Idaho › Hunting seasons › Units › Unit 53
Jerome County · Big Desert Zone
Unit 53 hunting: seasons, hunts and harvest
Unit 53 sits in the IDFG Magic Valley Region and the Southern Idaho wolf zone; its 3 controlled hunts carry 50 tags in 2026.
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Unit 53 by county
Jerome County carries 34% of the 1,176,418 acres in Unit 53, which IDFG assigns to its Magic Valley Region. Unit lines follow ridges, rivers and roads, so Unit 53 reaches 8 counties; the table gives each share of the unit and of the county.
| County | Of the unit | Of the county | Named by IDFG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome County | 34% | 100% | Yes |
| Minidoka County | 18% | 42% | Yes |
| Lincoln County | 15% | 23% | Yes |
| Gooding County | 15% | 36% | Yes |
| Twin Falls County | 8% | 8% | Yes |
| Cassia County | 8% | 6% | Yes |
| Elmore County | 0.6% | 0.4% | GIS only |
| Blaine County | 0.4% | 0.3% | Yes |
IDFG's boundary wording skips Elmore; the GIS piece there is small.
Questions about access, closures or animal numbers in Unit 53 go to the Magic Valley Region Office in Jerome, (208) 324-4359.
Region, elk zone and boundary counties from the IDFG Hunt Planner unit page; acreage from the Hunt Planner hunt page; shares from the IDFG Game Units layer over Census county lines (GIS measures); office from the IDFG offices page; data read November 11, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
Unit 53 zones at a glance
- General elk tags are sold per zone, and Unit 53 belongs to the Big Desert Zone with Units 52A, 68 and 68A.
- The Southern Idaho wolf zone takes in Unit 53; IDFG uses those zones for analysis and writes the seasons unit by unit.
- CWD: Unit 53 is neither a management zone nor a mandatory testing unit in 2026.
Open the zone: Big Desert Zone · Wolf zones · CWD Management Zone
Elk zone from the Hunt Planner unit page and elk zone list; wolf zone from the IDFG Wolf Zones layer; CWD: CWD rules, Big Game 2026 p. 9; 2026 CWD changes; checked November 12, 2026.
Controlled hunt numbers in Unit 53
3 controlled hunt numbers include Unit 53 for 2026 (2 pronghorn and 1 deer), carrying 50 tags between them. 2 of the hunts spread beyond Unit 53, so a tag there is not tied to this unit alone.
Idaho controlled hunts are drawn at random: deer, elk, pronghorn and fall bear apply May 1 to June 5, moose, sheep and goat April 1 to 30.
White-tailed deer moving through autumn woods
Deer, archery (1)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1079 | 53-1 | Archery | Aug 30 to Dec 19, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | Unlimited | Only here | p. 25 | Either Sex, Motorized Hunting Rule Applies, See idfg.idaho.gov/hunt/access/motorized-vehicles |
Pronghorn, archery (1)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4037 | 52A-1 | Archery | Aug 15 to Sep 15, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | Unlimited | 52A, 53 | p. 66 | Either sex, Motorized Hunting Rule Applies, See Pages 104 – 106 |
Pronghorn, either sex (1)
| Hunt | Area | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Tags 2026 | Units | Brochure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4017 | 52A-1 | Any Weapon | Sep 25 to Oct 24, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | 50 | 52A, 53 | p. 65 | Motorized Hunting Rule Applies in Unit 53, See Pages 104 – 106 |
Hunt numbers, dates, bags and 2026 tags from the Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules and the Moose, Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat 2025 and 2026 brochure (page links per row); units and notes from each Hunt Planner hunt page; draw periods from the brochure draw rules; checked November 12, 2026.
General tags that work in Unit 53
General tags open 8 dated lines in Unit 53, grouped below by species and by tag or season type. Look to controlled hunts for any-weapon deer in Unit 53.
Deer (1)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular tag | Short-Range Weapons | Aug 30 to Nov 6, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | Part of unit | That portion of Unit 53 beginning at the U.S. Highway 93 and U.S. Highway 30 junction (east of Filer), then west and north on U.S. 30 to the Snake River (Gridley Bridge), then down the Snake River to where it intersects with Interstate 84 at the King Hill Bridge (milepost 128.1), then east and South on Interstate 84 to Bliss (exit 141), then east on U.S. Highway 26 to Shoshone, then south and west on U.S. Highway 93 to the point of beginning. The rest of Unit 53 is controlled hunt only. |
Elk (1)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A tag | Short-Range Weapons | Aug 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | This unit | Unit 53 ONLY |
Black bear (2)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | Any weapon | Aug 30 to Oct 31, 2026 | One black bear per tag; females with young protected | 45, 52, 52A, 53 | Dogs prohibited: Oct 1 – Oct 31 | |
| Spring 2027 | Any weapon | Apr 15 to Jun 15, 2027 | One black bear per tag; females with young protected | 45, 52, 52A, 53 | Dogs prohibited: Oct 1 – Oct 31 |
Mountain lion (1)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lion tag | Any weapon | Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027 | One mountain lion per tag; females with spotted kittens protected | 17 units | Dogs prohibited: July 1 – Aug 29; Oct 1 – Nov 30; Apr 1 – June 30 |
Gray wolf (3)
| Tag or type | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Area | Notes | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting, private land | Hunting | Jul 1, 2026 to Jun 30, 2027 | Per wolf tag (see brochure for tag limits) | Statewide | — | |
| Trapping, public land | Trapping | Sep 10 to Nov 14, 2026 | Per wolf tag (see brochure for tag limits) | 32 units | — | |
| Trapping, public land | Trapping | Nov 15, 2026 to Mar 31, 2027 | Per wolf tag (see brochure for tag limits) | 32 units | — |
Unit 53 gets 1 A tag elk line and 0 B tag lines from the Big Desert Zone tags.
Big Desert Zone tag rows (5)
| Tag | Weapon | Dates | Bag | Zone tags | In Unit 53 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A tag | Archery | Aug 1 to Aug 30, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | — | No |
| A tag | Archery | Aug 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | — | No |
| A tag | Short-Range Weapons | Aug 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | — | Yes |
| A tag | Archery | Aug 30 to Sep 30, 2026 | Antlerless or Antlered | — | No |
| B tag | Any Weapon | Nov 1 to Dec 31, 2026 | Antlerless | 350 | No |
Season rows from the Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules (deer, elk, black bear, mountain lion, wolf) and the Upland Game, Turkey and Furbearer 2026 and 2027 brochure (turkey), with unit lists from the Hunt Planner; over-the-counter sales from the brochure; checked November 12, 2026.
Unit 53 results by year
27% of the 431 general deer hunters in Unit 53 filled a tag in 2025 (115 deer).
298 general elk hunters brought home 34 elk here last season.
General rows count general tag holders only; drawn hunts sit in their own table.
Weapon split, 2025
| Kind and method | Taken | Hunters | Success | Days | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer, Any Weapon | 104 | 389 | 27% | 1,753 | 61 | 43 |
| Deer, Archery | 0 | 17 | 0% | 49 | — | — |
| Deer, Muzzleloader | 10 | 25 | 40% | 172 | 10 | — |
| Deer, All Weapons Combined | 115 | 431 | 27% | 1,974 | 72 | 43 |
| Elk, Any Weapon | 31 | 251 | 12% | 1,523 | 27 | 4 |
| Elk, Archery | 1 | 29 | 3% | 178 | 1 | — |
| Elk, Muzzleloader | 1 | 18 | 6% | 94 | 1 | — |
| Elk, All Weapons Combined | 34 | 298 | 11% | 1,795 | 29 | 4 |
2021-2025 results
| Year | Deer (all weapons) | Elk (all weapons) | Black bear | Mountain lion | Gray wolf | Spring turkey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 148 | 49 | — | 1 | — | — |
| 2022 | 121 | 58 | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | 152 | 28 | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 | 127 | 34 | — | — | — | — |
| 2025 | 115 | 34 | — | — | — | — |
Hunt numbers, 2021-2025 (3)
| Hunt | Species | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Hunters 2025 | Success 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1079 | Deer | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 71 | 304 | 23% |
| 4037 | Pronghorn | 23 | 37 | 19 | 30 | 27 | 130 | 21% |
| 4017 | Pronghorn | 22 | 22 | 30 | 44 | 35 | 47 | 74% |
White-tailed deer fawn in tall grass
IDFG Hunt Planner harvest statistics 2021-2025 (2025 pages linked): general deer, general elk, black bear, mountain lion, gray wolf, turkey, controlled deer, controlled pronghorn; data read November 11, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
Land records in Unit 53
Our land data places 10 records in Unit 53; 10 have a page of their own and 0 are sections on county pages or the public land hub.
6 closed places sit in the counties of Unit 53, among them City of Rocks National Reserve, Craters of the Moon National Monument, Minidoka National Historic Site and Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.
Land records and their units from IDFG, USFS, BLM, USFWS and IDL sources (see each land page); closed places from the Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules and 18 U.S.C. 1165 for tribal land; checked November 12, 2026.
Near Unit 53
Start from Twin Falls for Unit 53, or from Burley and Buhl just outside the boundary.
- Twin FallsIn unit · Twin Falls County
- JeromeIn unit · Jerome County
- RupertIn unit · Minidoka County
- BurleyWithin 10 mi · Cassia County
- BuhlWithin 10 mi · Twin Falls County
- GoodingWithin 10 mi · Gooding County
- ShoshoneWithin 10 mi · Lincoln County
A fox squirrel clinging to a tree trunk in winter
Units that overlap the same counties as Unit 53, sorted by distance:
| Unit | Shared counties | Elk zone | Deer 2025 | Hunts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 54 | Cassia, Twin Falls | South Hills | 10 | 23 |
| Unit 52 | Blaine, Gooding, Lincoln | Smoky-Bennett | 5 | 13 |
| Unit 55 | Cassia | South Hills | 72 | 16 |
| Unit 52A | Blaine, Lincoln, Minidoka | Big Desert | 207 | 4 |
| Unit 57 | Cassia | South Hills | 16 | 16 |
| Unit 47 | Twin Falls | South Hills | 21 | 12 |
| Unit 45 | Elmore, Gooding | Smoky-Bennett | 9 | 17 |
| Unit 49 | Blaine | Pioneer | 722 | 10 |
Towns and their units from places.json (Census places joined to the IDFG Game Units layer); 2025 deer from the Hunt Planner; checked November 12, 2026.
Unit 53 shooting light by date
The dates in this Unit 53 table come from the season lines that reach its own units, plus the shortest day of the year.
| When | Event | First sun | Last sun | Legal light |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2026 | Chukar opener | 7:15 a.m. MT | 7:49 p.m. MT | 6:45 a.m. MT to 8:19 p.m. MT |
| Oct 19, 2026 | Duck opener | 7:53 a.m. MT | 6:50 p.m. MT | 7:23 a.m. MT to 7:20 p.m. MT |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 8:03 a.m. MT | 5:06 p.m. MT | 7:33 a.m. MT to 5:36 p.m. MT |
Hours rule from the Idaho Big Game 2026 Seasons and Rules (wolf and upland game animals: same rule, wolf, upland); time zone from 49 CFR 71.9; sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Mountain Time); migratory bird hours: IDFG migratory bird table; checked November 12, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Unit 53 answered
What can I draw for Unit 53?
2 pronghorn and 1 deer hunts.
What elk zone is Unit 53 in?
The Big Desert Zone, shared with Units 52A, 68 and 68A.
How many deer came out of Unit 53 in 2025?
115 on general tags, all weapons combined.
Can I hunt deer in Unit 53 without a draw?
Yes, on the regular tag.
How many wolves were taken in Unit 53 in 2025?
No 2025 row.
Does fall bear open early in Unit 53?
The fall line opens August 30, 2026.
Is there Access Yes! land in Unit 53?
No Access Yes! property lists it.
Does the CWD Management Zone cover Unit 53?
No; the zone is Units 14, 18 and part of Unit 1.
Where is the nearest IDFG office to Unit 53?
Jerome, 324 South 417 East – Suite 1.
What is the nearest town on this site to Unit 53?
Twin Falls.
In which part of the state does Unit 53 sit?
Magic Valley country: the IDFG Magic Valley Region, across Jerome County, Minidoka County, Lincoln County, Gooding County, Twin Falls County, Cassia County, Elmore County and Blaine County.
Answers drawn from the IDFG sources cited on this page; checked November 12, 2026.
Other photos on this page: NPS Photo (Public domain); USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain); Jess Johnson (CC BY-SA 2.0).