Unit 27 (Middle Fork Zone)
Idaho Hunting Guide — Elk, Mule Deer
Unit 27 lies in Custer, Lemhi and Valley counties and covers about 1,533 square miles. Named ground inside it runs from 3,481 to 10,036 feet. Idaho Fish and Game's harvest estimates put elk success here as high as 19%. Federal land covers about 100% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 27
Unit 27 lies in Custer, Lemhi and Valley counties and covers about 1,533 square miles. Named ground inside it runs from 3,481 to 10,036 feet. Idaho Fish and Game's harvest estimates put elk success here as high as 19%. Federal land covers about 100% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Unit 27
Idaho Fish and Game draws an exact line around unit 27 and says nothing about where the elk stand inside it. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's. The unit lies in Custer, Lemhi and Valley counties. It runs to about 1,533 square miles.
How Idaho Fish and Game sets up elk hunting in unit 27
Idaho Fish and Game runs its general elk seasons by elk management zone rather than unit by unit, and puts unit 27 in the Middle Fork Zone, so the zone's tag rules are the ones that apply here.
The lines of the unit: Middle Fork, Salmon River and Middle Fork Salmon River
Idaho Fish and Game draws unit 27 in Custer, Lemhi and Valley counties on a line that runs along Middle Fork, Salmon River, Middle Fork Salmon River and Camas Creek, written out corner by corner in its unit boundary descriptions. Read it as a frame, not as a hint about animals. Those features are what you will check against the map all week, and the divides among them are the ones that matter.
High ground inside the line: Bighorn Crags, Mount McGuire and White Valley Mountain
Named high points inside the unit include Bighorn Crags at 10,036 feet, Mount McGuire at 10,036 feet, White Valley Mountain at 9,973 feet, Mount Loening at 9,972 feet and Pinyon Peak at 9,916 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk want timber to bed in and open ground to feed on, within a short walk of each other.
Holding ground: Packer Gulch, Kiwah Meadow and Cow Basin
Below them sit Packer Gulch at 6,066 feet, Kiwah Meadow at 6,062 feet, Cow Basin at 5,407 feet, Meyers Cove at 5,147 feet and Aquinaldo Flat at 4,641 feet. That is the low country of the unit — the ground animals drop into when they are pushed or when the weather turns. Pick the one with the least road on its upwind side.
Water: Hospital Hot Spring, Warm Spring and Sheepeater Hot Springs
The water inside the unit line comes to 301 mapped stream reaches, 33 lakes, 208 stock tanks and 5 springs. Named sources include Hospital Hot Spring, Warm Spring, Sheepeater Hot Springs, Kwiskwis Hot Spring, Cox Hot Springs and Sunflower Hot Springs. On ground with that many tanks, knowing which two or three hold water in your season is the most useful thing a scouting trip can tell you.
Reading the land status
Our ownership read for this unit is approximate — it comes out as National Forest 60%, Private / Other 32% and State Trust 8%, so treat it as a starting point and check a current land-status layer before you plan a route. Named ground inside unit 27 runs from 3,481 feet to 10,036 feet — more than 4,000 feet between the named features alone, so the season you draw decides which part of it you hunt.
Unit 27 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 5,343–8,915 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 7,340 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 1,533 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.
Who owns the ground
- National Forest — 60%
- State Trust — 8%
- Private / Other — 32%
Roughly 68% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 208 tanks
- 5 springs
- 301 stream segments
- 33 lakes
Counts from mapping data, so this is how many exist, not how many hold water in a dry year. Sitting water only pays where you find fresh tracks.
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Bighorn Crags (10,036 ft), White Valley Mountain (9,973 ft), Mount Loening (9,972 ft), Pinyon Peak (9,916 ft)
Holding ground: Woodtick Summit (8,865 ft), Loon Creek Summit (8,686 ft), Snowshoe Summit (8,022 ft), Hospital Hot Spring, Warm Spring
Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.
How to Hunt Elk in Unit 27
Elk Success Rates
Idaho Fish and Game's 2025 harvest estimates put elk success in unit 27 at 19% — 208 animals taken by 1,084 hunters. That is a lot of hunters in one unit, and the percentage is what it looks like after all of them have been through it.
These are the agency's own printed figures for this unit, not a modelled estimate and not a state average. They describe one season, so check Idaho Fish and Game's current harvest estimates before you read a trend into them.
Elk Draw Odds
Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.
Search Idaho Draw OddsIdaho Fish and Game's draw results for 2022 to 2026 carry no first-drawing elk hunt we can tie to unit 27. Rather than estimate, we leave it blank: Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner lists drawing odds hunt by hunt.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Idaho unit 27?
What is the elk success rate in unit 27?
Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 27 hunt?
What is the mule deer success rate in unit 27?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-24.
- Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons & Rules — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Game management unit boundary description, Counties the unit lies in · accessed 2026-10-24
- IDFG Middle Fork Zone elk tag limits — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Season structure for the unit · accessed 2026-10-24
- IDFG Hunt Planner — 2025 general hunt harvest statistics — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Harvest, hunters and percent success for elk in unit 27 · accessed 2026-10-19
- IDFG Hunt Planner — controlled hunt drawing odds — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Applicants, tags and percent drawn by hunt, year and residency · accessed 2026-06-09
- IDFG GameManagementUnits and ControlledHunts_All feature services — game management units and every species' controlled-hunt areas — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Mapped extent of the unit or hunt area, Which named ground falls inside its line · accessed 2026-10-24
- IDFG general deer season page for unit 27 — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Season structure for the unit · accessed 2026-10-24