Hunt 959 (Snake River)
Oregon Hunting Guide — Mountain Goat
Snake River is the mountain goat hunt along the Snake River breaks in Wallowa County, where Hat Point reaches 6978 feet and the river sits below 1000. It's a once-in-a-lifetime style draw with two separate monthly hunts.
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Mountain Goat Hunting in Unit 959
Snake River is the mountain goat hunt along the Snake River breaks in Wallowa County, where Hat Point reaches 6978 feet and the river sits below 1000. It's a once-in-a-lifetime style draw with two separate monthly hunts.
Where to Find Mountain Goats in the Snake River Hunt: Hat Point and the canyon rim
Hat Point to the river
The named high points are Hat Point at 6978 feet, Bear Mountain at 6877, Black Mountain at 6847, Lookout Mountain at 6794 and Grassy Knoll at 6523. The low end sits around 948 feet, down at the Snake River. That's nearly 6000 feet of relief across a few miles, so the canyon walls between the rim and the river are the ground to study. Goats here use cliffs and steep faces, and the breaks give them plenty to choose from.
Check the legal line before you scout
ODFW's table makes the whole Snake River Unit the hunt area. Read the current regulations for any restrictions on access. The hunt is split into two separate hunts, with a very small number of tags each. The first hunt has just one resident tag, the second has two. The country around Hat Point is steep, and roads end well before the canyon floor, so most of the work is on foot. Bear Mountain, Black Mountain and Lookout Mountain are good names to find on your map before you go. Give yourself extra days to scout, since the rim and the river are far apart.
The ground ODFW draws for this hunt
ODFW publishes no boundary polygon for its goat hunts, so the map shows the whole of Unit 59, about 459 square miles. Named features inside the line fall in Wallowa County. The highest named points are Hat Point (6,978 ft), Bear Mountain (6,877 ft) and Black Mountain (6,847 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.
ODFW's 2026 regulations: All of the Snake River Unit: no asterisk in ODFW's table, which means the entire WMU.
Unit 959 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
Named features inside the unit
Glass from: Hat Point (6,978 ft), Bear Mountain (6,877 ft), Lookout Mountain (6,794 ft), Grassy Knoll (6,523 ft)
Holding ground: Squirrel Prairie (6,748 ft), Sluice Creek Saddle (6,478 ft), Sour Apple Flat (6,367 ft), Sacajawea 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 Mountain Goats in the Snake River Hunt: canyon glassing and a hard retrieval plan
Mountain Goat Success Rates
959B1 S Snake Rvr No. 1: 2 taken on 2 tags; 959B2 S Snake Rvr No. 2: 2 taken on 2 tags. Figures are ODFW's own 2025 harvest statistics.
Mountain Goat Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts Req |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery — Controlled either sex (resident) | 1 | 1,193 | 0.1% | — |
| Archery — Controlled either sex (resident) | 1 | 824 | 0.1% | — |
| Any Legal Weapon — Controlled either sex (resident) | 1 | 2,220 | 0.1% | — |
| Any Legal Weapon — Controlled either sex (resident) | 1 | 903 | 0.1% | — |
Data from 2023 draw results. Each row is one residency pool — read the label before the number.
Open in Draw Odds EngineODFW's 2026 regulations give no first-choice applicant figure we can tie to a single hunt here. See ODFW's point summary reports.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
What ground does this Oregon mountain goat page cover?
When is the 2026 mountain goat season here?
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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 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: 459 square miles · accessed 2026-10-30
- Geographic Names Information System — named features inside the boundary — U.S. Geological Survey · supports: Hat Point 6,978 ft, Bear Mountain 6,877 ft · accessed 2026-10-30