What Do Elk Eat in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Idaho - Elk Hunting Tips and Tactics

What Do Elk Eat in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Idaho - Elk Hunting Tips and Tactics

What Do Elk Eat in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho & Colorado?

Welcome to Backbone Unlimited. My name is Matt Hartsky.

In this one, we’re diving into one of the most overlooked but most powerful advantages a Western elk hunter can have — knowing exactly what elk eat.

It’s not another calling tutorial or gear breakdown, but if you’re serious about killing elk, especially mature bulls on public land, understanding their diet might be one of the most important pieces you can add to your playbook.

Elk don’t move for fun. They don’t pick elevation at random or bed in a drainage because it’s scenic. Every move they make — from migration routes to bedding slopes — is dictated by food availability.

They survive based on forage. They migrate based on forage. And during critical windows like the rut or after early snowfall, elk will make huge shifts based entirely on what’s growing, drying, or dying on the ground.

If you can read that — if you know what elk are eating at each time of year and what plants grow where you hunt — you stop walking blind with a bugle tube and start moving like a predator with a plan.

This breakdown covers elk diets by season, elevation, and region across the West, including how drought, wildfire, and cattle grazing can quietly change your entire hunt area without you realizing it.

Let’s get into it.

Seasonal Elk Diet Shifts

Elk are opportunistic herbivores, but they aren’t random feeders. Their diet changes every season based on two things: nutritional need and forage availability.
If you understand those shifts, you can start predicting where elk will be before you ever step foot in the unit.

Spring: Recovery and Green-Up

By early spring, elk are in rough shape. Winter has stripped their fat reserves, forage is scarce, and bulls are rebuilding after the rut. They need soft, protein-rich growth to recover.

As snow melts, elk follow early green-up in lower elevations. Look for south-facing slopes, burn scars, and meadows near timber breaks.
Their diet now includes:

  • Tender grasses like Idaho fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and green needlegrass

  • Early forbs like dandelion, clover, and arrowleaf balsamroot

  • Young leaves of snowberry and serviceberry

Protein-dense forbs drive spring recovery and kickstart antler regeneration in bulls.

Summer: High-Elevation Feeding

As the mountains bloom, elk move higher to follow lush forage. This is their prime feeding and antler-building season.

You’ll find them grazing on:

  • Grasses like timothy, tufted hairgrass, and bluegrass species

  • Forbs like lupine, fireweed, yarrow, and wild geranium

  • Light browsing on willow and mountain mahogany

Elk feed heavily in open meadows but bed close to timbered edges for shade and security. Summer bulls are predictable — feeding mornings and evenings in alpine basins before bedding mid-morning.

Fall: Rut and Post-Rut Transitions

In September, the focus shifts from food to breeding. But forage still dictates movement.

Cows stay tied to feed, and bulls follow. Even during the rut, bulls will grab quick bites of grasses, snowberry, serviceberry, and mountain mahogany to keep energy levels up.

After the rut, bulls retreat into thick, quiet country with decent browse and low pressure to recover. October and November bulls are all about protein and solitude — mountain mahogany, bitterbrush, and serviceberry near cover are money spots.

Winter: Survival Mode

When snow piles up, elk drop elevation. They’re not chasing nutrition anymore — they’re chasing calories and survival.

Winter diets include dried grasses, sagebrush, aspen shoots, and bitterbrush. Elk gather on wind-blown ridges and south-facing slopes where forage is still exposed. Bedding and feeding zones tighten up, and movement slows to conserve energy.

If you’re hunting late season, find exposed feed and minimal snow. That’s where the herds will be.

Key Elk Forage Across the West

Grasses – The Elk Staple

Grasses form the foundation of elk diets, especially in spring and summer.
Key species include:

  • Idaho fescue – high-protein and common across Montana and Idaho

  • Bluebunch wheatgrass – found throughout Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho

  • Mountain muhly – abundant in Colorado’s high country

  • Tufted hairgrass – grows in moist meadows and stream zones

  • Western wheatgrass – thrives in sage-to-timber transitions

  • Timothy – easy-digesting grass found in meadows and clear-cuts

Forbs – The Protein Powerhouses

Forbs are flowering plants elk target during the greenest months for muscle and antler growth.
Key forbs include:

  • Fireweed – especially in burn scars

  • Lupine – high-elevation meadows in Idaho and western Montana

  • Arrowleaf balsamroot – favorite spring forage across all four states

  • Yarrow – highly nutritious and grows nearly everywhere

  • Wild geranium – found in moist alpine areas

Shrubs and Browse – Fall & Winter Fuel

As seasons shift, shrubs replace forbs as the primary food source.
Look for:

  • Snowberry – critical post-rut forage in forest edges

  • Serviceberry – mid-elevation transition food

  • Chokecherry – early winter feed

  • Bitterbrush – key winter browse in Wyoming and Colorado

  • Mountain mahogany – essential late-season protein

  • Aspen regrowth – tender shoots favored in late summer and fall

Forage Hotspots by State

Wyoming:
Bitterbrush dominates the southwest foothills and winter range. Sagebrush and serviceberry thrive in mid-elevation zones, while the Bighorns and Snowy Range hold rich summer forbs.

Montana:
Snowberry and serviceberry blanket mid-elevation forests. Bluebunch wheatgrass and Idaho fescue cover the lower slopes. Fireweed in post-burn areas like the Bitterroots is a magnet for elk.

Idaho:
High-country meadows in the Sawtooths and Frank Church Wilderness grow lupine, fireweed, and arrowleaf balsamroot. Shrubs like oceanspray and elderberry fill wetter areas, while grassy benches feature Kentucky bluegrass and fescue.

Colorado:
High country zones feature mountain muhly and sedges. Gamble oak, mountain mahogany, and serviceberry dominate foothills, while burns in the San Juans and Flat Tops grow nutrient-rich fireweed and geranium.

Nutrition Drives Behavior

Everything elk do — bedding, moving, breeding — ties back to nutrition.
Here’s how their needs shift through the year:

  • Pre-Rut Bulking: Bulls pack on weight with protein-rich forbs and carb-heavy grasses. The more mass they build in August, the longer they can last through September’s chaos.

  • Post-Rut Recovery: By October, bulls are depleted and seek solitude. Protein-dense browse helps them rebuild muscle.

  • Winter Survival: From November through March, it’s all about digestible fiber and energy efficiency. Elk feed close to bed, reducing movement to conserve calories.

When you understand how nutrition shapes movement, elk patterns become predictable.

How Food Shapes Elk Movement

Elk are vertical movers. Their elevation choices aren’t random — they’re dictated by forage and snow depth.

  • Spring: Follow the green-up upward.

  • Summer: Stay high in lush alpine basins with north-facing slopes and water.

  • Fall: Drop slightly lower as shrubs and browse take over.

  • Winter: Descend to wind-swept ridges and south-facing slopes.

If you match your hunting season to these elevation zones, you’ll stay in the elk all year long.

E-Scouting With Forage in Mind

Stop marking “elky-looking spots” and start marking food zones.
Here’s how:

  1. Match forage to your season.
    August–September: lush alpine meadows.
    October: mid-elevation brush.
    November–December: exposed sage and bitterbrush flats.

  2. Use elevation, slope, and aspect.
    South slopes green up first in spring; north slopes stay lush longest in summer.

  3. Pair food with bedding.
    Elk usually feed in the open but bed in shaded timber close by.

  4. Think like a pressured elk.
    When hunters move in, elk don’t leave the country — they shift to steeper, brushier areas with just enough food to survive.

  5. Scout on the ground with forage knowledge.
    Learn to identify fireweed, lupine, bluebunch wheatgrass, and bitterbrush. Mark feeding benches, game trails, and pressure points.

When you combine good maps with plant knowledge, you’re not hunting elk — you’re hunting the land the way elk see it.

Drought, Fire, and Grazing: The Big Three

Drought:
Kills quality fast. Grasses dry early, forbs fail to bloom, and shrubs lose nutrition. Focus higher, wetter terrain and shaded draws during drought years.

Fire:
Short-term loss, long-term gain. Within 3–10 years post-burn, new grass and forb growth explodes. Scout old burns for fireweed, geranium, and lush regrowth.

Cattle Grazing:
Heavy grazing wipes out early grasses before hunting season. If cattle are in your unit in August, find basins they can’t reach — steep, rocky, or brushy zones. Regrowth areas post-rotation often attract elk.

Final Thoughts

Knowing what elk eat is more than trivia — it’s the foundation of consistent success.
When you read the land through the lens of forage, everything starts to make sense: where herds feed, where bulls bed, and why they vanish overnight.

Train harder. Hunt smarter. Never settle.

Back to blog