Wyoming Elk — Hunt Area 97

Pinedale

Wyoming Hunt Area 97 covers 303,093 acres and lies 8 miles east of Pinedale and 30 miles north-east of Marbleton. 86% of it is public land, mostly national forest (53%) and BLM (26%). In 2025, 497 people hunted elk here and took 140 — 28% of them killed something. The 2026 draw put up 32 nonresident tags here for 51 first-choice applicants.

Nonresident tags (2026):124 Applicants:125 Hunter success (2025):28% Public land:86% Size:303,093 acres

Your chance of drawing here

Every elk license type on offer in Hunt Area 97, 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

97-1 Any elk 18 tags · 55 applicants · needed 5 pts · Regular

16% Long shot 0% as 2nd choice
97-1 Any elk 12 tags · 19 applicants · needed 2 pts · Special

57% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
97-1 Any elk 30 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner

100% No first-choice applicants
97-6 Cow or calf 32 tags · 51 applicants · Reduced price

63% Real chance 0% as 2nd choice
97-6 Cow or calf 32 tags · 0 applicants · Landowner reduced price

100% No first-choice applicants

Hunt	Your odds (0 pts)	As 2nd choice	Points needed	Tags / applicants	License	Season
97-1 ↗ Any elk	16% Long shot	0%	5 +3 since 2021	18 / 55	Regular	Sep 20 – Oct 31, 2026
97-1 ↗ Any elk	57% Real chance	0%	2 +3 since 2021	12 / 19	Special	Sep 20 – Oct 31, 2026
97-1 ↗ Any elk	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	30 / 0	Landowner	Sep 20 – Oct 31, 2026
97-6 ↗ Cow or calf	63% Real chance	0%	—	32 / 51	Reduced price	Sep 20 – Nov 30, 2026
97-6 ↗ Cow or calf	100% No first-choice applicants	—	—	32 / 0	Landowner reduced price	Sep 20 – Nov 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
Reduced price license	$303	$15	$324.50
Landowner license	$15	$15	$36.50
Landowner reduced price license	$15	$15	$36.50

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

The country

Hunt Area 97 within Wyoming

Hunt Area 97 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 160,232 ac · 53%
BLM 79,478 ac · 26%
Private 43,388 ac · 14%
State land 9,783 ac · 3%
Other public 8,915 ac · 3%
County or city land 1,287 ac · 0%
Tribal 8 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.