more accessible lower-elevation ground, though the cold and accumulating snow make backcountry travel difficult. Access routes remain the same—Horse Creek, Blind Bull, and North Cottonwood drainage roads—though conditions vary by winter severity. This hunt is cow or calf only, not any-elk.

Type Gen — Any elk (September–October)

The general-licence any-elk hunt spans archery in September and regular season in October, covering the rut onset through the primary rut and into the post-rut period. September hunting sees highs around 65 degrees and lows near 34 degrees with negligible snow, favoring the high-basin elk concentrations in thick conifers, while October temperatures drop to highs around 51 degrees and lows near 25 degrees, with roughly 1.4 inches of snow. Access via Horse Creek, Blind Bull, and North Cottonwood roads requires foot travel into the timber to find bulls during the rut, and archery success depends on reaching elk in the densest cover where they are least visible. The regular October hunt comes as the rut winds down and elk begin moving off the high summer range, but the principle remains: productive hunting is far-country hunting on foot.

Type Gen — Antlerless elk (November)

November's general-licence antlerless hunt opens as elk transition toward winter range, with temperatures falling from highs around 37 degrees to lows near 14 degrees and snowfall climbing to about 11.4 inches. Elk begin shifting to lower elevations during this month, though the timing depends on snow depth and prior hunting pressure. Access still relies on the same valley roads, but some lower-elevation ground becomes more huntable as animals descend from the high basins. This hunt targets antlerless elk only, not bulls.

Type 6 — Cow or calf (September–November)

The cow-or-calf hunt in the restricted northern portion runs from archery in September through November, covering the entire rut and transition to early winter range. September and October hunt the rut in its onset and primary phases on the high ground where elk concentrate in timber, with temperatures dropping from 65 degrees to the low 50s, while November's antlerless window spans the transition period as elk begin moving down and snow accumulates to roughly 11.4 inches. The restriction to the northern portion (north of Highway 354 and County Road 112, east of County Road 115, and south of South Beaver Creek) means this hunt does not extend across all of hunt area 92. This hunt is cow or calf only.

Land and access

private land45%

Private

National Forest32%

Generally open to public hunting

BLM19%

Generally open to public hunting

State Trust Land3%

Generally open to public hunting

About 55% of this hunt area is ground a hunter can generally count on — National Forest, BLM and State Trust Land, roughly 361 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 60% 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.

Where elk are mapped

Winter Range37%

used in winter

Summer Range32%

used in summer

Parturition Areas26%

spring birthing ground, months before any hunting season

Crucial Winter Range21%

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

Yearlong Range12%

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

Lower elevations

Sagebrush54%

Riparian19%

Other cover18%

Grass and meadow7%

Conifer2%

Mid elevations

Sagebrush62%

Riparian18%

Other cover11%

Grass and meadow6%

Conifer3%

Higher elevations

Sagebrush42%

Conifer38%

Grass and meadow14%

Riparian4%

Aspen2%

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	28°F	6°F	19.5 in
February	31°F	6°F	16.7 in
March	40°F	14°F	11.1 in
April	48°F	22°F	5 in
May	58°F	30°F	0.7 in
June	67°F	37°F	0 in
July	76°F	42°F	0 in
August	75°F	41°F	0 in
September	65°F	34°F	0 in
October	51°F	25°F	1.4 in
November	37°F	14°F	11.4 in
December	27°F	6°F	18.2 in

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

Common questions

Can a hunter with a general elk licence hunt this area?: Yes, on a general elk licence. Wyoming residents can buy a general licence over the counter with no draw and no points required. Nonresidents must draw a Region W general licence, which is valid in this hunt area and other general-licence hunt areas in that region.
How many points does a nonresident need for elk in this hunt area?: A nonresident does not need a specific point cutoff to hunt here on a general licence, because this is a general-licence hunt area with no draw required. However, nonresidents must draw a Region W general licence; within that pool, three quarters of the licences go to the preference-point draw (awarded top-down by points) and a quarter to a random draw open to everyone.
What seasons run in this hunt area?: Hunt area 92 has four seasons: general-licence any-elk archery September 1–30 and regular October 15–31; general-licence antlerless elk November 1–20; and cow-or-calf (restricted to the northern portion above certain county roads) archery September 1–30 and regular October 1–November 30.
Where can a hunter actually access the elk country in this hunt area?: Most elk are on National Forest lands in the western portion. Horse Creek Road, Blind Bull Road, and North Cottonwood Creek Road provide entry from the valleys, but productive hunting requires traveling upslope on foot into the high basins where thick conifers concentrate elk. About 55% of the hunt area is dependably accessible public land, but private ground, inholdings, and seasonal closures all limit where a hunter can actually reach.
When is the best time to hunt this area if snow is heavy?: Deep snow (12 inches or more) typically pushes elk down to lower elevations and ground closer to roads, making them more accessible. In dry seasons, elk stay in the high basins and require much longer foot travel to reach from the valley trailheads.

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