Unit 261 (East Bitterroot)
Montana Hunting Guide — Elk
Unit 261 lies in Ravalli County and covers about 214 square miles. Ground runs from 3,903 to 7,947 feet. Montana FWP publishes no per-unit elk success figure we can verify for this unit. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 261
Unit 261 lies in Ravalli County and covers about 214 square miles. Ground runs from 3,903 to 7,947 feet. Montana FWP publishes no per-unit elk success figure we can verify for this unit. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Unit 261
What Montana FWP publishes for unit 261 is a boundary, not a elk map. The country below is verified; where to begin in it is our judgement, not the agency's. The unit lies in Ravalli County. It runs to about 214 square miles.
The lines of the unit: Skalkaho Pass, Miller Creek and Willow Creek
Montana FWP draws unit 261 in Ravalli County with a boundary that runs on State Route 38 and USFS Trail 146, and on Skalkaho Pass, Miller Creek, Willow Creek and Cutoff Gulch, walked corner by corner in its hunting district legal descriptions. It tells you the shape of the unit and nothing about its inhabitants. What it does give you is the way in: the rivers and highways you cross, and the divides that decide which drainage you end up in.
High ground inside the line: Skalkaho Mountain, Palisade Mountain and Willow Mountain
Named high points inside the unit include Skalkaho Mountain at 8,453 feet, Palisade Mountain at 8,449 feet, Willow Mountain at 8,176 feet, Dominic Buttes at 7,953 feet and Owen Point at 7,695 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk on low, open country live on distance and visibility, so they see you first.
Holding ground: Coffee Gulch, Newton Gulch and Mountain House Draw
Below them sit Coffee Gulch at 4,313 feet, Newton Gulch at 4,181 feet, Mountain House Draw at 4,172 feet, Quarry Gulch at 3,971 feet and Skalkaho Basin at 7,640 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past on the way to somewhere steeper. Two you can watch from a single knob is worth more than five you have to drive between.
Water: Mountain House Spring, Camp Spring and Balsam Spring
The water inside the unit line comes to 61 mapped stream reaches, 4 lakes and 24 stock tanks. Named sources include Mountain House Spring, Camp Spring and Balsam Spring. Nothing in the data says which of them run in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
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. The unit runs from 3,903 feet to 7,947 feet, averaging 5,932 — that is a lot of vertical to cover, and it means the season you draw decides which half of the unit you hunt.
Unit 261 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 3,903–7,947 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,932 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 213.6 sq mi inside the boundary.
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
- 24 tanks
- 61 stream segments
- 4 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: Skalkaho Mountain (8,453 ft), Palisade Mountain (8,449 ft), Willow Mountain (8,176 ft), Owen Point (7,695 ft)
Holding ground: Skalkaho Basin (7,640 ft), Buck Horn Saddle (6,008 ft), Boulder Basin (5,900 ft), Mountain House Spring, Camp 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 261
Elk Success Rates
Montana FWP's 2023 harvest estimates carry no elk row for unit 261 that we can read back to this unit on its own. Where the agency reports a unit inside a grouping, or prints a table our parser cannot resolve to a single column, we leave the number out rather than publish a statewide average as though it had been measured here. Montana FWP's current harvest estimates are the place to check before you apply.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — B License either sex (resident) | 48 | 107 | 44.9% | — |
| Rifle — B License either sex (nonresident) | 2 | 2 | 100.0% | — |
Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number. This agency publishes no point thresholds, so the Pts column stays blank and these are pool odds, not what a point total draws.
Open in Draw Odds EngineMontana FWP's draw recap has no elk record we can tie to unit 261. That usually means the licence is sold over the counter, is issued under a hunt code covering several units, or was not offered in the years we hold. Rather than estimate a point requirement, we leave it blank — check Montana FWP's own draw recap for the hunt code you mean to apply for.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Colorado unit 261?
What is the elk success rate in unit 261?
Where do you stay and resupply for a unit 261 hunt?
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Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-24.
- Montana FWP Hunting District Legal Descriptions, 2026/2027 — deer-elk hunting districts (pp. 19-35) — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks · supports: GMU boundary description, Counties the unit lies in · accessed 2026-10-24
- FWP hunting district feature services — deer/elk, antelope, moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat districts (2026 and 2027 seasons) — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks · supports: Mapped extent of the unit, Which named ground falls inside the unit line · accessed 2026-10-24