Unit 037 (Goose)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 37, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Goose, covers about 684 square miles in Sheridan and Johnson counties. It belongs to WGFD's North Bighorn elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 17.9%, with 1,577 hunters taking 282 elk at about 46.5 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 49% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 037
Elk Hunt Area 37, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Goose, covers about 684 square miles in Sheridan and Johnson counties. It belongs to WGFD's North Bighorn elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 17.9%, with 1,577 hunters taking 282 elk at about 46.5 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 49% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 37
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 37 "Goose". It runs to about 684 square miles, in Sheridan (80%) and Johnson (20%) counties. WGFD reports these elk as the North Bighorn herd unit, which also takes in elk hunt areas 35, 36, 38, 39 and 40. 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: Piney Creek, South Piney Creek and Bighorn Mountain
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 37 corner by corner. It starts at the junction of U.S. Highway 14 and Interstate Highway 90 east of the town of Ranchester. On the way round it follows U.S. Highway 14, Interstate Highway 90, U.S.F.S. Road 226 and U.S.F.S. Road 26, and Piney Creek, South Piney Creek, Bighorn Mountain and Woodchuck Pass. Read it as the legal edge of your license rather than as a hint about animals. 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 37s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 37 also belongs to its deer, antelope and moose hunt areas 37. 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: Soldier Creek and PK Lane
Its Access Yes program enrolls 2 Hunter Management Areas here that list elk among their species — Soldier Creek (4,101 acres) and PK Lane (4,918 acres). WGFD also lists 4 Walk-In Areas covering about 2,737 acres open for elk, among them Sheridan 11, Johnson 2 and Sheridan 9. 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.
Wilderness inside the line: Cloud Peak Wilderness
About 13% of elk hunt area 37 lies in the Cloud Peak 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: Black Tooth Mountain, Mount Woolsey and Penrose Peak
Named high points inside elk hunt area 37 include Black Tooth Mountain at 12,942 feet, Mount Woolsey at 12,908 feet, Penrose Peak at 12,434 feet, Elk Peak at 11,005 feet and Dome Peak at 10,822 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.
Water: Red Grade Spring
Named water inside the line includes Red Grade Spring. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit 037 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 37
The lay of it
- 3,966–10,702 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 6,733 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 681.8 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
- 281 tanks
- 36 springs
- 254 stream segments
- 46 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: Black Tooth Mountain (12,942 ft), Penrose Peak (12,434 ft), Elk Peak (11,005 ft), Dome Peak (10,822 ft)
Holding ground: Highland Park (10,143 ft), Rock Chuck Pass (9,837 ft), PK Lane Hunter Management Area, Soldier Creek Hunter Management Area, Walk-In Area Sheridan 11
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 37
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 17.9% elk success in elk hunt area 37: 282 animals taken by 1,577 active hunters over 13,102 days of hunting, or 46.5 days per animal. By residency, residents 17.9% (255 taken by 1,426) and nonresidents 17.9% (27 taken by 151).
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archery — Type 9 either sex (resident) | 126 | 120 | 100.0% | — |
| Archery — Type 9 either sex (nonresident) | 3 | 87 | 3.4% | — |
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 37, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 9, residents: 120 first-choice applicants for 126 licenses, 100% drawn
- Type 9, nonresidents: 87 first-choice applicants for 3 licenses, 3.4% 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 37?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 37?
Is elk hunt area 37 the same ground as deer hunt area 37?
What do you need besides a license to hunt elk hunt area 37?
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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 37, 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 37, 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
- Chapter 2 — General Hunting Regulation (2026) — Wyoming Game and Fish Commission · supports: Mandatory CWD sample submission (Section 17) · 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, 2026 CWD mandatory and priority sampling areas, 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