Utah Elk — Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East
Utah Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East covers 1,953,909 acres and lies 117 miles east of Mapleton. 69% of it is public land, mostly BLM (55%) and state trust land (13%). A further 27% is tribal land rather than public land. In 2025, 97 people hunted elk here and took 62 — 64% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 2 nonresident tags here for 73 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 19 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East, 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-
EB3160 Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East 2 tags · 73 applicants · needed 19 pts<1% Point builder
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2% Point builder
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<1% Point builder
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EB3163 Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East 2 tags · 60 applicants · needed 23 pts<1% Point builder
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EB3164 Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East 2 tags · 69 applicants · needed 23 pts<1% Point builder
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<1% Point builder
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB3160 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East Archery | <1% Point builder | 19 | 2 / 73 | Aug 15 – Sep 15, 2026 |
| EB3161 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East Archery | 2% Point builder | — | 1 / 9 | Nov 28 – Dec 13, 2026 |
| EB3162 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East Rifle | <1% Point builder | — | 1 / 221 | Sep 16–20, 2026 |
| EB3163 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East Rifle | <1% Point builder | 23 | 2 / 60 | Nov 7–15, 2026 |
| EB3164 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East Rifle | <1% Point builder | 23 | 2 / 69 | Oct 3–15, 2026 |
| EB3166 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East Muzzleloader | <1% Point builder | — | 1 / 54 | Sep 21 – Oct 2, 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 | $2,115 |
Application window: opens Mar 19, closes Apr 23, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Other licenses valid in Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/East
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 1,078,364 ac · 55%
- Tribal 518,922 ac · 27%
- State trust land 256,085 ac · 13%
- Private 80,161 ac · 4%
- State land 19,950 ac · 1%
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 | 97 | 62 | 64% |
| 2024 | 90 | 57 | 63% |
| 2023 | 83 | 50 | 60% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Archery 10 · 18% · 23 hunters, 43% success
- Firearm 34 · 60% · 52 hunters, 65% success
- Muzzleloader 13 · 23% · 13 hunters, 100% 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