Idaho Elk — Unit 36A-2
Idaho Unit 36A-2 covers 446,130 acres and lies 32 miles north of Ketchum and 43 miles north of Hailey. 95% of it is public land, mostly BLM (55%) and national forest (36%). In 2025, 119 people hunted elk here and took 83 — 70% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 120 tags here for 278 first-choice applicants.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 36A-2, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
4% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
| Hunt | Your odds | As 2nd choice | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 ↗ Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 36A-2 | 4% Long shot | 0% | — | 120 / 278 | Oct 1–31, 2026 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 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.
- As 2nd choice —
- Idaho lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 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 (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per application | $203 | $203 | $854.75 |
Application window: opens May 1, closes Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- BLM 244,488 ac · 55%
- National Forest 158,870 ac · 36%
- Private 24,452 ac · 5%
- State land 18,049 ac · 4%
- Other public 269 ac · 0%
Source: BLM Idaho Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)
Nearby areas
How the hunting has gone
What Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Idaho Department of Fish and Game 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. Idaho's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 119 | 83 | 70% |
| 2024 | 230 | 134 | 58% |
| 2023 | 222 | 108 | 49% |
| 2022 | 234 | 111 | 47% |
| 2021 | 223 | 119 | 53% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Firearm 83 · 100% · 119 hunters, 70% success
What the agency says about the area
That portion of Unit 36A east of the East Fork of the Salmon River downstream from but EXCLUDING the West Pass Creek drainage, and that portion of Unit 50 north of Trail Creek Road and west of U.S. Highway 93, and that portion of Unit 50 north of the Doublespring Pass Road east of U.S. Highway 93.
Source: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2025 (general + controlled hunt tables)
Boundary: Controlled Hunts - All Species, BigGame='Elk' AND Year=2025 (hunt-area boundaries)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2025 (general + controlled hunt tables)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2024 (general + controlled hunt tables)
Harvest: Idaho Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk 2023 (general + controlled hunt tables)