Picking the best elk hunting spots (Guide to eScouting)

How do I pick the best elk hunting spot?  That’s probably the most daunting question in this entire series but it’s become a lot easier thanks to some new technology.  In this post I’ll walk you through what free tools to use, tips for using Google Earth, and then run you through my step by step process for picking the best elk hunting spots.

Also, I know I’ll get questions about why this post is all about eScouting instead of boots on the ground scouting.  The short answer is that I’ll cover scouting trips later but I don’t think they’re mandatory (or all that helpful vs just hunting more).  For example, you can’t go on scouting trips until the snow melts and elk are usually in different locations during hunting season anyway. Even if you do go, eScouting beforehand will make your trip much more effective.

Before we get started, I’m assuming you already picked a state and decided on a unit (or 2-3).  It’s really helpful to narrow down the search before you start looking for spots since there are literally millions!  Alright, enough windup, let’s talk about the right tools to use.

Which eScouting Tools to use

The good news about eScouting is that the best tools are actually free.  I’ll talk about paid tools as well, but I most people will be just fine without them.  You really only need two pieces of software: State hunt planners and Google Earth Pro. First let’s walk through how to access each and then we’ll get into how to use them.

Access the State Hunt Planners

Wait, why am I talking about these when everyone else jumps straight into Google Earth?  It’s simple: state maps are the only source you can trust to tell you which roads or access points are open during elk season.  Fish & Game departments in each state update the maps, so you know you’re getting it straight from the source.  Mapping software like Google or OnX will often list roads & trails that aren’t open or miss roads & trails that are.  That can really derail all your hard work.

Here are the links to the resources for Colorado and Idaho.  Make sure to turn on the roads and trails layers since that’s what matters most!

• Idaho Hunt Planner Map
• Colorado Hunting Atlas

Get Google Earth Pro

Google now has four different versions of mapping software (maps, earth mobile, earth online, Google Earth Pro) so it can be pretty confusing.  You really want Google Earth Pro, which is the version you have to download to your desktop. Here are a few big reasons why:

• Historical satellite imagery
  • A picture from april will just show mountains covered in snow.  With Google Earth Pro you can look at images taken in different months: that’s huge for scouting!
• View something from any angle in 3D
  • Other maps have “3D” but Google Earth Pro allows you to move the map to look at terrain from any vantage point
• Mark waypoints and transfer to GPS
  • This is big.  When you do find those great spots you can use your GPS to walk right to them when it’s time to hunt
• Many, many more (we’ll cover later)

The great news is that Google Earth Pro used to be $400 but they recently made it free for everyone.  Trust me, you’ll be glad you downloaded it. Go to Google’s versions page and scroll all the way to the bottom to get started.

Do I need OnX Maps or equivalent?

You’ll see a lot of folks pushing OnX maps since they have sponsorship deals.  Do you need it? Short answer: probably not for a public land elk hunt. Why? The primary benefit of OnX is land ownership maps. Most public land elk hunts are in areas with very little private land and those state hunt planners will tell you everything you need to know. Also, if you have a GPS you can transfer the waypoints straight from Google Earth Pro.

That said, I actually love OnX Maps and do have a subscription.  While it helps with elk scouting, I mostly use it for other things.  For example, I like having satellite imagery in the field via the app, using private land boundaries for bird hunting (and other crowded sports), as well as topo maps for all 50 states.  I’ll do a detailed review later, but for now know it’s good but not mandatory for eScouting. 

Google Earth Pro Tips

Alright, now that you know how to access each tool, let’s dive into Google Earth since you’ll be using it a lot. I’ve spent far too much time in Google Earth Pro and have plenty of tips.  I’ll put all of them in a video at a later date, but for now here’s a few important tips to get you started.

Make the mountains look taller 

One of the most hilarious side effects of digital maps is that they make serious mountains look pretty mellow.  It’s really easy to be overly ambitious when you’re picking spots and realize your mistake when you drive up.

To prevent that, I suggest you click the “Google Earth Pro” tab on the file menu, selecting preferences, and then setting the elevation exaggeration to 1.5 (instead of standard 1.0).  I actually find that makes the map look very close to real life.

Change your perspective

If you move your mouse to the upper right corner of the screen the “eye” control will magically appear. Try using the arrows to adjust the angle you’re viewing from and drag the “N” to rotate the map (or click on it once to reset it).

Look at historical imagery

Once you’ve found something of interest (water, wallow, etc) go to the bottom left of the screen and click the box with the year in it.  The timeline that appears in the upper left will allow you to look at imagery from different dates, which is critical for understanding what things look like when they’re dry in the fall.  Hint: the actual date appears on the bottom of the screen.

Save some waypoints

To save waypoints, right click on “My places” on the left and add a new folder.  Whenever you add a waypoint (the yellow pin up top) it will be saved there. Make sure to File→ Save → My Places often as you can lose them.  You can transfer these to a GPS later (I’ll cover that in another post).

Use the ruler

Click the ruler icon up top and then select the “Path” option when the window pops up.  This is a great tool to measure just how long (and high) your potential hiking routes are.

Phew!  There are actually a lot more tips but I’ll get to those in the video.  For now, that will get you started, so let’s move on to how to pick a spot.

How to pick the best elk hunting spots

Elk have a fairly simple set of needs during hunting season: they want to avoid people and find bedding areas (security), water, and food.  Here’s a detailed walkthrough of how to pick the best elk hunting spots that fulfill those needs:

1. Start at treeline

If you literally have no idea where to begin, it’s safe to start near treeline.  As a reminder, treeline is where the trees “stop”, which is usually around 9,000 feet in Idaho and 11,000 feet in Colorado.  Why do elk love it? As the snow melts it releases water that creates lush, green grass. The elk follow the snowline upward all summer and end up near where shelter stops (aka the trees).  Elk can be anywhere, but finding treeline and looking at the 2,000 feet below it is a safe bet for archery season.

2. Avoid crowded access points

You’ll get sick of me repeating this, but avoiding other hunters is the key to success.  Take a look at your state planner and turn on the roads/trails layer. The most critical question to ask is how many people do you think will stop at an access point and hunt from that location?  The less people, the more elk. 

I’ve actually hunted phenomenal spots with a mile or so of a busy freeway.  Why? Nobody stops on the shoulder of a massive freeway in the mountains and hunts elk (except yours truly).  The inverse is that some of the worst hunting pressure I’ve seen is at “wilderness” trailheads miles down dirt roads that have tons of hikers/hunters.  I’m not saying you should hunt freeways (it’s not exactly a pristine experience) but I’m trying to make the point that it’s all about avoiding people.

As a general rule, great areas are the random turnouts on isolated roads, off trail areas just short of popular access points/trails, and access points that require crossing an obstacle like a river (or have a lot of climbing right away).  As a general rule, avoid trailheads, the end of roads, or anything that has a parking lot.

3. Pick the right distance from the road

Ok, so you’ve found a few spots that look like they don’t see much access but let’s face it, you’ll never be truly alone.  You’ll be competing with 3 types of hunters: 1) Road hunters 2) backpackers and 3) outfitters and guides. I covered this in backpacking vs car camping, but I think the magical formula is to get between groups 1 and 3.  Practically, that’s 2-5 miles in, which also happens to be a good distance to pack out an elk.

Studies actually back this up, so you don’t have to trust me completely.  Now that you have a few spots, it’s time to transition from the State Hunter Planners and take a look at a few of them in Google Earth Pro.  

4. Find water

It’s hard to believe, but elk actually drink over 10 gallons of water per day!  Elk have to be close (within a mile or two) of a dependable water source since they need to drink multiple times a day to achieve that level of intake.  Dependable doesn’t necessarily mean big: I’ve seen a whole herd of elk use a 2 foot wide spring before.

You can actually see many elk wallows (areas where they roll in the mud and drink) on Google Earth.  While it takes a while to learn what they look like, those are dynamite areas that consistently produce elk year after year.  Make sure to use historical imagery in Google Earth since a nice looking pond in April might just be a dry meadow come September.

5. Find bedding areas

Traditional wisdom is that elk like North facing slopes since they’re less exposed to the sun, which makes them wetter and cooler.  While that’s a decent guideline, I’ve found elk bedding on slopes on every angle, so it’s not as critical as most people make it out to be.  Elk do like shaded and wet, so they’ll always go for a dark patch of trees near water, regardless of what direction it faces.

What elk LOVE are steep slopes.  Even if you’re in an area without any trees you’ll often see elk bedded in the steepest areas around.  Elk know they are far faster uphill than many of their adversaries and view a 2000 foot ridge like you and I view a set of stairs… no big deal.  Steep areas also provide great visibility and wind thermals, which make them feel more secure.

Bedding areas can be a mile or two from water and feed so don’t worry about proximity. Best of all are small flat “benches” that are surrounded by steep slopes on all sides.  If you find those, you’re in business.

6. Find Feed

If you thought elk drank a bunch, they also need 15-25 pounds of food per day depending on their size!  That’s a lot of grass. Look for open meadows, avalanche chutes, or basins since those are all areas that have a large concentration of the short green stuff.  Again, use historical imagery since that lush spring meadow might be a dry dustbin in the fall.

All together now

While each of those factors is great on its own, the key is to find them all together.  When you do that, you’ve found a phenomenal elk spot. This is a simple numbers game: the more spots you look at, the more likely you are to find the “perfect” spot that has everything the elk need.

Make sure to pick multiple spots

So you found a few spots in the hunter planner and then filtered them down to one magical location using Google Earth.  That’s great, but I’m a huge proponent of having at least 5 “great” spots mapped out before you head into the field. 

Things never go to plan when you’re elk hunting. For example, you might pull up to find 10 hunters where you want to go.  It might have been a dry or a wet year and elk are at a different elevation. A fire might have burned through that summer.  Wolves might be in the area. Or true to their behavior, the elk might have simply wandered into a new area for no apparent reason.

There is no such thing as the “perfect” spot that works every time.  Have multiple locations and a plan to move through each until you find elk.  That approach will make you much more likely to harvest an elk in the fall.

Summary: Picking the best elk hunting spots

Finding the best elk hunting spots does take a lot of effort but it’s far easier with the rise of eScouting.  With free tools like your state’s hunt planner and Google Earth Pro it’s simple to to cover a lot of ground from the comfort of your home.  If you start at treeline, avoid crowded access points, and find spots that are 2-5 miles away from roads you’re off to a great start. Add in bedding areas, water, and feed, and congratulations, you have a phenomenal elk spot. Just make sure to have plenty of “backup” options since elk hunting never goes to plan!

The great news is that if you’re willing to put in the effort now you will be much more successful come fall. Remember, it’s all part of the adventure! I love eScouting because I can dream about future hunts and relive past hunts year round. Give it a shot and I promise you’ll never look at elk hunting the same way again.