How big is GMU 117 in Washington?

GMU 117 (49 Degrees North) covers about 956 square miles, ranging from roughly 2,000 to 5,774 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.

What species does the catalog list for GMU 117?

Whitetail Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Black Bear, Moose, Cougar. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.

GMU 117 49 Degrees North

District 1's volume whitetail unit — the most deer harvested, the district's best elk odds and one of its best bear densities, wrapped around a national wildlife refuge and the 49 Degrees North ridgeline.

WDFW Region 1 — Northeast WA / Stevens & Pend Oreille Counties · Last reviewed 2026-07-12

Hunter with a mule deer buck in dry grass

Area

956

sq mi

Public land

41%

approx.

Elevation

2,000–5,774

feet

Motorized

moderate

access

Overview

GMU 117 "49 Degrees North" is the largest unit in District 1 at roughly 956 square miles, spanning the Calispell Mountains between the Colville Valley (US-395) on the west and the Pend Oreille River (SR 20 / Road 20) on the east, named for the ski area on Chewelah Peak. It is a farm-forest whitetail machine — the district's single highest deer harvest (~500 bucks in recent years) — and, as part of the Pend Oreille elk sub-herd, holds District 1's best (still modest) elk opportunity. A 2019 study measured one of the state's higher black bear densities here (31 bears/100 km²). Land is a mosaic: about 41% public, less than 20% of it Colville National Forest, plus the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge and the state's Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Area, threaded through heavy private timber and small ownerships. Moose are drawn by permit; the Parker Lake area is a special-permit deer zone overlapping an active Air Force SERE training closure.

Terrain

A big unit split down the middle by a north-south mountain divide (the Calispell / Chewelah range) into east and west drainages. Rolling timbered ridges and old harvest units give way to broad valley farm-forest along the Colville River (west) and toward the Pend Oreille River (east). Chewelah Peak (49 Degrees North ski area) and Calispell Peak are the high anchors; elevations run from about 2,000 ft in the valleys to the mid-5,000s on the crest.

Cover: Classic District 1 farm-forest mosaic on the flanks — hay meadows, pasture, and cattle range grading into mixed conifer, cedar-hemlock bottoms, and abundant young regenerating clearcuts. The core is heavier timber over the divide, with many recent and older harvest units that open sightlines for glassing.

Landmarks: 49 Degrees North Ski Area / Chewelah Peak · Calispell Peak · Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge · Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Area (WDFW) · Colville River Valley / US-395 (west boundary) · Pend Oreille River / SR 20 (east boundary) · Parker Lake special-permit / SERE closure area

Access

About 41% public but fragmented — Colville National Forest makes up less than 20% of the unit, supplemented by the Little Pend Oreille NWR (which does allow hunting) and the WDFW Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Area, all broken up by a high percentage of small-to-medium private tracts and industrial timber. The many recent and older timber-harvest units make it easy to glass hillsides from a road or ridge. WDFW notes large timber-company lands are generally open to hunting but not always to private vehicles, and Inland Empire Paper and other timber companies may close roads to motor traffic depending on weather. Carry a GPS/onX ownership layer. The Parker Lake area (~21,000 acres, Deer Area 1031) is special-permit deer only and overlaps a U.S. Air Force SERE training closure active roughly September–May, 24/7 Saturday–Thursday; permit holders receive an area-of-operations map to plan avoidance.

Managers: US Forest Service (Colville National Forest, <20% of unit), US Fish & Wildlife Service (Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge), Washington WDFW (Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Area), Washington DNR (state forest sections), Private industrial timber companies (e.g., Inland Empire Paper Co.), Private landowners (Colville & Pend Oreille valleys)

Access points: US-395 corridor through Chewelah and the Colville Valley (west) · SR 20 / Road 20 along the Pend Oreille River (east) · Flowery Trail Road over Chewelah Peak / 49 Degrees North · Little Pend Oreille NWR and Wildlife Area road network (central-west) · Timber-company gravel spurs (walk/bike behind weather closures)

Species notes

Whitetail Deer

abundant quality

The headline species: 49 Degrees North posts the highest total deer harvest in District 1 (roughly 500 bucks in recent years), driven by high whitetail densities in the farm-forest mosaic WDFW singles out (GMUs 105, 108, 117, 121). Modern-firearm success runs around 17–18%. It draws the most deer hunters in the district too, so pressure is real — but so is the opportunity. Buck-only for all user groups.

→Work the farm-forest edge: deer feed in hay fields, pasture, and fresh clearcuts at dawn/dusk, then retreat — hunt the cover a short distance back where they hold in daylight.
→Still-hunt brushy benches and creek bottoms, glassing for parts of a deer through the cover.
→Glass the many old and recent harvest units from ridgelines and roads — the unit's terrain is built for it.
→Time the mid-November rut with rattling and grunting for mature bucks.
→Escape the crowds by hunting the public core (NWR, Wildlife Area, national forest over the divide) midweek and away from roads.

Rocky Mountain Elk

limited opportunity

As part of the Pend Oreille sub-herd, 117 offers District 1's best elk opportunity and its highest raw elk harvest — but elk are still scattered in small groups through dense timber and success is low. Numbers are trending upward. A scout-hard, cover-ground hunt rather than a herd hunt.

→Scout well before the opener; elk relocate quickly under pressure.
→Glass clearcuts at dawn/dusk, but push into thicker timber and swamps for bulls that shun the openings.
→Get in on foot or bike behind gated timber roads to reach unpressured elk.
→Hunt fresh snow to cut and follow a group late in the season.

Black Bear

common quality

One of District 1's best bear units — a 2019 WDFW study measured a black bear density of 31 bears/100 km² here, on the high end for Washington, and WDFW flags 117 (with 101) as a top bear GMU thanks to abundant huntable public land. Two-bear limit with an August opener; most are taken opportunistically during deer/elk seasons.

→Glass clearcuts, avalanche chutes, and berry benches in late summer/early fall when bears feed heavily.
→Hunt the same harvest-unit hillsides you'd glass for deer and elk.
→Consider a dedicated early bear hunt on the public core to capitalize on the high density.

Moose

common quality

Selkirk-herd Shiras moose are established across the unit and hunted by special permit (draw) only; the divide crest and east-side drainages hold the most activity. A quality, hard-to-draw tag with lots of glassable ground.

→South portion: hunt Boyer, Nelson, and Chewelah mountains plus the Calispell, Tenmile, and Gletty creek drainages.
→North portion: try the Winchester, Small, Ruby, and Flodell creek drainages and the Tacoma, Dirty Shirt, Little Calispell, Calispell, Goddards, and Olson mountain areas.
→Use the abundant harvest units to glass hillsides from a ridgeline or road; moose are solitary, so hunt sign.

Cougar

common opportunity

Cougars occur throughout the unit, following the district's densest deer. Most are incidental takes; success improves with tracking snow.

→Cut fresh tracks after snow on forest and timber roads in the whitetail winter range.
→Hunt where deer concentrate along the valley-forest edge.
→Confirm the unit's cougar harvest-guideline closure status before hunting.

Pro tips

→This is the district's volume whitetail unit — expect company. Beat the pressure by working the public core (NWR, Wildlife Area, national forest) midweek and off the roads.
→The unit is split by a divide into east and west drainages; the abundant old clearcuts make ridge/road glassing your most efficient tool for deer, elk, and moose.
→It's a genuinely good bear unit — a dedicated early hunt on the public land can pay off given the high measured density.
→Check timber-company road status before you go; Inland Empire Paper and others gate roads by weather even where hunting is allowed.
→Do not plan on the Parker Lake area without the special deer permit — and know it overlaps an active Air Force SERE training closure most of the season.

Watch out for

!High hunter density — the most deer hunters of any District 1 GMU; scout escape cover and public access early.
!Fragmented ownership: only ~41% public and heavily intermingled with private timber and small tracts — verify parcels and get written permission off the public land.
!Timber-company roads (Inland Empire Paper et al.) may close to vehicles depending on weather; be ready to walk or bike.
!Parker Lake / Deer Area 1031 is special-permit only and overlaps a U.S. Air Force SERE training closure active ~Sept–May, 24/7 Sat–Thu.
!Little Pend Oreille NWR allows hunting but under refuge-specific rules — check before you go.
!Drought-year EHD/bluetongue can locally reduce valley whitetail numbers.

Logistics

Straddled by two paved corridors — US-395 through Chewelah on the west and SR 20 along the Pend Oreille River on the east — with Flowery Trail Road crossing the divide past 49 Degrees North. Full services (fuel, groceries, lodging, licenses) in Chewelah and Colville; smaller stops in Cusick, Usk, and Newport. Forest Service ranger stations at Colville and Newport and the Colville DNR office have road and closure info; the Little Pend Oreille NWR office covers refuge hunting rules. Camping on the Colville NF and around the Wildlife Area.

Nearest towns: Chewelah, Colville, Cusick, Usk, Newport

Nearby units

Deer Area 1031 · Parker Lake GMU 124 · Mount Spokane GMU 113 · Selkirk GMU 111 · Aladdin

Seasons & regulations

This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Washington sources:

Research sources: WDFW 2024 District 1 Hunting Prospects (Region 1) · WDFW Game Management Units · GoHunt — Washington Unit 117 49 Degrees North

FAQ

How big is GMU 117 in Washington?: GMU 117 (49 Degrees North) covers about 956 square miles, ranging from roughly 2,000 to 5,774 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
How much public land is in GMU 117?: Approximately 41% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: US Forest Service (Colville National Forest, <20% of unit), US Fish & Wildlife Service (Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge), Washington WDFW (Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Area), Washington DNR (state forest sections), Private industrial timber companies (e.g., Inland Empire Paper Co.), Private landowners (Colville & Pend Oreille valleys). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
What species does the catalog list for GMU 117?: Whitetail Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Black Bear, Moose, Cougar. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.

Put GMU 117 on your map.

Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.

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