California Elk — San Luis Reservoir

San Luis Reservoir Tule Elk Hunt

California San Luis Reservoir covers 502,020 acres and lies 32 miles east of Salinas and 50 miles south-east of San Jose. 8% of it is public land, mostly other public land (5%) and state land (2%). In 2021, 4 people hunted elk here and took 4 — 100% of them killed something. The 2025 draw put up 5 tags here for 958 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2025):5 Nonresident share:capped at 1 Applicants:958 All elk success (2021):100% Public land:8% Size:502,020 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in San Luis Reservoir, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2025 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

497 San Luis Reservoir - General Methods - Either Sex 5 tags · 958 applicants

<1% Point builder

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
497 ↗ San Luis Reservoir - General Methods - Either Sex	<1% Point builder	—	5 / 958	Oct 4–26, 2025

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2025 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
The badge: plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2025 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
Tags / applicants: tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.

What it costs to apply (2025 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Per application	$227.94	$227.94	$2,053.79

Application window: opens Apr 15, closes Jun 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

San Luis Reservoir within California

San Luis Reservoir and its neighbours

Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

Other public 25,592 ac · 5%
State land 8,419 ac · 2%
BLM 6,389 ac · 1%
County or city land 1,374 ac · 0%
Private or other non-public land 460,244 ac · 92%

Source: California Protected Areas Database (CPAD) 2026a -- Holdings by Agency Classification

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes these per hunt rather than per unit; the rows below add its own figures together, since a hunter holds one tag for the species in a season.