The Hells Canyon Zone is found in east-central Idaho and lies along the Snake River and the Oregon state line. This is very rugged and steep country but a controlled hunt permit here is very sought after. Because of the limited hunting pressure bulls tend to grow large and hunters will generally find little trouble in locating mature bulls. This area is largely open terrain with scattered pockets of timber and optics will play a pivotal role in any hunt.
This is very rugged and steep country that climbs sharply off the Snake River Valley. Lower elevations tend to be more open with low amounts of tree cover. In the higher elevations, timber density increases greatly, particularly on north-facing slopes. Large cliff bands are often present throughout the area and hunters will need to watch for this when traveling cross country. Glassing opportunities are plenty here and a good glassing knob can afford a hunter hours of glassing opportunities.
Public access is decent in this Zone with the greatest distribution of public lands being found in unit 18. Accessing good glassing points will generally be fairly straight forward and easy but closing the distance on target animals can be difficult due to the extreme terrain. Some hunters have found success hunting from the Snake River side via boats and glassing up into the drainages. Some of the private lands, particularly in unit 11, hold good quantities of elk but hunters will need to secure permissions before accessing these areas.