Unit 125 (Elk Mountain)
Wyoming Hunting Guide — Elk
Elk Hunt Area 125, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Elk Mountain, covers about 288 square miles in Carbon County. It belongs to WGFD's Snowy Range elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 73.4%, with 297 hunters taking 218 elk at about 7.1 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 25% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Build your own PDF hunt guide for Unit 125
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Elk Hunting in Unit 125
Elk Hunt Area 125, which Wyoming Game and Fish names Elk Mountain, covers about 288 square miles in Carbon County. It belongs to WGFD's Snowy Range elk herd unit. WGFD's 2025 harvest survey put elk success here at 73.4%, with 297 hunters taking 218 elk at about 7.1 days of hunting per animal. Federal land covers about 25% of it. Check land status on a current map before you plan a route.
Where to Find Elk in Elk Hunt Area 125
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission names elk hunt area 125 "Elk Mountain". It runs to about 288 square miles, entirely in Carbon County. WGFD reports these elk as the Snowy Range herd unit, which also takes in elk hunt areas 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 110. 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: Pass Creek and Elk Mountain
WGFD's 2026 Chapter 7 walks the line around elk hunt area 125 corner by corner. It starts at the junction of Interstate Highway 80 and U.S. Highway 30 at the Saratoga interchange. On the way round it follows Interstate Highway 80, U.S. Highway 30, Wyoming Highway 72 and Carbon County Road 404, and Pass Creek and Elk Mountain. 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 125s
WGFD numbers each species' hunt areas on its own grid, so the number 125 also belongs to its deer hunt area 125. 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.
Ground WGFD opens: Elk Mountain and Carbon 12
Its Access Yes program enrolls a Hunter Management Area here that list elk among their species — Elk Mountain (5,476 acres). WGFD also lists one Walk-In Area covering about 480 acres open for elk: Carbon 12. 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 Elk Mountain Reservoir are public ways onto water and land; check what each allows before you count on it for hunting.
High ground inside the line: Elk Mountain, Sheephead Mountain and Jack Hill
Named high points inside elk hunt area 125 include Elk Mountain at 11,150 feet, Sheephead Mountain at 8,692 feet, Jack Hill at 8,454 feet, Halleck Ridge at 8,034 feet and Dana Ridge at 7,900 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: Overland Flats, Sand Draw and Dana Meadows
Below them sit Overland Flats at 7,021 feet, Sand Draw at 6,970 feet, Dana Meadows at 6,865 feet, Coal Bank Draw at 6,743 feet and Rattlesnake Pass at 7,522 feet. These are the folds worth watching, and the ones other hunters walk past.
Water: Standpipe Spring
Named water inside the line includes Standpipe Spring. Nothing in the data says which of it runs in autumn, so a scouting trip earns its fuel.
Unit 125 terrain and land status
Measured from the unit boundary, not from the agency write-up
The lay of it
- 6,699–9,897 ft on a terrain sample , averaging 7,434 ft ; peaks can run higher.
- 287.3 sq mi inside the boundary.
Who owns the ground
- Private / Other — 100%
Roughly 0% is public. Carry a land-status layer anyway — these are area percentages, not a map of where the boundaries fall.
Water on the ground
- 52 tanks
- 65 stream segments
- 9 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: Elk Mountain (11,150 ft), Sheephead Mountain (8,692 ft)
Holding ground: Rattlesnake Pass (7,522 ft), Quealy Gap (7,456 ft), Elk Mountain Hunter Management Area, Walk-In Area Carbon 12, Standpipe Spring
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 125
Elk Success Rates
Wyoming Game and Fish's 2025 harvest report estimates 73.4% elk success in elk hunt area 125: 218 animals taken by 297 active hunters over 1,539 days of hunting, or 7.1 days per animal. By residency, residents 70.1% (110 taken by 157) and nonresidents 77.1% (108 taken by 140).
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) | 208 | 103 | 100.0% | — |
| Rifle — General Type 1 either sex (nonresident) | 5 | 58 | 8.6% | — |
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 125, residents and nonresidents kept apart because they draw from different license pools:
- Type 1 (any elk), residents: 103 first-choice applicants for 208 licenses, 100% drawn
- Type 1 (any elk), nonresidents: 58 first-choice applicants for 5 licenses, 8.6% 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 125?
What is the elk success rate in elk hunt area 125?
Is elk hunt area 125 the same ground as deer hunt area 125?
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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 125, 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 125, 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