Utah Elk — Southwest Desert, North
Utah Southwest Desert, North covers 1,621,277 acres and lies 81 miles north of Cedar City. 94% of it is public land, mostly BLM (82%) and state trust land (9%). In 2025, 37 people hunted elk here and took 21 — 57% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 2 nonresident tags here for 67 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 22 points.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Southwest Desert, North, 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
-
<1% Point builder
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB3136 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Southwest Desert, North Archery | <1% Point builder | 22 +2 since 2025 | 2 / 67 | Sep 1–30, 2026 |
| EB3143 ↗ Limited-entry Bull Elk - Southwest Desert, North Handgun | <1% Point builder | 16 +2 since 2025 | 2 / 36 | Nov 7–30, 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.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- BLM 1,332,156 ac · 82%
- State trust land 138,747 ac · 9%
- Private 98,271 ac · 6%
- National Forest 51,896 ac · 3%
- State land 121 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 | 37 | 21 | 57% |
| 2024 | 24 | 19 | 79% |
| 2023 | 20 | 13 | 65% |
| 2022 | 15 | 13 | 87% |
| 2021 | 16 | 11 | 69% |
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