The San Luis Reservoir zone is in the west-central portion of the state, east of Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay and west of I-5, and includes the San Luis Reservoir and Pacheco State Park.

Tule elk have been seen in the San Luis Wildlife Area, which is an extremely small area limited to archery only. This area contains steep oak-grassland habitat.

The terrain throughout the zone is primarily rolling hills with a few areas that have steeper hills and canyons.

The main access roads around this zone are Interstate 5 on the east, Highway 152 to the north and east and Panoche Road to the south. There are several other roads that intersect throughout the zone

Most of the elk reside on private property through this zone, try to secure permission prior to applying for the permit.

The vegetation stays pretty constant throughout the zone. It’s primarily rolling grassland with mixed oak brush and chaparral.

Camping is available for a fee at the Reservoir itself which has great striped bass and catfishing from shore.

Weather in October is typically highs in the 70s with lows in the 40s. Expect constant wind in this location year round.