Washington Elk — GMU 251
Mission
Washington GMU 251 covers 333,331 acres and lies 9 miles west of Wenatchee and 31 miles north of Ellensburg. 59% of it is public land, mostly national forest (44%) and state land (8%). In 2025, hunters took 59 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 2 nonresident tags here.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in GMU 251, 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-
— Cut level
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— Cut level
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— Cut level
| Hunt | Your odds (0 pts) | Points needed | Tags / applicants | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 ↗ Mission — Quality Elk Hunt, Any bull (Eastern Firearm) Rifle | — Cut level | — | 2 / — | Sep 21–25, 2026 |
| 2079 ↗ Mission — Quality Elk Hunt, Any bull (Eastern Muzzleloader) Muzzleloader | — Cut level | — | 2 / — | Sep 26 – Oct 2, 2026 |
| 2803 ↗ Mission — Bull Elk Hunt, Any bull (Eastern Firearm) Rifle | — Cut level | — | 2 / — | Oct 20 – Nov 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 | $837.90 | $837.90 | $837.90 |
Application window: opens Apr 20, closes May 27, 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
- National Forest 147,011 ac · 44%
- Private 137,195 ac · 41%
- State land 25,411 ac · 8%
- State trust land 16,393 ac · 5%
- BLM 3,870 ac · 1%
- National Wildlife Refuge 2,031 ac · 1%
- County or city land 1,047 ac · 0%
- Other public 369 ac · 0%
Source: WA DNR 'Non-DNR Major Public Lands' (NDMPL) layer, federal/state/county/city ownership parcels
How the hunting has gone
What Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Washington's figures come from mandatory hunter reports. WDFW credits a multi-GMU special-permit hunt's harvest to every GMU it spans rather than splitting it, so unit totals add up to more than the statewide total.
| Season | Harvest |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2024 | 104 |
| 2023 | 85 |
| 2022 | 72 |
| 2021 | 100 |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Archery 10 · 40% · 114 hunters, 9% success
- Firearm 6 · 24% · 277 hunters, 2% success
- Muzzleloader 9 · 36% · 191 hunters, 5% success
Boundary: WDFW Hunt Planner 'UnitSpatial' polygon layer (WP_HuntPlanner/Regulation/MapServer/0)
Harvest: WDFW Hunt Planner 'BigGame' harvest table (WP_HuntPlanner/Harvest/MapServer/1)