Idaho Elk — Unit 37A

Idaho Unit 37A covers 223,450 acres and lies 41 miles south of Salmon and 69 miles north-east of Ketchum. 94% of it is public land, mostly national forest (64%) and BLM (26%). In 2025, 284 people hunted elk here and took 45 — 16% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 100 tags here for 162 first-choice applicants.

Tags (2026):145 Nonresident share:capped at 10% Applicants:164 Hunter success (2025):16% Public land:94% Size:223,450 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 37A, 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

2013 Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 37A 100 tags · 162 applicants

6% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
2080 Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 37A 45 tags · 2 applicants

0% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice

Hunt	Your odds	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
2013 ↗ Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 37A	6% Long shot	0%	—	100 / 162	Oct 1–31, 2026
2080 ↗ Antlerless elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 37A	0% Long shot	0%	—	45 / 2	Dec 10–31, 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

Unit 37A within Idaho

Unit 37A 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

National Forest 143,918 ac · 64%
BLM 58,706 ac · 26%
Private 13,075 ac · 6%
State land 7,472 ac · 3%
Other public 277 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's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states.