Wyoming Elk · Hunt Area 51 Sunlight-Crandall
Wyoming Hunt Area 51 covers 415,880 acres and lies 36 miles north-west of Cody and 45 miles west of Powell. 98% of it is public land, mostly national forest (97%). In 2025, 281 people hunted elk here and took 120, a 43% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, 51-1, put up 9 nonresident tags in the 2026 draw for 335 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 16 points.
12 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
98% Forest Service
415,880 acres
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only. The written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Every License in Hunt Area 51
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51-1 Regular | Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River | <1% | 16 ▲5 | |
| 51-1 Special | Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River | 2% | 15 ▲4 | |
| 51-1 Landowner | Any elk south and west of the Clark's Fork River | 100% | — | |
| 51-2 Regular | Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River | 0% (small sample) | 11 ▲4 | |
| 51-2 Special | Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River | 0% (small sample) | 7 ▲2 | |
| 51-2 Landowner | Any elk north and east of the Clark's Fork River | 100% (small sample) | 0 | |
| 51-4 Regular | Antlerless elk | 4% (small sample) | 2 ▲2 | |
| 51-4 Special | Antlerless elk | 0% (small sample) | — | |
| 51-4 Landowner | Antlerless elk | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| 51-9 Regular | Any elk, archery only | 3% | 9 ▲2 | |
| 51-9 Special | Any elk, archery only | 10% (small sample) | 5 | |
| 51-9 Landowner | Any elk, archery only | 100% | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file.
Draw results: WGFD 2026 Demand Report; WGFD 2026 Demand Report; WGFD 2026 Demand Report, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Regular $728.50 ($707 to apply) · Special $1,986.50 ($1,965 to apply) · Landowner $36.50 ($15 to apply). Open Jan 2 – Feb 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 281 | 120 | 43% |
| 2024 | 264 | 83 | 31% |
| 2023 | 251 | 124 | 49% |
| 2022 | 281 | 101 | 36% |
| 2021 | 277 | 71 | 26% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | 123 | 58 | 47% |
| Type 2 | 40 | 11 | 28% |
| Type 4 | 46 | 24 | 52% |
| Type 9 | 71 | 27 | 38% |
2025 split: archery 27 (23%), firearm 93 (78%) · residents 88 from 232 hunters, nonresidents 32 from 49 hunters
What Wyoming Game and Fish Department publishes after each season, for everyone who hunted the area: harvest statistics, not draw odds. Wyoming's figures are estimates from a voluntary post-season survey of license holders, extrapolated to every license issued — not a count of animals checked in. Source: WGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Report; WGFD 2024 Elk Harvest Report; WGFD 2023 Elk Harvest Report.
The Ground
| National Forest | 404,000 ac | 97% |
| Private | 7,332 ac | 2% |
| State land | 1,411 ac | <1% |
| Other public | 1,378 ac | <1% |
| National Park Service | 214 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 7 ac | <1% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office 2026 BLM WY Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 12
- WGFD 2026 Demand Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Demand Report draw results, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Demand Report draw results, retrieved Sep 1, 2026
- WGFD 2026 License Fee List fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Game and Fish Commission Chapter 44 fees, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2025 Elk Harvest Report harvest, area description, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2024 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2023 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2022 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2021 Elk Harvest Report harvest, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- WGFD 2026 Elk Hunt Areas boundary, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office 2026 BLM WY Surface Management Agency land ownership, retrieved Aug 31, 2026
About These Numbers
Odds are from the 2026 draw, the latest on file, computed from Wyoming Game and Fish Department'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 Wyoming Game and Fish Department's site and apply there.
Prior-draw odds from Wyoming Game and Fish Department's results, not a forecast · Methodology · All Wyoming elk hunts