Unit 096 (New Fork)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 96, which Wyoming Game and Fish names New Fork, covers about 250 square miles in Sublette County. It belongs to WGFD's Upper Green River elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 24%, with 647 hunters taking 155 elk at about 41.6 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 62% of it. Elk hunters here also need WGFD's Elk Special Management Permit. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 096
Elk Hunt Area 96, which Wyoming Game and Fish names New Fork, covers about 250 square miles in Sublette County. It belongs to WGFD's Upper Green River elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 24%, with 647 hunters taking 155 elk at about 41.6 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 62% of it. Elk hunters here also need WGFD's Elk Special Management Permit. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 96
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 96 "New Fork". It runs to about 250 square miles, entirely in Sublette County. WGFD reports these elk as the Upper Green River herd unit, which also takes in elk hunt areas 87, 93 and 95. What WGFD publishes for the area is its boundary and its harvest; where the elk stand inside it is our reading of the ground, and the two are kept apart below.
The line: Pine Creek, Jim Creek and New Fork River
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 96 corner by corner. It starts where U.S. Highway 191 crosses Pine Creek in the town of Pinedale. On the way round it follows U.S. Highway 191 and Wyoming Highway 352, and Pine Creek, Jim Creek, New Fork River and Green River. That is a legal description, not a habitat map, and it is the text a warden reads you against. 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 96s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 96 also belongs to its deer and antelope hunt areas 96. 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: Soda Lake and Luke Lynch
WGFD administers 2 Wildlife Habitat Management Areas inside or across the line, including Soda Lake (4,115 acres) and Luke Lynch (362 acres). Public Access Areas such as Duck Creek are public ways onto water and land; check what each allows before you count on it for hunting.
Wilderness inside the line: Bridger Wilderness
About 38% of elk hunt area 96 lies in the Bridger 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: Glover Peak, Dome Peak and Kendall Mountain
Named high points inside elk hunt area 96 include Glover Peak at 12,040 feet, Dome Peak at 11,205 feet, Kendall Mountain at 11,079 feet, Doubletop Mountain at 10,885 feet and Pine Mountain at 10,361 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: New Fork Park, Upper Boulder Basin and Kim Rush Park
Below them sit New Fork Park at 8,799 feet, Upper Boulder Basin at 8,713 feet, Kim Rush Park at 8,692 feet, Pot Creek Park at 8,531 feet and Lower Boulder Basin at 8,498 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past.
Unit 096 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 96
The lay of it
- 7,276–10,963 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 8,486 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 250.2 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
- 235 tanks
- 80 stream segments
- 37 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: Glover Peak (12,040 ft), Dome Peak (11,205 ft), Kendall Mountain (11,079 ft), Doubletop Mountain (10,885 ft)
Holding ground: Big Rock Park (10,070 ft), Indian Park (9,198 ft), Palmer Canyon (8,895 ft), Soda Lake WHMA, Luke Lynch WHMA
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 96
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 24% elk success in elk hunt area 96: 155 animals taken by 647 active hunters over 6,448 days of hunting, or 41.6 days per animal. By residency, residents 21.5% (96 taken by 447) and nonresidents 29.5% (59 taken by 200).
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) | 231 | 57 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 8 | 50 | 16.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (resident) | 8 | 22 | 36.4% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 2 either sex (nonresident) | 0 | 5 | 0.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (resident) | 144 | 13 | 100.0% | — |
| 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 96, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (any elk), residents: 57 first-choice applicants for 231 licenses, 100% drawn
- Type 1 (any elk), nonresidents: 50 first-choice applicants for 8 licenses, 16% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), residents: 13 first-choice applicants for 144 licenses, 100% 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 96?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 96?
Is elk hunt area 96 the same ground as deer hunt area 96?
What do you need besides a license to hunt elk hunt area 96?
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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 96, Season dates, license types and limitations by hunt area, Elk Special Management Permit areas (Section 7) · 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 96, 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 · 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