Idaho Elk · Unit 48
Idaho Unit 48 covers 390,089 acres and lies 6 miles south-west of Ketchum and 16 miles north-west of Bellevue. 83% of it is public land, mostly national forest (69%) and BLM (12%). In 2025, 718 people hunted elk here and took 124, a 17% success rate (sum of published weapon rows). Its most applied-for hunt, 2027, put up 150 tags (all residencies) in the 2026 draw for 219 nonresident first-choice applicants, 15 of whom drew.
No points in this draw. Every applicant has the same chance each year.
3 licenses · NR capped at 10%
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
69% Forest Service
390,089 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
- Success
- 17%
- Season
- Oct 1–14
- Tags / Apps
- 20 / 51
- If Drawn
- $854.75
- Success
- 17%
- Season
- Oct 15 – Nov 10
- Tags / Apps
- 150 / 219
- If Drawn
- $854.75
- Success
- 17%
- Season
- Nov 15–30
- Tags / Apps
- 75 / 7
- If Drawn
- $854.75
Every License in Unit 48
| What | Season | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 48 | 4% (small sample) | |
| 2027 | Antlered elk, any weapon, Hunt Area 48 | 7% | |
| 2137 | Antlerless or Antlered elk, muzzleloader, Hunt Area 48 | 100% |
First-choice nonresident odds, 2026 draw. No points in this draw: every applicant has the same chance.
Draw results: IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): $854.75 ($203 to apply). Open May 1 – Jun 5, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 (summed) | 718 | 124 | 17% |
| 2024 (summed) | 737 | 168 | 23% |
| 2023 (summed) | 846 | 130 | 15% |
| 2022 (summed) | 618 | 126 | 20% |
| 2021 (summed) | 632 | 158 | 25% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 19 | 8 | 42% |
| 2027 | 142 | 54 | 38% |
| 2137 | 60 | 10 | 17% |
2025 split: firearm 62 (50%) from 170 hunters, 36%, archery 52 (42%) from 488 hunters, 11%, muzzleloader 10 (8%) from 60 hunters, 17%
What Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Idaho Department of Fish and Game publishes no whole-unit line for 2025; a year's total is the sum of published weapon rows, added only where the lines do not overlap. Idaho's figures are counts from mandatory hunter reports and check stations rather than survey estimates, so they behave differently from the survey states. Source: IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk; IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk; IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk.
The Ground
| National Forest | 270,686 ac | 69% |
| Private | 64,389 ac | 17% |
| BLM | 46,068 ac | 12% |
| State land | 8,945 ac | 2% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency.
What the Agency Says About the Area
All of Unit 48.
▸ Sources 9
- IDFG 2026 Hunt Planner drawing odds draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2026 License, Tag, and Permit Costs fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2025 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2024 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2023 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2022 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2021 Hunt Planner Harvest Statistics, elk harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- IDFG 2025 Controlled hunt area boundaries boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office 2026 BLM Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Idaho Department of Fish and Game's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
Report an error on this page
We don't take applications: check Idaho Department of Fish and Game's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Idaho Department of Fish and Game's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Idaho elk hunts