Unit 099 (Big Sandy)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 99, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Big Sandy, covers about 688 square miles in Sublette, Sweetwater and Fremont counties. It belongs to WGFD's South Wind River elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 49.8%, with 307 hunters taking 153 elk at about 15.7 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 88% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
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Elk Hunting in Unit 099
Elk Hunt Area 99, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Big Sandy, covers about 688 square miles in Sublette, Sweetwater and Fremont counties. It belongs to WGFD's South Wind River elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 49.8%, with 307 hunters taking 153 elk at about 15.7 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 88% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 99
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 99 "Big Sandy". It runs to about 688 square miles, in Sublette (78%), Sweetwater (14%) and Fremont (8%) counties. WGFD reports these elk as the South Wind River herd unit, which also takes in elk hunt areas 25, 27 and 28. WGFD prints the line and counts the harvest. It doesn't say where inside the line the elk live, so that part is our read of the ground, labelled as such.
The line: Big Sandy Reservoir, Big Sandy River and Continental Divide
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 99 corner by corner. It starts at the junction of Wyoming Highway 28 and U.S. Highway 191. On the way round it follows Wyoming Highway 28, U.S. Highway 191 and Sweetwater County Road 28, and Big Sandy Reservoir, Big Sandy River, Continental Divide and Sweetwater 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 99s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 99 also belongs to its antelope hunt area 99. None of it 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.
Wilderness inside the line: Bridger Wilderness
About 9% of elk hunt area 99 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: Temple Peak, East Temple Peak and Dog Tooth Peak
Named high points inside elk hunt area 99 include Temple Peak at 12,893 feet, East Temple Peak at 12,583 feet, Dog Tooth Peak at 12,467 feet, Big Sandy Mountain at 12,382 feet and Mount Nystrom at 12,274 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: Long Draw, Alkali Draw and Long Draw
Below them sit Long Draw at 7,072 feet, Alkali Draw at 7,070 feet, Long Draw at 7,007 feet, Eden Valley at 6,709 feet and Bear Trap at 8,373 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past.
Water: Halls Meadow Spring, Spicer Well Number 2 and Monument Spring
Named water inside the line includes Halls Meadow Spring, Spicer Well Number 2, Monument Spring and Chicken Spring. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit 099 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up · figures are for GMU 99
The lay of it
- 6,723–9,798 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 7,440 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 687.2 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
- 105 tanks
- 112 stream segments
- 27 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: Temple Peak (12,893 ft), Dog Tooth Peak (12,467 ft), Mount Nystrom (12,274 ft), Haystack Mountain (11,946 ft)
Holding ground: Bear Trap (8,373 ft), South Pass (7,557 ft), Monument Draw (7,171 ft), Halls Meadow Spring, Spicer Well Number 2
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 99
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 49.8% elk success in elk hunt area 99: 153 animals taken by 307 active hunters over 2,399 days of hunting, or 15.7 days per animal. By residency, residents 47.1% (120 taken by 255) and nonresidents 63.5% (33 taken by 52).
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) | 124 | 560 | 22.1% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 3 | 71 | 4.2% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (resident) | 147 | 48 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 4 antlerless (nonresident) | 6 | 3 | 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 99, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (any elk), residents: 560 first-choice applicants for 124 licenses, 22.1% drawn
- Type 1 (any elk), nonresidents: 71 first-choice applicants for 3 licenses, 4.2% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), residents: 48 first-choice applicants for 147 licenses, 100% drawn
- Type 4 (antlerless elk), nonresidents: 3 first-choice applicants for 6 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 99?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 99?
Is elk hunt area 99 the same ground as antelope hunt area 99?
What do you need besides a license to hunt elk hunt area 99?
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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 99, 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 99, 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 · 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