Except for state and federal lands along the Deschutes and John Day Rivers, this land is virtually all private land. The unit borders Washington and holds good numbers of mule deer, a few hundred elk, some of the healthiest California bighorn sheep herds in the state as well as antelope.

This unit is mostly private wheat fields and rangeland that is divided by canyons, including the Deschutes and John Day Rivers and their tributaries. Hunters take a good number of mature mule deer and California bighorn sheep along with a few big elk and antelope.

South of the Columbia River between The Dalles Dam and Arlington and on both sides of the John Day and Deschutes Rivers, this largely private unit is composed of flat and slightly hilly farm and rangeland with steep bluffs and slopes along rivers and creeks. The steepest ground is in the John Day and Deschutes River gorges and the breaks of Butte Creek, Buck Hollow, Ferry Canyon, Thirtymile Canyon and other canyons above the big rivers. Dry farms occupy most of the flat lands that lie between the canyons and above the Columbia River and are mostly between 750 and 2,700 above sea level. Some hilly ridges rise 500 to 1,000 feet above some of the higher farmland, but there are no big mountains.

Most of the ground is covered with dry-farm crops (mostly wheat), forbs such as shadscale, low shrubs such as sagebrush and grasses such as bluebunch wheatgrass, sheep fescue and Idaho fescue. Junipers and mahoganies are common in places but grow sparsely. Willows, alders and cottonwoods grow along stream beds, where cattails, sedges, canary grass and rushes provide wildlife feed and cover.

Land is almost entirely private except for one to five-mile-wide strips of state and BLM land along the John Day and Deschutes rivers. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is closed to hunting. Firearms may not be discharged in the Lower Deschutes Wild and Scenic Waterway from late May through the end of August. Access is by foot, boat, or bicycle only. Land within a quarter mile of the John Day River is closed to upland bird hunting except from Sept. 1-Oct. 31. It is closed to waterfowl hunting. Big game may be hunted after August during open seasons. Click here for a map showing public areas. Click here for a map and management plan on the Lower Deschutes Wildlife Area.

Camping is allowed at some sites along the John Day and Deschutes Rivers. Most areas worth hunting require boat rides and hiking, so plan to camp out of a tent. Motels are in The Dalles.

Summary of BLM campsites along the Deschutes and John Day rivers

Cottonwood Canyon State Park has campsites close to trails

Country Cousins Inn is in The Dalles

The Dalles Inn is in downtown The Dalles

Celillo Inn offers river views