Unit 062, 066 (Independence Range, Bull Run Mountains and the YP Desert)
Nevada Hunting Guide — Elk
Units 062, 066 cover about 2,674 square miles of Elko and Humboldt counties, from the Independence Range and Bull Run Mountains northwest to the YP Desert on the Idaho line. This is NDOW's late antlerless elk hunt, and winter decides it: mild weather keeps elk on summer range, while snow pushes cow and calf groups down the South Fork of the Owyhee.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 062, 066
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Nevada Unit 062, 066 guide around your hunt: three ranked spots with morning, afternoon and evening plays, a day-by-day plan, topo maps with every pin numbered, a camp and access plan, the legal and retrieval rules for this unit, shot discipline, a meat-care and pack-out plan, and a pre-trip checklist. Every coordinate sits on land recorded as public.
Free accounts get one report a year with the top spot unlocked. ProHunt Pro includes unlimited reports, all three spots, the full camp plan, and GPX/KML downloads for onX and Google Earth. Prefer to see one first? Open the builder and pick any unit.
Elk Hunting in Unit 062, 066
Units 062, 066 cover about 2,674 square miles of Elko and Humboldt counties, from the Independence Range and Bull Run Mountains northwest to the YP Desert on the Idaho line. This is NDOW's late antlerless elk hunt, and winter decides it: mild weather keeps elk on summer range, while snow pushes cow and calf groups down the South Fork of the Owyhee.
Where to Find Elk in Units 062, 066: the Bull Run Mountains and the YP Desert
Antlerless ground in Unit 062 and Unit 066A
NDOW's elk sheet covers several units and hunt types, and for this antlerless tag only part of it applies. The sheet stresses that the antlered and antlerless groupings aren't the same. In the late season, antlerless hunting is open in Unit 062 and in Unit 066A, the part of Unit 066 east and north of the South Fork of the Owyhee River.
Summer range in a mild fall
If fall-like weather holds, elk stay on their summer ranges. The highest summer and fall densities are in the northern Independence Range, mainly the Bull Run Mountains, with smaller groups in the South Independence Range and a few in the Snowstorm Mountains.
The South Fork of the Owyhee and the YP Desert
Once winter arrives, with cold and deepening snow during the late antlerless season, elk migrate northwest into 066A and Idaho along the South Fork of the Owyhee River and end up on winter range in the YP Desert at the Nevada-Idaho border. There, NDOW says to focus on the canyon and bench country along the river and the shallow basins in otherwise flat desert, where large cow and calf groups gather. In the winter months elk bunch up in big groups and use open habitat.
The ground NDOW draws for this tag
A elk tag for this group is good in units 062 and 066, about 2,674 square miles measured on NDOW's own boundary, in Elko County and Humboldt County. The named ranges inside the line are Independence Mountains, Bull Run Mountains and Snowstorm Mountains. The highest named points are McAfee Peak (10,411 ft), Jacks Peak (10,192 ft) and Porter Peak (9,262 ft), and the lowest named ground sits near 4,821 feet. We don't print a land-status split for Nevada groups, because the figures we held didn't come from BLM's surface-management data; check BLM's current map for private parcels before you cross a fence or a cattle guard. GNIS names 35 springs inside it, Arthenice Spring, Thacker Spring, Meyers Spring and Niagara Spring among them.
Unit 062, 066 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Independence Mountains (10,413 ft), Jacks Peak (10,192 ft), Bull Run Mountains (9,262 ft), Pennsylvania Hill (9,111 ft)
Holding ground: North Fork Jack Creek Summit (7,833 ft), Picnic Flats (7,313 ft), Burns Basin (7,200 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 Elk in Units 062, 066: the YP Desert route from Owyhee and the Jerritt Canyon check-in
Elk Success Rates
Antlerless, any legal weapon (062, 066 North): 10 of 24 hunters afield (42%). Figures are NDOW's own, from its 2025 Big Game Hunt Data.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — Late Season antlerless (resident) | 70 | 243 | 28.8% | — |
| Rifle — Late Season antlerless (nonresident) | 8 | 32 | 25.0% | — |
Data from 2023 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 EngineFrom NDOW's 2025 Big Game Hunt Data. Demand is NDOW's count of tags awarded plus first-choice applicants who did not draw; its draw rate is tags over demand.
- Antlerless, any legal weapon (062, 066 North) — Residents: 392 demand for 25 tags, a 6.4% draw rate; Nonresidents: 57 demand for 2 tags, a 3.5% draw rate.
NDOW's hunt data publishes no points-required figure, so none is given here.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Which units does a Nevada elk tag for 062, 066 cover?
What was hunter success for elk on units 062, 066 in 2025?
How hard is the elk draw for units 062, 066?
Plan Your Hunt with ProHunt Pro
Unlock advanced tactics, the Tag-to-Trail Planner, AI hunt strategy assistant, and personalized camp and trip execution plans.
Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Hunt Information Sheet — Elk, 062, 064, 066 - 068; 062; 062, 066A — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Access, Recommended hunting areas, Biologist comments · accessed 2026-10-25
- 2025 Nevada Big Game Hunt Data — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Seasons, quotas and tags issued, Demand and draw rate by residency, Hunters afield, successful hunters and hunter success, Days hunted · accessed 2026-10-25
- NDOW Hunt Unit Boundaries — unit groups (ArcGIS) — Nevada Department of Wildlife · supports: Units 062, 066, 2,674 square miles · accessed 2026-10-25
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the group — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Independence Mountains, Bull Run Mountains, Snowstorm Mountains, McAfee Peak 10,411 ft, Jacks Peak 10,192 ft · accessed 2026-10-25