Unit 028 (Cony Mountain)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 28, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Cony Mountain, covers about 542 square miles in Fremont County. It belongs to WGFD's South Wind River elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 32%, with 1,243 hunters taking 398 elk at about 22.5 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 78% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 028
Elk Hunt Area 28, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Cony Mountain, covers about 542 square miles in Fremont County. It belongs to WGFD's South Wind River elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 32%, with 1,243 hunters taking 398 elk at about 22.5 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 78% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 28
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 28 "Cony Mountain". It runs to about 542 square miles, almost all of it in Fremont County. WGFD reports these elk as the South Wind River herd unit, which also takes in elk hunt areas 25, 27 and 99. The boundary and the harvest figures are WGFD's. The read of the country inside them is ours, and it says so where it starts.
The line: Wind River, Willow Creek and Sweetwater River
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 28 corner by corner. It starts where U.S. Highway 287 crosses the south boundary of the Wind River Reservation. On the way round it follows U.S. Highway 287 and Wyoming Highway 28, and Wind River, Willow Creek, Sweetwater River and Popo Agie River. It is the description your license is good inside, so it is worth reading once in full before you go. The full text is in Section 9 of that chapter, with this year's season dates and license limitations in Section 2.
Not the same ground as the other hunt area 28s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 28 also belongs to its deer and moose hunt areas 28. None of them shares a county with this one. A license is good only in the hunt area of its own species, so this page is about the elk area, and the cards at the foot of the page link the others.
Ground WGFD opens: Red Canyon and Sinks Canyon
WGFD administers 2 Wildlife Habitat Management Areas inside or across the line, including Red Canyon (1,988 acres) and Sinks Canyon (514 acres). WGFD also lists one Walk-In Area covering about 1,779 acres open for elk: Fremont 26. WGFD's 2026 regulations open Access Yes land only for the species and dates listed for each area, with each area's own rules on WGFD's site and no motorized travel unless WGFD says otherwise. Public Access Areas such as Little Popo Agie (1 acres) and Middle Popo Agie (1 acres) are public ways onto water and land; check what each allows before you count on it for hunting.
Wilderness inside the line: Popo Agie Wilderness
About 29% of elk hunt area 28 lies in the Popo Agie Wilderness. WGFD's 2026 regulations print the rule that matters there: no nonresident may hunt big game in a designated wilderness area unless accompanied by a licensed professional guide or a resident guide, with at least one guide for every two nonresident hunters. Inside the wilderness there are no roads, so every animal there comes out on your back or on a horse.
High ground inside the line: Wind River Peak, Lizard Head Peak and Chimney Rock
Named high points inside elk hunt area 28 include Wind River Peak at 13,177 feet, Lizard Head Peak at 12,823 feet, Chimney Rock at 12,630 feet, Washakie Peak at 12,485 feet and Mount Hooker at 12,481 feet. Several carry a public-land flag in our data, which makes them the first places to try for a view. Elk want timber to bed in and open ground to feed on, within a short walk of each other.
Unit 028 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 28
The lay of it
- 5,537–11,414 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 8,790 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 541.5 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
- 282 tanks
- 1 springs
- 164 stream segments
- 98 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: Wind River Peak (13,177 ft), Lizard Head Peak (12,823 ft), Washakie Peak (12,485 ft), Mount Hooker (12,481 ft)
Holding ground: Texas Pass (11,422 ft), Haily Pass (11,187 ft), Adams Pass (10,990 ft), Red Canyon WHMA, Walk-In Area Fremont 26
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 Elk Hunt Area 28
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 32% elk success in elk hunt area 28: 398 animals taken by 1,243 active hunters over 8,952 days of hunting, or 22.5 days per animal. By residency, residents 31.1% (366 taken by 1,176) and nonresidents 47.8% (32 taken by 67).
These are WGFD's own estimates from its hunter survey, for this hunt area and season only — not a statewide average. One season isn't a trend, so check the current report before you read one into it.
Elk Draw Odds
| Season | Tags | Applicants | Draw % | Pts (n/p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (resident) | 147 | 159 | 92.5% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (nonresident) | 6 | 0 | 100.0% | — |
Data from 2026 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 EngineWyoming Game and Fish's 2026 demand report for elk in elk hunt area 28, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), residents: 159 first-choice applicants for 147 licenses, 92.5% drawn
Wyoming residents draw elk licenses without preference points; nonresidents draw part of their quota on points, highest balance first (Chapter 44, Section 19), and the nonresident figures above are from WGFD's random draw. WGFD publishes no preference-point level at which a hunt draws, so none is given here. Every figure was checked against WGFD's demand-report PDFs on 2026-08-10.
Unit Logistics & Expectations
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Wyoming elk hunt area 28?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 28?
Is elk hunt area 28 the same ground as deer hunt area 28?
What do you need besides a license to hunt elk hunt area 28?
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Upgrade to Pro — $49/yrSources & Verification
Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-10-25.
- Chapter 7 — Elk Hunting Seasons (2026) — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Name and legal boundary of elk hunt area 28, Season dates, license types and limitations by hunt area · accessed 2026-10-25
- Elk 2025 Harvest Report — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Hunters, harvest, percent success and days per animal for elk in elk hunt area 28, The same by license type and residency · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD draw results and odds — demand reports 2021-2026 — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: First-choice applicants, licenses and percent drawn, by license type, residency and year · accessed 2026-08-10
- Chapter 44 — Regulation for Issuance of Licenses, Permits, Stamps, Tags, Preference Points and Competitive Raffle Chances — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Which licenses are drawn on preference points (Section 19), When preference points are deleted · accessed 2026-10-25
- 2026 Antelope, Deer and Elk Hunting Regulations — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Nonresident guide requirement in designated wilderness, Access Yes Walk-In and Hunter Management Area rules · accessed 2026-10-25
- WGFD ArcGIS feature services — hunt areas by species, CWD sampling areas, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas, Walk-In Hunting Areas — Wyoming Game and Fish Department · supports: Mapped outline of the hunt area, Herd unit and square miles, WHMAs, Public Access Areas, Hunter Management Areas and Walk-In Areas inside the area · accessed 2026-10-25
- TIGERweb State_County — Wyoming county boundaries (used only to measure which counties a hunt area lies in) — U.S. Census Bureau · supports: Which counties the hunt area lies in, and in what share · accessed 2026-10-25