Roughly centered at Vallecito Reservoir, this unit offers elk and mule deer hunting in the San Juan Mountains, the Weminuche Wilderness, and many thousands of acres of private and public lowlands and foothills.

If you enjoy hunting in high, rugged and remote country, this unit offers a good opportunity to take a mature mule deer buck and a branched-antler bull.There are large numbers of elk. The high terrain lends itself to backpack hunting.

Ranging from 6,000 feet all the way up to 14,000 feet at the peaks, this unit offers a wide range of terrain. It goes from rolling hills into steep creek drainages up to high alpine basins topping out with rocky peaks.

The northern part of this unit is limited in road access. It does have a good trail system for hiking and horseback. Trails are well-marked and maintained with good parking at most of the trailheads. The central portion of it has a few well-maintained roads with primitive four-wheel drive or ATV roads branching from them.

Low elevations consist mainly of flat rolling hills covered in sagebrush, pinyon pines and juniper trees. Middle elevations have steep slopes, heavily forested with spruce and fir trees mixed with scattered aspen groves. There are a few flats with grass and wildflowers on the ridge tops. High elevations have steep slopes leading to the peaks that are covered in grass, wildflowers and loose rock scrabble mixed with scrub conifers. The bottoms of the high alpine basins are covered in wildflowers and mountain willows.

To access the wilderness and high country you will have to backpack or use horses to pack in. There are good camping sites on public land along roads allowing you to camp near hunting areas, expect to see other hunters around the better camping sites. Durango and Silverton are the nearest towns offering motels but are far from this hunting unit.