Washington Elk · GMU 530 Ryderwood
Washington GMU 530 covers 352,928 acres and lies 20 miles north-west of Longview and 41 miles south of Tumwater. 13% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (12%) and wildlife refuge (1%). In 2025, hunters took 163 elk here; hunter counts not published. Its most applied-for hunt, 2233, put up 30 nonresident tags in the 2025 draw for 1,050 first-choice applicants.
No more draws here. The last one was 2025.
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife held its 2026 elk draw without GMU 530. 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.
6 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, firearm hunter
12% State
352,928 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.
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Nov 7–18
- Tags / Apps
- 30 / 1,050
- If Drawn
- $837.90
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Nov 25 – Dec 15
- Tags / Apps
- 50 / 459
- If Drawn
- $837.90
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Oct 3–9
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 360
- If Drawn
- $837.90
- Success
- 11%
- Season
- Dec 1 – Feb 28
- Tags / Apps
- 15 / 79
- If Drawn
- $837.90
Every License in GMU 530
The last draw held in GMU 530 was 2025. These are that draw's chances for a first-choice nonresident applicant, kept for the record.
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | Wahkiakum — Quality Elk Hunt, Any bull (Western Firearm) | <1% (small sample) | — | |
| 2233 | Ryderwood — Antlerless Elk Hunt, Antlerless (Western Firearm) | 3% | — | |
| 2260 | Ryderwood — Antlerless Elk Hunt, Antlerless (Western Archery) | 11% | — | |
| 2288 | Ryderwood — Antlerless Elk Hunt, Antlerless (Western Muzzleloader) | 4% | — | |
| 2514 · hunters | Ryderwood — Elk Hunters 65 Years And Older, Antlerless (Western Firearm) | 3% | — | |
| 2710 | Region 5 Northwest–Hoof Disease — Master Hunter Elk Hunt, Antlerless (All Methods) | 19% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2025 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
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 | 163 |
| 2024 | 148 |
| 2023 | 195 |
| 2022 | 168 |
| 2021 | 208 |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| General season | — | 140 | — |
| General season · archery | 381 | 27 | 7% |
| General season · firearm | 682 | 75 | 11% |
| General season · muzzleloader | 221 | 32 | 14% |
| Special permit | — | 23 | — |
2025 split: archery 27 (20%) from 381 hunters, 7%, firearm 75 (56%) from 682 hunters, 11%, muzzleloader 32 (24%) from 221 hunters, 14%
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
| Private | 306,692 ac | 87% |
| State trust land | 41,554 ac | 12% |
| National Wildlife Refuge | 3,131 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 889 ac | <1% |
| State land | 518 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 140 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.
Report an error on this page
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 · All Washington elk hunts