Elk Area 2032 Malaga
Antlerless damage-control permits where the Colockum elk herd spills into Stemilt Basin orchards south of Wenatchee.
WDFW Region 2 (North Central) — District 7, Wenatchee/Malaga foothills (Chelan & Kittitas counties) · Last reviewed 2026-07-17
Area
120
sq mi
Public land
—
approx.
Elevation
610–5,200
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
Elk Area 2032 "Malaga" is a roughly 120-square-mile WDFW special-permit overlay — not a GMU — draped over the lowlands and foothills south of Wenatchee, from the Columbia River at Malaga up through Stemilt Hill, Wenatchee Heights, and the Squilchuck and Stemilt basins to the northern fringe of the Colockum. It sits inside GMU 251 (Mission), the top elk unit in District 7, where the Colockum herd (about 4,000 elk) reaches its northern range extension. The area exists for damage management: WDFW offers its largest number of antlerless permits here with the stated intention of reducing elk numbers within and along the boundary of the Stemilt Basin agricultural area, where elk raid orchards and crops. It is heavily dominated by private land, and WDFW explicitly advises securing landowner permission before applying; public footholds include the Colockum Wildlife Area on the south edge and the Chelan County/WDFW Stemilt-Squilchuck Community Forest ground in the upper basin. Expect an access-driven antlerless hunt near agriculture, not a backcountry bull hunt.
Terrain
Big vertical in short distance: Columbia River shoreline and orchard benches at Malaga climb through shrub-steppe breaks, basalt canyons (Stemilt, Squilchuck, Tarpiscan, Number Two Canyon), and cliff bands onto timbered basin rims and ridges — Jumpoff Ridge country — above 4,500 feet toward the Wenatchee Mountains and Mission Ridge. Elk work the timber-orchard-steppe edges, dropping lower as snow builds.
Cover: Irrigated orchards (apples, cherries, pears) on the benches; bunchgrass and bitterbrush/sagebrush shrub-steppe on the breaks; ponderosa pine transitioning to Douglas-fir and mixed conifer in the upper Stemilt and Squilchuck basins.
Landmarks: Columbia River / Malaga-Alcoa Highway · Stemilt Hill and Stemilt Basin · Squilchuck Creek / Squilchuck Road (toward Mission Ridge) · Wenatchee Heights · Jumpoff Ridge · Tarpiscan Creek / Colockum Wildlife Area (south edge) · Number Two Canyon (Wenatchee side) · Davies Canyon (southeast corner on the Columbia)
Access
This elk area is heavily dominated by private land, and access to private lands is critical to the success of these permit hunts — WDFW's district prospects tell hunters to acquire landowner permission within the area BEFORE applying. Chelan County has no formal WDFW private-lands access agreements; permission is arranged hunter-to-landowner. Public options: the Colockum Wildlife Area (88,296 acres, Green Dot road system, Discover Pass required) touches the south end via Tarpiscan and Colockum roads off the Malaga-Alcoa Highway, and the Stemilt-Squilchuck Community Forest (acquired 2012-2013 through the Stemilt Partnership, with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation involvement) opens the upper basin. Permit holders can call the WDFW Wenatchee District Office at (509) 662-0452 before their hunt.
Managers: Private orchard, range, and timber land (dominant), WDFW (Colockum Wildlife Area, south edge; Stemilt basin parcels), Chelan County (Stemilt-Squilchuck Community Forest), Washington DNR (scattered upper-basin sections)
Access points: Malaga-Alcoa Highway along the Columbia River · Squilchuck Road from Wenatchee toward Mission Ridge · Stemilt Hill Road / Stemilt Loop into the basin · Colockum Road and Tarpiscan Road into the Colockum Wildlife Area (south edge)
Species notes
Rocky Mountain Elk
common opportunityColockum-herd elk reliably use Jumpoff Ridge and the upper reaches of Stemilt and Squilchuck creeks, sliding down onto orchard ground as snow builds — which is exactly why this area carries District 7's biggest antlerless permit allotment. This is a numbers-reduction cow hunt on the agricultural fringe; branch-antlered opportunity in the surrounding GMU 251 is separate and limited-entry.
- →Line up private-land permission on Stemilt Hill and in the Stemilt Basin before you even apply — the elk damage happens on private ground and that's where the tags get filled.
- →Watch the snowline: early hunts find elk high in the timbered upper Stemilt/Squilchuck basins; late-winter dates catch them staged on the orchard/shrub-steppe edge.
- →Glass the timber-steppe edges at first light from county roads (Stemilt Hill, Squilchuck, Wenatchee Heights) and move in on foot.
- →If you can't get private access, work the Colockum Wildlife Area ground at the south end near Tarpiscan Creek, where herd elk cross between winter range and the ag fringe.
- →Carry onX or the WDFW hunt-area map — the boundary follows roads, section lines, and a power line, and elk stack up right along it.
Mule Deer
common opportunityThe same ground hunts mule deer under GMU 251 seasons — Mission posted the second-most antlered mule deer harvested in Chelan County in 2024, and migrating deer pour down the breaks toward the Columbia in late fall. The Malaga/Stemilt fringe is classic winter-range edge.
- →Hunt late — most deer here are migrants that arrive from higher country as fall storms push them toward the Columbia breaks.
- →Glass the shrub-steppe canyons (Tarpiscan, Stemilt, Number Two Canyon) at dawn; bucks bed just under the rims.
- →Respect the private patchwork — the deer concentrate on orchard edges where you need the same permission the elk hunters do.
Pro tips
- →WDFW says it plainly: get written landowner permission inside the area before applying. A tag without access is a wasted choice here.
- →Call the Wenatchee District Office at (509) 662-0452 once you draw — district staff can point permit holders toward current elk concentrations and damage complaints.
- →The late-winter windows are the money dates: snow concentrates elk low, near roads, on the ag fringe.
- →Scout from the Malaga-Alcoa Highway and Stemilt Hill Road in December — you can often locate the herds from the county road system before ever knocking on a door.
- →Use the Colockum Wildlife Area as your public-ground fallback, but expect elk there to be a travel population, not a resident pocket.
Watch out for
- !Heavily private area — trespass on orchard ground kills future access for everyone; this is a damage hunt built on landowner goodwill.
- !The boundary follows roads, cliffs, section lines, and a BPA power line — easy to blunder across without GPS mapping.
- !Colockum Road is frequently snowed shut December-March, right when the best hunt windows run.
- !No formal WDFW access program in Chelan County — nobody will arrange access for you.
- !Don't expect bulls: this area exists to remove antlerless elk from agriculture; quality bull hunting in GMU 251 is a separate, tightly limited draw.
Logistics
Wenatchee, minutes away, has every service — motels, fuel, groceries, sporting goods — making this one of the easiest special-permit hunts in the state to base for. Squilchuck State Park sits on the Squilchuck Road corridor, and dispersed camping is possible on the Colockum Wildlife Area (Discover Pass required, Green Dot road rules). Cell coverage is good near the Columbia and around Wenatchee, spottier in the upper Stemilt Basin and Colockum canyons. Note that Colockum Road may be impassable to wheeled vehicles December through March, and Tarpiscan Road is impassable south of the wildlife area headquarters due to washouts.
Nearest towns: Malaga, Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Cashmere
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Washington sources:
Research sources: WDFW 2025 District 7 Hunting Prospects — Elk Areas 2032/2033, Colockum herd, GMU 251, access guidance · WAC 220-415-040 — Elk area descriptions (Elk Area 2032 Malaga legal boundary, Kittitas and Chelan counties) · WDFW Colockum Wildlife Area — acreage, access roads, Green Dot rules, winter road conditions · Chelan County Natural Resources — Stemilt Partnership (community forest acquisition history) · WDFW 2025 District 8 Hunting Prospects — Colockum herd size (~4,000) and bull quality · WDFW Deer and Elk Special Hunt Areas (elk area maps index)
FAQ
- How big is Elk Area 2032 in Washington?
- Elk Area 2032 (Malaga) covers about 120 square miles, ranging from roughly 610 to 5,200 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- What species does the catalog list for Elk Area 2032?
- Rocky Mountain Elk, Mule Deer. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Elk Area 2032 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.