Utah Deer — San Juan, Elk Ridge
Utah San Juan, Elk Ridge covers 1,973,470 acres and lies 165 miles east of Cedar City. 99% of it is public land, mostly BLM (60%) and national park (21%). In 2025, 81 people hunted deer here and took 73 — 90% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 4 nonresident tags here for 441 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 25 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every deer license type on offer in San Juan, Elk Ridge, 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-
<1% Point builder
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<1% Point builder
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<1% Point builder
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB1014 ↗ Limited-entry Buck Deer - San Juan, Elk Ridge Archery | <1% Point builder | 25 +3 since 2024 | 2 / 272 | Aug 15 – Sep 11, 2026 |
| DB1022 ↗ Limited-entry Buck Deer - San Juan, Elk Ridge Rifle | <1% Point builder | 25 +3 since 2021 | 4 / 441 | Oct 17–25, 2026 |
| DB1037 ↗ Limited-entry Buck Deer - San Juan, Elk Ridge Muzzleloader | <1% Point builder | 24 −3 since 2024 | 2 / 133 | Sep 23 – Oct 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 | $165 | $165 | $764 |
Application window: opens Mar 19, closes Apr 23, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Other licenses valid in San Juan, Elk Ridge
Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2026 draw.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- BLM 1,191,077 ac · 60%
- National Park Service 417,880 ac · 21%
- National Forest 234,436 ac · 12%
- State trust land 114,496 ac · 6%
- Private 11,382 ac · 1%
- State land 3,230 ac · 0%
- Tribal 369 ac · 0%
How the hunting has gone
What Utah Division of Wildlife Resources publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 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.
| Season | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81 | 73 | 90% |
| 2024 | 76 | 57 | 75% |
| 2023 | 73 | 60 | 82% |
| 2022 | 72 | 57 | 79% |
| 2021 | 62 | 58 | 94% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Archery 17 · 24% · 17 hunters, 100% success
- Firearm 40 · 56% · 45 hunters, 89% success
- Muzzleloader 14 · 20% · 16 hunters, 88% success
Boundary: Utah Big Game Hunt Boundaries 2025 (DWR hunt-unit / sub-unit boundaries, all species)
Harvest: 2025 Utah Big Game Harvest (preliminary) — single combined report, all species and hunt types