Oregon Elk Deer (Antlerless)

Unit 16 (Santiam)

Oregon Hunting Guide — Elk, Deer (Antlerless)

The Santiam runs from the valley edge at Lebanon and Silverton up to the Cascade crest at Mt Jefferson. Elk are scattered on the Mt. Hood side and easier to work on lower private timber, where access rules decide the hunt.

View Draw Odds Oregon Hunting Guide

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295–5,625 ft

Sampled elevation

Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 16

Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Oregon Unit 16 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.

Elk guide Deer (Antlerless) guide

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 16

Where to Find Elk in the Santiam Unit: lower private timber and the scattered Mt. Hood herds

Private timber on the lower ground

The Santiam covers a lot of vertical country, from the valley edge at Lebanon to the Cascade crest at Mt Jefferson. ODFW expects average hunter success on the lower private timberlands. That's where the better odds sit. Weyerhaeuser ground in the northern Santiam is mostly limited to hunters holding a lease or an access permit, so sort that out before you drive up. Forage is best in clearcuts starting a couple of years after harvest, and elk follow it.

Scattered herds in the Mt. Hood forest

Elk numbers inside the Mt. Hood National Forest have declined over the past few decades. ODFW calls the animals highly scattered and hard to locate. South of Hwy 22 the news is better. Winter surveys there show elk meeting management objectives for bull escapement, though numbers are down from historic highs. The elk are there if you'll put in the scouting time. Burned ground needs a call to the land manager first, because big game may not use reopened habitat for another two to three years. Detroit, Gates, Idanha and Mill City are the closest towns, and Howard Creek Horse Camp and Ainsworth Campground give you a base.

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

The Santiam Unit, WMU 16, covers about 3,327 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 63% public land. Named features inside the line fall in Clackamas County, Linn County, Marion County, Multnomah County, Wasco County and Jefferson County. Elevation runs from about 26 to 6,849 feet. The highest named points are Park Butte (6,849 ft), South Cinder Peak (6,739 ft) and Porcupine Peak (6,609 ft). ODFW's line is the legal one, so check it against a current land-ownership map, and get permission before you cross private ground or a locked gate inside it.

Unit 16 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

295–5,625 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 2,975 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
3,321.9 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Who owns the ground

National Forest — 60%
BLM — 15%
State Trust — 8%
Private / Other — 17%

Roughly 83% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.

Water on the ground

1,325 tanks
15 springs
2,985 stream segments
132 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: Park Butte (6,849 ft), South Cinder Peak (6,739 ft), Porcupine Peak (6,609 ft), Dinah-mo Peak (6,451 ft)

Holding ground: Jefferson Park (5,902 ft), Pucci Glade (5,870 ft), The Parks (5,468 ft), Hodges Spring, McNabb Falls

Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.

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How to Hunt Elk in the Santiam Unit: read the tag boundary, then scout early

Read the tag before the map

The hunts here split the unit by ownership and by Hwy 22. The traditional bow hunt is for elk outside all national forest land, so you're working private timber, and permission or a Weyerhaeuser permit decides where you can walk. The southwest and northwest hunts follow the highway line, so check which side your tag covers. The youth hunt takes antlerless elk and runs long. A winter antlerless hunt covers the southwest corner.

Scout early, glass the edges

ODFW's advice for the Mt. Hood side is blunt: scout early and often. Look for early brush, thinned stands and the edges of burns, where forage comes back first. Walk past gates and closed roads to get away from the pressure. Elk on steep Cascade slopes bed out of sight, so glass clearcut edges at first and last light, then plan the pack-out before you shoot. Quartering a bull on a sidehill takes hours, and the trip down with a load is longer than the trip up.

ODFW's 2026 elk hunts on this ground

Seasons, bag limits and tags come from ODFW's 2026 regulations. Check the current book before you apply or go, because these change every year.

216R1 Santiam Unit Traditional Bow, Sep. 28 - Oct. 2: 55 tags, **one elk outside all usfs lands.
216T Santiam Unit Youth, Aug. 15 - Dec. 31: 22 tags, one antlerless elk.
216B SW Santiam, Dec. 1 - Mar. 31, 2027: 11 tags, one antlerless elk.
200M Cascades Muzzleloader: see ODFW's table in the 2026 regulations for the season and tag count.
216D NW Santiam: see ODFW's table in the 2026 regulations for the season and tag count.

The 2025 harvest in ODFW's numbers

ODFW's 2025 statistics for this WMU, covering elk hunters.

Santiam: 1,706 hunters, 186 animals, 11% success over 8,092 hunter days.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through this ground are US 20, NF 58, NF 42 and OR 211. The nearest towns are Detroit (13 mi), Gates (15 mi) and Idanha (16 mi), measured from the centre of the unit.

Getting in and staying out: unit 16

Named routes and what they need

US 20 — 34.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)
NF 58 — 19.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
NF 42 — 11.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
OR 211 — 9.4 mi · Paved (all rigs)
OR 22 — 6 mi · Paved (all rigs)
I 84;US 30 — 5.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Detroit — 13.1 mi · fuel
Gates — 14.7 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Idanha — 16.4 mi · no services listed
Mill City — 16.9 mi · fuel, groceries
Lyons — 21.7 mi · fuel

Developed camps

North Falls Group Camp · Fee
Howard Creek Horse Camp · Fee
Ainsworth Campground
Clackamas Lake Campground
Gone Creek Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan43° / 34° · 11" precip
Aug79° / 54° · 0.8" precip
Sep73° / 50° · 2.5" precip
Oct60° / 44° · 6.9" precip
Nov48° / 38° · 11.5" precip
Dec42° / 34° · 13.2" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Oregon rules that decide your day

Summarised from ODFW regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Oregon has no general off-road retrieval allowance; several travel-management areas close roads during hunting season.

Tagging

Validate the tag and attach it to the carcass before leaving the kill site.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting from or across a public road, and no shooting within range of an occupied dwelling without permission.

Elk: where to put the shot

Broadside or quartering away, on the back edge of the front leg about a third of the way up the body. That is lungs, and on a quartering-away angle it picks up the far shoulder.

Shots to refuse

No straight-on and no straight-away shots. An elk's chest is deep and the margin is small.
Nothing standing behind or overlapping the animal you picked. A pass-through kills the elk behind it too.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have put three shots in a paper plate off the sticks you are actually carrying. Not the farthest you have ever hit anything.
Scope on 3–4x. A herd fills a 12x field of view and you lose the animal you picked.

Identification:On an antlerless tag, legal means no antler of any kind through the skin. A spike looks exactly like a cow until it turns its head. If you can't see the head, don't shoot.

Plan the carry: roughly 150– 220 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two to four large coolers, plus bagged ice from town. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

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Elk Success Rates

Unit 16: 186 of 1,706 hunters, 11%. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	11	156	7.1%	10
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	1	1	0.0%	10
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	50	222	22.5%	7
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	3	1	0.0%	8
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	55	8	100.0%	8
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	3	2	100.0%	8
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident)	220	61	100.0%	4
Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident)	11	3	100.0%	4
Rifle — Controlled either sex (resident)	20	86	23.3%	5
Rifle — Controlled either sex (nonresident)	1	1	0.0%	4

Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

From ODFW's 2026 regulations, residents and nonresidents together: 2026 tags against 2025 first-choice applicants.

216T Santiam Unit Youth: 22 tags for 2026; 88 first-choice applicants in 2025.

ODFW sets a point cut-off per hunt each year; its point summary reports carry it.

Deer (Antlerless) Hunting in Unit 16

Santiam is a big Cascade foothill and forest unit from Lebanon and Silverton east to Santiam Pass and Mount Jefferson. The antlerless hunts here are split into northwest and southwest blocks west of the national forest boundary.

Where to Find Antlerless Deer in the Santiam Unit: the NW and SW blocks west of the national forests

Two antlerless hunt areas

The antlerless tags are limited to the part of Unit 16 outside the western exterior boundary of the Mt. Hood and Willamette National Forests. The northwest hunt covers ground north of Highway 22, and the southwest hunt covers ground south of Highway 22 and west of the Willamette National Forest line. That means mostly low private and mixed ground near Lebanon, Mill City, Gates and Silverton, not the high Cascades.

Boundary and peaks

The full unit boundary runs from Lebanon through Silverton and Sandy to the Columbia, east to Lolo Pass, along the Pacific Crest Trail and Highway 35, then south along the Warm Springs line to Mount Jefferson and Santiam Pass. ODFW notes that the McQuinn Strip is closed to public hunting until further notice. Park Butte reaches 6,849 feet, with South Cinder Peak, Porcupine Peak and Rockpile Mountain named. Detroit, Gates, Idanha and Mill City are the towns. Start near the forest boundary on the map. Cuts and thinned stands just outside it are where you'll find the deer, and the roads are easier than those higher up.

The ground ODFW draws for this hunt

Unit 16 terrain and land status

Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up

The lay of it

295–5,625 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 2,975 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
3,321.9 sq mi inside the boundary. Big enough that picking one drainage beats driving three.

Who owns the ground

National Forest — 60%
BLM — 15%
State Trust — 8%
Private / Other — 17%

Roughly 83% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.

Water on the ground

1,325 tanks
15 springs
2,985 stream segments
132 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: Park Butte (6,849 ft), South Cinder Peak (6,739 ft), Porcupine Peak (6,609 ft), Dinah-mo Peak (6,451 ft)

Holding ground: Jefferson Park (5,902 ft), Pucci Glade (5,870 ft), The Parks (5,468 ft), Hodges Spring, McNabb Falls

Every one of these was tested against the unit polygon before it went on the map. They are starting points, not agency recommendations.

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Unlock deer locations for the NW Santiam hunt area

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How to Hunt Antlerless Deer in the Santiam Unit: timber access, fire danger and permission

Fire and industrial timber

ODFW's forecast says fire danger remains elevated enough that many private industrial timber companies will be closed to public access during the opening weeks of archery season. Weyerhaeuser access in the north Santiam is limited to hunters who bought an entry permit, and even those lands may be affected by early fire danger. State and federal lands typically stay open and are the primary opportunity. Call owners and check the Oregon Department of Forestry's website before you go.

Check the animal and the road

Some road closures remain on the Mt. Hood National Forest because of the Sandstone Fire, so confirm access. The forecast also warns that white-tailed deer and hybrids have been documented in northwestern Oregon where only black-tailed deer are legal, so identify the animal before shooting. Fawn ratios in the northern Santiam were essentially average, ODFW says. On a youth hunt, keep the ground easy and the shot close. Pack out in stages and cool the meat promptly.

ODFW's 2026 antlerless deer hunts on this ground

Seasons, bag limits and tags come from ODFW's 2026 regulations. Check the current book before you apply or go, because these change every year.

616A2 SW Santiam, Oct. 3 - Nov. 6: 55 tags, one antlerless deer.
616T1 SW Santiam Youth, Nov. 14 - Nov. 25: 53 tags, one deer.
616A1 NW Santiam, Oct. 3 - Nov. 6: 50 tags, one antlerless deer.
616T2 NW Santiam Youth, Nov. 14 - Nov. 25: 33 tags, one deer.

The 2025 harvest in ODFW's numbers

ODFW's 2025 statistics for this WMU, covering all deer hunters, every season and tag type.

Santiam: 8,520 hunters, 2,707 animals, 32% success over 57,549 hunter days.

Roads in and the nearest towns

The longest named roads through this ground are US 20, NF 58, NF 42 and OR 211. The nearest towns are Detroit (13 mi), Gates (15 mi) and Idanha (16 mi), measured from the centre of the unit.

Getting in and staying out: unit 16

Named routes and what they need

US 20 — 34.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)
NF 58 — 19.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
NF 42 — 11.7 mi · Graded gravel (2WD / small trailer)
OR 211 — 9.4 mi · Paved (all rigs)
OR 22 — 6 mi · Paved (all rigs)
I 84;US 30 — 5.9 mi · Paved (all rigs)

Ratings come from road data, not from a drive this season. Check current conditions with the managing office before you commit a trailer.

Nearest services

Detroit — 13.1 mi · fuel
Gates — 14.7 mi · groceries, lodging, gear
Idanha — 16.4 mi · no services listed
Mill City — 16.9 mi · fuel, groceries
Lyons — 21.7 mi · fuel

Developed camps

North Falls Group Camp · Fee
Howard Creek Horse Camp · Fee
Ainsworth Campground
Clackamas Lake Campground
Gone Creek Campground

Season weather and signal

Jan43° / 34° · 11" precip
Aug79° / 54° · 0.8" precip
Sep73° / 50° · 2.5" precip
Oct60° / 44° · 6.9" precip
Nov48° / 38° · 11.5" precip
Dec42° / 34° · 13.2" precip

Best signal is Verizon at about 26% of the unit. Plan on being out of contact and tell someone your route.

Oregon rules that decide your day

Summarised from ODFW regulations. They change — read the current regulations and your permit-tag before you hunt.

Legal shooting hours

Big game may be taken from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Motorized retrieval

Oregon has no general off-road retrieval allowance; several travel-management areas close roads during hunting season.

Tagging

Validate the tag and attach it to the carcass before leaving the kill site.

Leaving meat

Wasting edible meat is illegal.

Where you may not shoot

Occupied structures — No shooting from or across a public road, and no shooting within range of an occupied dwelling without permission.

Deer (Antlerless): where to put the shot

Broadside or quartering away, on the back edge of the front leg about a third of the way up the body.

Shots to refuse

Nothing behind or overlapping the animal you picked.
Your maximum range is the farthest you have shot a three-shot group into a paper plate from the rest you are carrying.
Pass the shot you are talking yourself into.

Plan the carry: roughly 40– 120 lb of boned-out meat, before head and hide — two large coolers. ProHunt planning estimate, not an agency figure.

Pro Members Only

Unlock tactics for the NW Santiam antlerless hunt

Upgrade to Pro — $49/yr

Deer (Antlerless) Success Rates

Unit 16: 2,707 of 8,520 hunters, 32%. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.

Deer (Antlerless) Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Archery — Controlled antlerless (resident)	50	1,091	4.6%	14
Archery — Controlled antlerless (nonresident)	3	2	0.0%	14
Archery — Controlled antlerless (resident)	55	692	7.9%	12
Archery — Controlled antlerless (nonresident)	3	3	0.0%	12
Rifle — Controlled antlerless (resident)	53	139	38.1%	5
Rifle — Controlled antlerless (nonresident)	3	1	0.0%	5
Rifle — Controlled antlerless (resident)	33	160	20.6%	10
Rifle — Controlled antlerless (nonresident)	2	1	0.0%	10

Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

From ODFW's 2026 regulations, residents and nonresidents together: 2026 tags against 2025 first-choice applicants.

616A2 SW Santiam: 55 tags for 2026; 1,093 first-choice applicants in 2025.
616T1 SW Santiam Youth: 53 tags for 2026; 160 first-choice applicants in 2025.
616A1 NW Santiam: 50 tags for 2026; 9,571 first-choice applicants in 2025.
616T2 NW Santiam Youth: 33 tags for 2026; 140 first-choice applicants in 2025.

ODFW sets a point cut-off per hunt each year; its point summary reports carry it.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Camp Sites

Developed campgrounds: North Falls Group Camp, Howard Creek Horse Camp, Ainsworth Campground, Clackamas Lake Campground.

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Road Conditions

US 20, NF 58 and NF 42 are the longest named roads.

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Terrain Difficulty

Named features run from 26 to 6,849 ft. More than 4,000 feet of relief, so plan the pack-out before the shot.

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Weather

Season normals: Sep 73/50°F, 2.5 in.; Oct 60/44°F, 6.9 in.; Nov 48/38°F, 11.5 in.; Dec 42/34°F, 13.2 in..

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Nearest Town

Detroit (13 mi), Gates (15 mi), Idanha (16 mi)

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Permit Notes

Check ODFW's 2026 regulations for hunt boundaries, seasons and tag rules before you go.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What ground does this Oregon elk page cover?

The Santiam Unit, WMU 16, covers about 3,327 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 63% public land.

What's the biggest 2026 elk hunt here?

Hunt 216R1 Santiam Unit Traditional Bow: Sep. 28 - Oct. 2, 55 tags, **one elk outside all usfs lands, per ODFW's 2026 regulations.

What was hunter success for elk here in 2025?

ODFW's 2025 statistics for Unit 16: 1,706 hunters took 186 animals, 11% success.

What ground does this Oregon antlerless deer page cover?

The Santiam Unit, WMU 16, covers about 3,327 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 63% public land.

What's the biggest 2026 antlerless deer hunt here?

Hunt 616A2 SW Santiam: Oct. 3 - Nov. 6, 55 tags, one antlerless deer, per ODFW's 2026 regulations.

What was hunter success for antlerless deer here in 2025?

ODFW's 2025 statistics for Unit 16: 8,520 hunters took 2,707 animals, 32% success.

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Sources & Verification

Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-30.

2026 Oregon Big Game Hunting Regulations — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Hunt areas and boundary descriptions, Seasons, bag limits and 2026 tags · accessed 2026-10-30
Big Game hunting forecast, 2026/27 — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Field reports by hunt area and WMU · accessed 2026-10-30
Big game hunting harvest statistics, 2025 — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: Hunters, harvest and success · accessed 2026-10-30
Wildlife Management Units (ArcGIS) — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife · supports: 3,327 square miles · accessed 2026-10-30
Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the boundary — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Park Butte 6,849 ft, South Cinder Peak 6,739 ft · accessed 2026-10-30