Unit 054 (Bald Ridge)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 54, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Bald Ridge, covers about 523 square miles in Park County. It belongs to WGFD's Clark's Fork elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 68.7%, with 284 hunters taking 195 elk at about 10 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 60% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 054
Elk Hunt Area 54, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Bald Ridge, covers about 523 square miles in Park County. It belongs to WGFD's Clark's Fork elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 68.7%, with 284 hunters taking 195 elk at about 10 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 60% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 54
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 54 "Bald Ridge". It runs to about 523 square miles, entirely in Park County. WGFD reports these elk as the Clark's Fork herd unit, which also takes in elk hunt areas 51 and 65. 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: Clark's Fork River, Dead Indian Creek and Dead Indian Gulch
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 54 corner by corner. It starts where Wyoming Highway 212 crosses the WyomingMontana state line east of Twin Lakes. On the way round it follows Wyoming Highway 212, U.S.F.S. Road 120 and Wyoming Highway 120, and Clark's Fork River, Dead Indian Creek, Dead Indian Gulch and Paint Creek. 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.
Ground WGFD opens: Park 4
WGFD also lists one Walk-In Area covering about 5,538 acres open for elk: Park 4. 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 Clarks Fork River-Hatchery (281 acres) and Newton Lakes (471 acres) are public ways onto water and land; check what each allows before you count on it for hunting.
High ground inside the line: Tibbs Butte, Tolman Mountain and Sawtooth Mountain
Named high points inside elk hunt area 54 include Tibbs Butte at 10,653 feet, Tolman Mountain at 10,423 feet, Sawtooth Mountain at 10,176 feet, Pat O'Hara Peak at 9,940 feet and Pat O'Hara Mountain at 9,940 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.
Holding ground: Rattlesnake Canyon, Two Dot Flats and Shoshone Canyon
Below them sit Rattlesnake Canyon at 5,420 feet, Two Dot Flats at 5,131 feet, Shoshone Canyon at 4,984 feet, Dead Indian Gulch at 4,695 feet and Clarks Fork Canyon at 4,394 feet. That is the low ground — where animals drop when they are pushed or when the weather turns.
Water: Spout Springs, Trough Spring and De Maris Springs
Named water inside the line includes Spout Springs, Trough Spring, De Maris Springs, Blue Springs, Bridal Veil Falls and Needle Hot Springs. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit 054 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 54
The lay of it
- 4,177–9,663 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 6,926 ft ; peaks can run higher. That spread means you can hunt two seasons in one day — plan clothing for both ends.
- 521.9 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
- 56 tanks
- 22 stream segments
- 18 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: Tibbs Butte (10,653 ft), Tolman Mountain (10,423 ft), Sawtooth Mountain (10,176 ft), Pat O'Hara Peak (9,940 ft)
Holding ground: Sawtooth Meadows (9,464 ft), Deep Lake Slide Area (8,053 ft), Pat O'Hara Basin (6,926 ft), Walk-In Area Park 4
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 54
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 68.7% elk success in elk hunt area 54: 195 animals taken by 284 active hunters over 1,942 days of hunting, or 10 days per animal. By residency, residents 68.7% (160 taken by 233) and nonresidents 68.6% (35 taken by 51).
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 1 either sex (resident) | 37 | 181 | 20.4% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 67 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (resident) | 17 | 85 | 20.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 15 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 3 either sex (resident) | 10 | 131 | 7.6% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 3 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 20 | 0.0% | — |
| Archery — Type 9 either sex (resident) | 34 | 53 | 64.2% | — |
| Archery — Type 9 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 28 | 0.0% | — |
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 54, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (any elk), residents: 181 first-choice applicants for 37 licenses, 20.4% drawn
- Type 3 (any elk), residents: 131 first-choice applicants for 10 licenses, 7.6% drawn
- Type 2 (any elk), residents: 85 first-choice applicants for 17 licenses, 20% drawn
- Type 1 (any elk), nonresidents: 67 first-choice applicants for 0 licenses, 0% drawn
- Type 9, residents: 53 first-choice applicants for 34 licenses, 64.2% 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. There are 3 more type-and-residency rows for this area in 2026. 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 54?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 54?
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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 54, 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 54, 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: 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