Elk Area 6612 Forks
Eight square miles of pasture elk wrapped around Forks — the ultimate town-fringe cow tag, and nearly all of it needs a landowner's blessing.
Region 6 — West Olympic Peninsula (District 16), Forks town fringe · Last reviewed 2026-07-17
Area
8
sq mi
Public land
—
approx.
Elevation
60–1,000
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
Elk Area 6612 'Forks' is a tiny (7.9-square-mile) special-permit area drawn around the city of Forks on the west end of the Olympic Peninsula, taking in the river-bottom pastures and prairie between the Calawah and Bogachiel rivers plus the foothill fringe northeast of town along Sportsman Club Road and the DNR road system out to Elk Creek — with the Forks city limits and Bogachiel State Park expressly excluded. WDFW created the antlerless hunt here to address the growing elk population in and around Forks: bands of Roosevelt elk that live on hayfields, airport prairie, and backyards in one of the wettest towns in America. The agency's own hunt page is unusually candid — public lands inside the area are extremely limited, most places elk are commonly seen are not open to hunting, and hunters should scout first and 'consider not putting in for the hunt' if they can't arrange private access beforehand. Treat this as exactly what it is: a short-range damage tag for a freezer cow within sight of town, demanding the highest hunting ethics, not a wilderness Roosevelt hunt (the deep timber of GMUs 607 and 612 surrounds it for that).
Terrain
Flat to gently rolling river-bottom country: the Quillayute-system floodplain where the Calawah and Bogachiel converge west of town, pasture and prairie openings ringing the Forks townsite, and low second-growth foothills rising northeast of US 101 toward Elk Creek. Nothing here is remote — the terrain challenge is legal ground and safe shooting lanes, not topography.
Cover: Hayfields, pasture, and mowed prairie openings; dense Sitka spruce, hemlock, and cedar second-growth with salmonberry-devil's club understory on the fringes; big-leaf maple and alder gallery forest along the Calawah and Bogachiel where elk shade up between feedings.
Landmarks: Calawah River (northern boundary) · Bogachiel River (southern boundary) · Calawah–Bogachiel confluence (west corner) · US 101 / Forks Avenue · Sportsman Club Road (northeast) · DNR FR F-1000 / F-1200 road system · Elk Creek · Forks townsite and Quillayute Prairie country (city limits excluded) · Bogachiel State Park (excluded)
Access
WDFW says it plainly: the hunt area is mostly private, access is extremely limited, and most of the fields where elk are commonly seen are not open to hunting. Staff will not provide landowner names — you arrange access yourself, in person, before applying. The northeast fringe touches DNR-managed ground along the F-1000/F-1200 roads and Elk Creek, but that timber edge is a travel route, not where the elk spend their days. Some surrounding timberlands (Rayonier) require a paid access permit, and that permit does not authorize hunting within the City of Forks — the city limits and Bogachiel State Park are outside the legal hunt area entirely. This is also a firearm-restricted hunt given the town setting, so read the current permit conditions closely. Use the Clallam County parcel map to sort ownership before you knock.
Managers: Private pasture, farm, and residential owners around Forks, Washington DNR (foothill parcels on the F-road fringe), Rayonier and other industrial timber owners (permit-access lands on the surrounding fringe)
Access points: US 101 through Forks (the area wraps the highway corridor north and south of town) · Sportsman Club Road off US 101 northeast of town · DNR FR F-1000 / F-1200 into the Calawah foothills · Bogachiel Way / La Push Road toward the lower rivers (field access by landowner permission only)
Species notes
Roosevelt Elk
common opportunityThe Forks town herds are the whole point: Roosevelt elk numbers in and around town have grown to the level of chronic pasture damage and public-safety concern, and WDFW added antlerless opportunity (including a GMU 612 permit started in 2018) specifically for these complaints. Elk are genuinely easy to find here — the entire difficulty is being allowed to hunt the field they're standing in and taking a safe, ethical shot near homes.
- →Scout the pastures along US 101, Bogachiel Way, and the river bottoms at dawn and dusk before applying; identify which specific properties the bands use, then secure written permission on those parcels.
- →Work the timber edges where elk cross between the Calawah and Bogachiel bottoms and the fields — the gallery-forest corridors funnel movement at first and last light.
- →If you draw, coordinate with the landowner on exact stand sites and safe shooting lanes in advance; short-range, backstopped setups near a field edge beat any spot-and-stalk plan here.
- →Use the DNR F-road fringe northeast of town to intercept elk moving off private ground toward Elk Creek when field access falls through.
- →Expect town-wise elk: they tolerate vehicles and people but bolt at hunting behavior — stay in cover, keep wind discipline, and treat them like the pressured animals they are.
Pro tips
- →Take WDFW's advice literally: scout first, arrange access first, and if you can't lock down a field the elk actually use, don't apply — the agency itself suggests as much.
- →Study the boundary on the Elk_6612 hunt map before you hunt: the city limits and Bogachiel State Park are excluded, and the line runs on rivers, US 101, Sportsman Club Road, and DNR spurs.
- →Pull the Clallam County parcel viewer and build a door-knocking list — pasture ownership around Forks is a patchwork of small holdings.
- →A Rayonier access permit opens surrounding timberlands but not the town fields (and not the city) — know exactly what your permit covers.
- →These elk are a community flashpoint; a discreet, clean, quickly recovered kill protects the hunt's future. WDFW explicitly asks permit holders to use the highest of hunting ethics.
- →Bring recovery gear for flat, soaked ground — a cart and a tarp beat dragging a cow across someone's hayfield in the rain.
Watch out for
- !Most of the area is closed to you in practice: private fields without permission, the excluded Forks city limits, and Bogachiel State Park account for much of where the elk actually stand.
- !This is a firearm-restricted, town-fringe hunt — houses, US 101 traffic, school routes, and livestock surround every field; verify current weapon conditions and never take a shot without a hard backstop.
- !WDFW staff will not supply landowner contacts, and locals are protective of both their elk and their privacy — earn access, don't demand it.
- !The DNR F-road fringe is a small slice of the area; don't build a public-land plan around ground that mostly funnels rather than holds elk.
- !Rivers rise fast here — the Calawah and Bogachiel bottoms flood in fall and winter storms and can cut off low pastures and recovery routes.
- !Treponeme-associated hoof disease occurs in Olympic Peninsula elk, including District 16 — report limping elk or deformed hooves to WDFW and follow current carcass guidance.
Logistics
You are hunting the edge of a full-service town: Forks has motels (plenty, thanks to the tourist trade), fuel, groceries, hardware, and food, all within minutes of the hunt area. Bogachiel State Park south of town offers camping (the park itself is excluded from the area and closed to hunting). Cell coverage is good near town and fades quickly up the DNR roads. Port Angeles is about an hour east on US 101 for anything Forks lacks. Winter hunt windows mean rain — this is one of the wettest corners of the Lower 48, so plan for saturated fields and muddy recoveries.
Nearest towns: Forks, La Push, Port Angeles
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Washington sources:
Research sources: WDFW Antlerless elk hunt: Forks — purpose, access warnings, firearm restriction, Rayonier permit note · WAC 220-415-040 — Elk Area No. 6612 Forks (Clallam County) legal boundary description · WDFW 2025 District 16 Hunting Prospects — GMU 612 antlerless permit for Forks-area damage (2018), west-end elk status, TAHD · WDFW Deer and elk special hunt areas (Elk Area 6612 Forks listing)
FAQ
- How big is Elk Area 6612 in Washington?
- Elk Area 6612 (Forks) covers about 8 square miles, ranging from roughly 60 to 1,000 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- What species does the catalog list for Elk Area 6612?
- Roosevelt Elk. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Elk Area 6612 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.