Washington Elk · GMU 418 Nooksack
Washington GMU 418 covers 533,562 acres and lies 27 miles east of Bellingham and 43 miles north of Arlington. 72% of it is public land, mostly national forest (55%) and state trust land (15%). In 2025, hunters took 12 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 2812, put up 13 nonresident tags in the 2025 draw for 1,125 first-choice applicants.
No more draws here. The last one was 2025.
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife held its 2026 elk draw without GMU 418. No current hunt code lists this unit; the Washington elk hunts on offer are drawn elsewhere. The odds, costs and harvest below are that history, kept for the record.
3 licenses
first choice, NR
not published
55% Forest Service
533,562 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Best Bets at 0 Points
Ranked by your odds times how often that license type's hunters filled their tag in 2025. Nonresident, first choice, 2025 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in GMU 418
The last draw held in GMU 418 was 2025. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2812 | Nooksack — Bull Elk Hunt, Any bull (Western Firearm) | 1% | — | |
| 2822 | Nooksack — Bull Elk Hunt, Any bull (Western Archery) | 2% | — | |
| 2833 | Nooksack — Bull Elk Hunt, Any bull (Western Muzzleloader) | 1% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2025 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2025 result: 2028/2024, 2067/2024, 2094/2024.
Draw results: WDFW 2025 Elk individual hunts, retrieved Aug 31, 2026.
If you draw (2025 nonresident fees): $837.90 ($837.90 to apply). Open Apr 20 – May 27, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Elk |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 |
| 2024 | 13 |
| 2023 | 18 |
| 2022 | 17 |
| 2021 | 14 |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| General season | — | 0 | — |
| Special permit | — | 12 | — |
What Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Hunter counts not published for 2025. 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. Source: WDFW 2025 Hunt Planner 'BigGame' harvest table.
The Ground
| National Forest | 294,097 ac | 55% |
| Private | 148,174 ac | 28% |
| State trust land | 82,186 ac | 15% |
| County or city land | 8,546 ac | 2% |
| State land | 423 ac | <1% |
| BLM | 100 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 33 ac | <1% |
▸ Sources 5
- WDFW 2025 Elk individual hunts draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WDFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WDFW 2025 Hunt Planner 'BigGame' harvest table harvest, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WDFW 2026 Hunt Planner 'UnitSpatial' polygon… boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WDFW 2026 WA DNR 'Non-DNR Major Public Lands'… land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2025 draw, the latest on file, computed from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's published results. They are what happened in that draw, not a forecast. Under five tags a percentage carries a *, because one applicant either way swings it. A dash means the agency did not publish the number, and a date marked expected is last cycle's schedule rolled forward. How we compute these.
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We don't take applications: check Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Washington elk hunts