Wyoming Elk · Hunt Area 85 Fall Creek
Wyoming Hunt Area 85 covers 179,272 acres and lies 12 miles south-west of Jackson and 25 miles north of Star Valley Ranch. 93% of it is public land, mostly national forest (91%) and other public land (1%). In 2025, 733 people hunted elk here and took 258, a 35% success rate. Its most applied-for hunt, 85-6, put up 16 nonresident tags in the 2026 draw for 59 first-choice applicants.
2 licenses
first choice, NR
2025, all licenses
92% Forest Service
179,272 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 85
| What | Season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85-6 Reduced price | Cow or calf | 27% | — | |
| 85-6 Landowner reduced price | Cow or calf | 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, retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
If you draw (2026 nonresident fees): Reduced price $324.50 ($303 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 | 733 | 258 | 35% |
| 2024 | 860 | 221 | 26% |
| 2023 | 758 | 282 | 37% |
| 2022 | 672 | 202 | 30% |
| 2021 | 753 | 195 | 26% |
| 2025 by License | Hunters | Elk | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 6 | 84 | 32 | 38% |
| Type 7 | 9 | 4 | 44% |
| Type GEN | 692 | 222 | 32% |
2025 split: archery 28 (11%), firearm 230 (89%) · residents 225 from 620 hunters, nonresidents 33 from 113 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 | 163,586 ac | 91% |
| Private | 12,404 ac | 7% |
| Other public | 1,114 ac | <1% |
| State land | 845 ac | <1% |
| BLM | 292 ac | <1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 79 ac | <1% |
| County or city land | 8 ac | <1% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office 2026 BLM WY Surface Management Agency.
▸ Sources 10
- 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 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