Wyoming Elk · Hunt Area 56 Wapiti Ridge
Wyoming Hunt Area 56 covers 302,600 acres and lies 27 miles west of Cody and 47 miles south-west of Powell. 94% of it is public land, mostly national forest (78%) and BLM (7%). In 2025, 661 people hunted elk here and took 212, a 32% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, 56-1, put up 1 nonresident tag in the 2026 draw for 42 first-choice applicants, and the last tag went to someone with 20 points.
10 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
74% Forest Service
302,600 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, 2026 draw; licenses with at least 10 tags that anyone can buy.
Every License in Hunt Area 56
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56-1 Regular | Any elk | 0% (small sample) | 20 ▲5 | |
| 56-1 Special | Any elk | 0% (small sample) | 20 ▲5 | |
| 56-1 Landowner | Any elk | 100% (small sample) | — | |
| 56-6 Reduced price | Cow or calf | 67% | — | |
| 56-6 Landowner reduced price | Cow or calf | 100% | — | |
| 56-7 Reduced price | Cow or calf | 100% | — | |
| 56-7 Landowner reduced price | Cow or calf | 100% | — | |
| 56-9 Regular | Any elk, archery only | 0% (small sample) | 2 ▲3 | |
| 56-9 Special | Any elk, archery only | 0% (small sample) | 1 ▼3 | |
| 56-9 Landowner | Any elk, archery only | 100% (small sample) | — |
First-choice nonresident odds at your points, 2026 draw. Cut = points the last tag went at; ▲ = points added since the earliest draw on file. Not in the table, with no 2026 result: 56-5.
Draw results: WGFD 2026 Demand Report; WGFD 2026 Demand Report; WGFD 2026 Demand Report and 2 more, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Regular $728.50 ($707 to apply) · Special $1,986.50 ($1,965 to apply) · Reduced price $324.50 ($303 to apply) · Landowner $36.50 ($15 to apply) · Landowner reduced price $36.50 ($15 to apply). Open Jan 2 – Feb 1, 2027 (expected). Full fee breakdown.
Harvest
| Year | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 661 | 212 | 32% |
| 2024 | 641 | 174 | 27% |
| 2023 | 466 | 175 | 38% |
| 2022 | 419 | 147 | 35% |
| 2021 | 461 | 125 | 27% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | 19 | 11 | 58% |
| Type 6 | 170 | 35 | 21% |
| Type 7 | 167 | 59 | 35% |
| Type 9 | 25 | 8 | 32% |
| Type GEN | 334 | 99 | 30% |
2025 split: archery 17 (8%), firearm 195 (92%) · residents 164 from 511 hunters, nonresidents 48 from 150 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 | 236,394 ac | 78% |
| Private | 35,054 ac | 12% |
| BLM | 21,648 ac | 7% |
| Other public | 20,495 ac | 7% |
| State land | 6,264 ac | 2% |
| County or city land | 2 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 0 ac | <1% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office 2026 BLM WY Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 14
- 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 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