The Smoky-Bennett Zone is found in south-central Idaho. Elk hunting is conducted solely through the use of controlled hunt tags here. The southern end of the zone is an extremely open but surprisingly rough terrain that will require nontraditional methods when it comes to harvesting elk. On the northern end, hunters will find a much greater distribution of heavily timbered slopes and more atypical elk hunting conditions. Great bulls can be found in both units for hunters lucky enough to draw a tag.
Overall, the terrain in the southern units is very open with the predominant makeup being low lying flatlands. Large and deep coulees run throughout the region and provide a good deal of unforeseen cover for game. Physically traversing the area will not be difficult for the most part but physical conditioning will still be important when covering long distances. Very little vegetation cover will be found here with the exception of some of the deeper coulees and drainages where heavy brush and shrubs can grow. The northern end of the unit will see a much larger exaggeration in terrain with heavily timbered slopes and long-running ridgelines. These areas will be difficult to traverse at times.
Public access is good in all of the units with several wilderness study areas found in the south-central portions of the zone. Accessing hunting areas can be done easily off of maintained county roads but hunters may need to travel on foot for extended distances when accessing more remote sections. Larger concentrations of elk habitat will be found on the northern end of the unit along with prime elk habitat. County roads provide access into the many drainages but most remote locations will require extensive foot or livestock travel.