The western side of the Jemez Mountains, the San Pedro Mountains and the Sierra Nacimiento and their foothills comprise this unit, which is east of Cuba and borders the west side of Valles Caldera National Preserve. Elk can be found in good numbers here, as well as mule deer.

Hunters who scout before the season, know where to look for elk and hunt every day of the season have a good chance at taking an elk, with some bigger bulls harvested from this area every year. Mule deer populations are not big here but decent bucks can be found with some effort.

The Santa Fe National Forest takes up most of this unit. The southern half has long-flattened ridges with steep sides between canyons that drain south toward Sandoval. The northern half has the San Pedro Mountains and the San Pedro Parks Wilderness. Most of those mountains have flattened tops with creeks that drain west, dropping steeply to foothills and flat land along U.S. Highway 550. The more prominent Jemez Mountains are in the east. Most land above 7,500 feet is heavily forested, appearing from the air as a solid green carpet, while the foothills below that level are more open. A great deal of rimrock and some exposed cliffs give variety to the low terrain. Water is abundant, especially above 7,500 feet.

The flat terrain and foothills on the western edge of the unit feature sagebrush ridges and flats, grasslands and pinyon/juniper woods with a good number of ponderosa pine trees. Ponderosas and Gambel oak trees take over as the dominant plants above 7,500 feet. As elevations increase, other conifers come into the mix, including limber pine, Douglas fir, blue spruce and white fir as well as some aspen.

Primitive roads lead to most of the unit, branching from US 550 on the west, Interstate 25 on the south, State Route 16 on the southeast and interior State Routes 485 and 126. Private land on the western edge impedes access to some public areas. The Jemez Indian Reservation in the south and southeastern parts of the unit make reaching some national forest land hard to reach. In the north is the 41,132-acre San Pedro Parks Wilderness, where vehicles are not allowed. About eight or nine trailheads access more than 100 miles of trails in the wilderness.

Several campgrounds are in the area, including Jemez Falls Campground, Fenton Lake State Park and Redondo Campground. They are subject to closure in late fall or winter. Some hunters stay in motels in Cuba, which also has several restaurants and a grocery store.