Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 55

Grinnell

Wyoming Hunt Area 55 covers 251,107 acres and lies 42 miles west of Cody and 60 miles west of Powell. 100% of it is public land, mostly national forest (100%). In 2025, 91 people hunted elk here and took 40 — 44% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 8 nonresident tags here for 0 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):23 Applicants:139 Hunter success (2025):44% Public land:100% Size:251,107 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 55, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.

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

55-1 Any elk 5 tags · 67 applicants · needed 16 pts · Regular

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
55-1 Any elk 3 tags · 50 applicants · needed 15 pts · Special

2% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
55-1 Any elk 8 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
55-9 Any elk, archery only 2 tags · 8 applicants · needed 9 pts · Regular

0% Point builder 0% as 2nd choice
55-9 Any elk, archery only 2 tags · 14 applicants · needed 6 pts · Special

0% Point builder
55-9 Any elk, archery only 3 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
55-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	2% Point builder	0%	16 +10 since 2021	5 / 67	Regular	Oct 1–31, 2026
55-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	2% Point builder	0%	15 +4 since 2021	3 / 50	Special	Oct 1–31, 2026
55-1 ↗ Any elk Any legal weapon	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	8 / 0	Landowner	Oct 1–31, 2026
55-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	0% Point builder	0%	9 +6 since 2021	2 / 8	Regular	Sep 1–30, 2026
55-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	0% Point builder	—	6 +5 since 2022	2 / 14	Special	Sep 1–30, 2026
55-9 ↗ Any elk, archery only Archery	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	3 / 0	Landowner	Sep 1–30, 2026

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.
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 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
Regular license	$707	$15	$728.50
Special license	$1,965	$15	$1,986.50
Landowner license	$15	$15	$36.50

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

The country

Hunt Area 55 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 55 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

National Forest 250,431 ac · 100%
National Park Service 364 ac · 0%
Other public 173 ac · 0%
Private 137 ac · 0%

Source: BLM WY Surface Management Agency (land ownership / SMA)

Nearby areas

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.