Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 53

Trout Peak

In 2023, 125 people hunted elk here and took 60 — 48% of them killed something. The 2023 draw put up 16 nonresident tags here for 9 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2023):28 Applicants:65 Hunter success (2023):48%

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 53, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

Chances are from the 2023 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.

Simple view Odds at every point level

53-1 Any elk 1 tags · 17 applicants · needed 11 pts · Regular

0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
53-1 Any elk 1 tags · 6 applicants · needed 9 pts · Special

0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
53-2 Any elk 2 tags · 7 applicants · needed 9 pts · Regular

0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
53-2 Any elk 2 tags · 9 applicants · needed 7 pts · Special

0% Point builder
53-6 Cow or calf valid in the North Fork Shoshone River Drainage 16 tags · 9 applicants · Reduced price

100% Undersubscribed 78% as 2nd choice
53-7 Cow or calf valid on private land 4 tags · 0 applicants · Reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants 100% as 2nd choice
53-9 Any elk, archery only 1 tags · 14 applicants · needed 12 pts · Regular

0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
53-9 Any elk, archery only 1 tags · 3 applicants · needed 3 pts · Special

0% Point builder

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
53-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	0% Point builder	0%	11 −3 since 2021	1 / 17	Regular	Oct 1–31, 2023
53-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	0% Point builder	0%	9 +8 since 2021	1 / 6	Special	Oct 1–31, 2023
53-2 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	0% Point builder	0%	9 +1 since 2021	2 / 7	Regular	Nov 1–30, 2023
53-2 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	0% Point builder	—	7 +5 since 2021	2 / 9	Special	Nov 1–30, 2023
53-6 ↗ Cow or calf valid in the North Fork Shoshone River Drainage Any legal weapon	100% Undersubscribed	78%	—	16 / 9 undersubscribed	Reduced price	Oct 15 – Dec 21, 2023
53-7 ↗ Cow or calf valid on private land Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	100%	—	4 / 0	Reduced price	Sep 1 – Dec 21, 2023
53-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	0% Point builder	0%	12 +1 since 2021	1 / 14	Regular	Sep 1–30, 2023
53-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	0% Point builder	—	3 −3 since 2021	1 / 3	Special	Sep 1–30, 2023

What these columns mean

Your odds: the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2023 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.
As 2nd choice: Wyoming lets you name more than one hunt on the application. Miss on your first choice and you go into the pot for whatever tags are left, alongside everyone else's second choices. Points never help a lower choice, so this number is the same whatever you have banked — it is usually worth naming a hunt that goes undersubscribed.
Points needed: the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2023 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.

1 hunt not offered in 2023 is hidden — show discontinued hunts.

What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)

License	Up front	Gone if you miss	If you draw
Regular license	$707	$15	$728.50
Special license	$1,965	$15	$1,986.50
Reduced price license	$303	$15	$324.50

Application window: opens Jan 2, closes Feb 2, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.

Other licenses valid in Hunt Area 53

Not in the table above because they had no result in the 2023 draw.

Type 4 — Antlerless elk Special

The country

Wyoming Game and Fish Department does not publish a mapped boundary for Hunt Area 53, so there is no map to draw. The agency describes it as “Trout Peak”.

How the hunting has gone

What Wyoming Game and Fish Department publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. 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.