Washington Elk — GMU 578

West Klickitat

Washington GMU 578 covers 292,326 acres and lies 57 miles east of Camas. 28% of it is public land, mostly state trust land (20%) and national forest (4%). In 2025, hunters took 47 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 25 nonresident tags here.

Nonresident tags (2026):50 Firearm hunter success (2025):6% Public land:28% Size:292,326 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in GMU 578, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

4 licenses on offer · 50 tags in the 2026 draw

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
  • 2236 West Klickitat — Antlerless Elk Hunt, Antlerless (Western Firearm) 5 tags
    Cut level
  • 2293 West Klickitat — Antlerless Elk Hunt, Antlerless (Western Muzzleloader) 25 tags
    Cut level
  • 2427 West Klickitat — Youth Elk Hunt, Antlerless (Western Firearm) 10 tags
    Cut level
  • 2711 Region 5 Southeast–Hoof Disease — Master Hunter Elk Hunt, Antlerless (All Methods) 10 tags
    Cut level
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

Camas Yakima Longview Ellensburg Richland
GMU 578 within Washington
382 388 560 568 572 574
GMU 578 and its neighbours
Zoomable USGS topo, aerial imagery and shaded relief, with the neighboring areas drawn on.

Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.

Who owns the ground

  • Private 210,013 ac · 72%
  • State trust land 58,589 ac · 20%
  • National Forest 11,102 ac · 4%
  • National Wildlife Refuge 6,531 ac · 2%
  • State land 4,731 ac · 2%
  • BLM 1,259 ac · 0%
  • Other public 99 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 47
2024 33
2023 46
2022 38
2021 46

What people carried (2025 harvest)

  • Archery 6 · 16% · 41 hunters, 15% success
  • Firearm 19 · 50% · 326 hunters, 6% success
  • Muzzleloader 13 · 34% · 165 hunters, 8% 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)

How we compute draw odds · All Washington elk hunts