Oregon Elk — Unit 50

Desolation

Oregon Unit 50 covers 429,127 acres and lies 40 miles west of Baker City and 59 miles south of Pendleton. 89% of it is public land, mostly national forest (89%). In 2025, 2,128 people hunted elk here and took 283 — 13% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 1,694 tags here for 127 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 1 points.

Tags (2026):2,995 Nonresident share:capped at 5% Applicants:254 Hunter success (2025):13% Public land:89% Size:429,127 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Unit 50, 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

250R1 Desolation Unit Bow 1,694 tags · 127 applicants · needed 1 pts

100% Likely draw
250R2 N Fork Traditional Bow 176 tags · 10 applicants · needed 1 pts

100% Likely draw
250T Desolation Unit Youth 21 tags · 1 applicants · needed 5 pts

10% Undersubscribed
250X Desolation Unit 1,104 tags · 116 applicants · needed 1 pts

30% Long shot

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	Points needed	Tags / applicants	Season
250R1 ↗ Desolation Unit Bow Archery	100% Likely draw	1 steady since 2022	1,694 / 127	Aug 29 – Sep 27, 2026
250R2 ↗ N Fork Traditional Bow Archery	100% Likely draw	1 steady since 2022	176 / 10	Aug 29 – Oct 2, 2026
250T ↗ Desolation Unit Youth Rifle	10% Undersubscribed	5 +3 since 2022	21 / 1 undersubscribed	Aug 15 – Dec 31, 2026
250X ↗ Desolation Unit Rifle	30% Long shot	1 steady since 2022	1,104 / 116	Oct 28 – Nov 1, 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.
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	$863

Application window: opens Dec 1, closes May 15, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

The country

Unit 50 within Oregon

Unit 50 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 383,827 ac · 89%
Private 45,145 ac · 11%
BLM 229 ac · 0%
Other public 76 ac · 0%
State land 9 ac · 0%

Source: BLM Oregon/Washington Land Status Ownership (BLM_OR_Ownership MapServer)

Nearby areas

How the hunting has gone

What Oregon 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. Oregon 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. Oregon requires every tag holder to report, but the numbers ODFW publishes are survey estimates expanded from the reporting rate — the agency's own tables are titled "Estimated harvest... based on Mandatory Harvest Survey Reports" — not a count of animals checked in.