Unit 61 (Imnaha)
Oregon Hunting Guide — Elk
Imnaha is the Wallowa County ground from Joseph to the Imnaha River canyon and up toward Aneroid Mountain at 9,691 feet. Most of it is public, and the 2026 hunts are antlerless and youth.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 61
Answer a few questions about your tag, your season and your rig, and the Field Intelligence Report builds a print-ready Oregon Unit 61 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 61
Imnaha is the Wallowa County ground from Joseph to the Imnaha River canyon and up toward Aneroid Mountain at 9,691 feet. Most of it is public, and the 2026 hunts are antlerless and youth.
Where to Find Elk in the Imnaha Unit: the river canyon below the Wallowa peaks
From canyon to crest
ODFW's line starts at Joseph, runs northeast on the Imnaha Highway to Imnaha, then follows the Imnaha River and the South Fork to Hawkins Pass. It goes north on the West Fork Trail to Wallowa Lake and up Highway 82 back to Joseph. Aneroid Mountain, Petes Point, Cusick Mountain, Sentinel Peak and East Peak top out between about 9,350 and 9,700 feet, and the unit's low end sits near 2,101 feet at the river.
Stable herds, thin calves
ODFW's forecast for the Wallowa units says elk numbers are stable and hunters should have good opportunities, though recruitment has been low because of drought in the past two years. Public land makes up about three-quarters of the unit. Upper Imnaha Road, Forest Road 3960 and Liberty Road give access to different pieces of it. Coverdale, Blackhorse and Lick Creek campgrounds are the named places to camp. Public land covers most of the Imnaha unit, so access is easier here than in private-heavy units. Joseph, Enterprise, Lostine and Halfway are the named towns. The Imnaha canyon is steep and the road in and out is long, so plan fuel and food accordingly. Scenic Meadows RV and Tent Park is the named private option.
The ground ODFW draws for this hunt
The Imnaha Unit, WMU 61, covers about 424 square miles measured on ODFW's polygon, and ODFW rates it 74% public land. Named features inside the line fall in Wallowa County. Elevation runs from about 2,101 to 9,691 feet. The highest named points are Aneroid Mountain (9,691 ft), Petes Point (9,654 ft) and Cusick Mountain (9,487 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 61 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 3,449–7,766 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 5,453 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 424.2 sq mi inside the boundary.
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
- 10 tanks
- 7 springs
- 134 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: Aneroid Mountain (9,691 ft), Petes Point (9,654 ft), Cusick Mountain (9,487 ft), Sentinel Peak (9,379 ft)
Holding ground: Tenderfoot Pass (8,585 ft), McCully Basin (7,881 ft), Boner Flat (7,021 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 the Imnaha Unit: follow the weather down the canyon
Elk Success Rates
Unit 61: 244 of 711 hunters, 34%. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 33 | 144 | 22.2% | 7 |
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident) | 2 | 24 | 4.2% | 7 |
| Rifle — Controlled either sex (resident) | 10 | 32 | 28.1% | 5 |
| Rifle — Controlled either sex (nonresident) | 1 | 4 | 25.0% | 5 |
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 303 | 823 | 35.0% | 8 |
| Rifle — Controlled bull/buck only (nonresident) | 15 | 73 | 20.5% | 8 |
| Archery — Controlled bull/buck only (resident) | 33 | 25 | 100.0% | 2 |
Data from 2025 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.
Open in Draw Odds EngineFrom ODFW's 2026 regulations, residents and nonresidents together: 2026 tags against 2025 first-choice applicants.
- 261 Imnaha Unit: 72 tags for 2026; 182 first-choice applicants in 2025.
ODFW sets a point cut-off per hunt each year; its point summary reports carry it.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
What ground does this Oregon elk page cover?
What's the biggest 2026 elk hunt here?
What was hunter success for elk here in 2025?
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 2026-10-30.
- 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: 424 square miles · accessed 2026-10-30
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the boundary — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Aneroid Mountain 9,691 ft, Petes Point 9,654 ft · accessed 2026-10-30