Unit S20AL (Bighorn Sheep Hunt Area 20AL)
Idaho Hunting Guide — Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
Hunt area 20AL is Idaho Fish and Game's late Rocky Mountain bighorn ram hunt on the same ground as hunt area 20A: the part of unit 20A upstream from and including the Butts Creek drainage to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, and the Middle Fork itself, in Idaho and Valley counties. IDFG's 2025 and 2026 rules give it one hunt, number 5022, with two tags from October 14 to 31, and flag it as wilderness country with extreme terrain and limited access.
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Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Hunting in Unit S20AL
Hunt area 20AL is Idaho Fish and Game's late Rocky Mountain bighorn ram hunt on the same ground as hunt area 20A: the part of unit 20A upstream from and including the Butts Creek drainage to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, and the Middle Fork itself, in Idaho and Valley counties. IDFG's 2025 and 2026 rules give it one hunt, number 5022, with two tags from October 14 to 31, and flag it as wilderness country with extreme terrain and limited access.
Where to Find Bighorn Sheep in Hunt Area 20AL: Butts Creek to the Middle Fork
Idaho Fish and Game draws hunt area 20AL for one hunt, its late Rocky Mountain bighorn ram hunt in the Middle Fork Salmon country of unit 20A, and what it publishes for the area is a boundary rather than a map of where the rams are. Everything named below is verified to fall inside IDFG's own polygon for the area. Where to start inside it is our read, and we label it as one.
The line IDFG draws
IDFG describes hunt areas 20A and 20AL in the same words: those portions of unit 20A upstream from and including the Butts Creek drainage to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, and within the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. So 20AL isn't a different piece of country from 20A. It's the same ground hunted later. The 20A ram hunt runs from late August into mid-October, and the two 20AL tags run from October 14 to 31. Unit 20A lies in Idaho and Valley counties. IDFG marks both hunts as a wilderness hunt area with extreme terrain and limited access, where in its own words the opportunity is good but lower harvest success should be expected.
High ground: Cottonwood Butte, Twin Peak and Papoose Peak
The named summits inside the line are Cottonwood Butte at 9,340 feet, Twin Peak at 9,231, Papoose Peak at 8,962, Farrow Mountain at 8,925, Butts Creek Point at 7,842 and Stoddard Creek Point at 7,390. Those are the heights GNIS gives for named points. They bound the ground from above rather than measure it, because the river the area is drawn to lies far below them and none of the canyon floor carries a name in our data. Sheep need rock to escape into and won't stand far from it, so the cliffs and broken faces between those points and the river are the ground to read.
What our data doesn't cover
We hold no logistics record for 20AL, so there's no road inventory, campground list or weather record behind this page, and no named water source falls inside the line in our water layer. That's a gap in our data, not a description of the area, which runs down to the Middle Fork itself. Confirm land status inside the line on a current federal map rather than assume it.
Unit S20AL terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Cottonwood Butte (9,340 ft), Twin Peak (9,231 ft), Papoose Peak (8,962 ft), Farrow Mountain (8,925 ft)
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 Bighorn Sheep in Hunt Area 20AL: the late ram hunt from the glass
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Success Rates
Idaho Fish and Game's per-unit harvest statistics describe general seasons on game management units, and hunt area 20AL is a controlled-hunt area, not a unit, so there is no figure here we can tie to it. A unit's general-season number would describe different hunters on different ground. Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner reports controlled-hunt results hunt by hunt, which is the figure to check before you apply.
Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Draw Odds
Draw odds data not available for this specific unit/species combination in our database.
Search Idaho Draw OddsIdaho Fish and Game's 2025 first drawing for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in hunt area 20AL, with residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different tag pools:
- Hunt 5022 — residents 15 applicants for 2 tags, 13% drawn; nonresidents 11 applicants for 0 tags, 0% drawn
Idaho draws at random with no point system, so these are what that year happened to look like, not a requirement to build toward. Idaho Fish and Game reuses hunt numbers for different areas between years, so the figures are matched on the area each hunt had in 2025. Checked against Idaho Fish and Game's hunt planner draw results on 2026-06-09.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Planning Notes
Water
No named spring or water source falls inside the hunt area in our water layer, so plan on carrying water or finding it on a scouting trip.
Terrain Difficulty
Named features inside the hunt area run from 7,390 to 9,340 ft. Named heights only — the ground between and below them can run lower.
Permit Notes
Idaho Fish and Game controlled hunt 5022 (2025 and 2026 rules). Moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat applications run April 1 to 30. Idaho's draw is random, with no preference or bonus points.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Idaho hunt area 20AL?
What is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep success rate in hunt area 20AL?
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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.
- Moose, Bighorn Sheep & Mountain Goat 2025 & 2026 Seasons & Rules — Idaho Department of Fish and Game · supports: Controlled hunt area description for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunt area 20AL, The game management units the area is drawn from, Controlled hunt numbers, tags and season dates · accessed 2026-10-24
- 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