The Boulder Mountain, located at the south end of the state, has a great bear population and good public access, but it is a rugged, large area to hunt. Vehicle access is limited and the steep, rocky terrain makes it a challenging experience. The DWR has collared several female bears and would ask hunters to not harvest a bear with a collar on this unit.

The bear’s diet in the spring generally consists of grass, and forbs. They will be relatively close to water sources like springs or creeks. They move the most during the early morning hours and in the evening, and will continue to increase their amount of movement as the hunt progresses. Expect bears to be covering ground and looking for opportunistic meals as their diet will start to switch from grasses to more substantial carbohydrates like acorns, pine nuts, and berries. June is the peak month for the black bears’ mating season.

Being one of the larger units in the state, there is a huge variation in terrain and habitat. On the south border there is Lake Powell, with a large stretch of desert and red slickrock canyon country leading up to the Boulder Mountain. The Boulder Mountain is a large plateau at 11,000 feet above sea level. Off of the flat plateau top are large, steep, timber covered canyons leading down to the desert floor. The unit has small mountain lakes everywhere with good fishing for trout.

The lower elevations in this unit have dry, desert rolling hills and flats, as well as some grass, prickly-pear cactus and sagebrush with scattered pinyon pines and juniper trees. Sagebrush continues throughout the middle elevations, along with ponderosa pines and oak brush. Higher elevations have scattered aspen groves with steep slopes covered in conifer forests. The mesa tops have large grassy meadows with scattered ponds, thick aspen, and conifer forests.

Much of this unit is part of the Dixie National Forest or is desert land managed by the BLM, which provides great public access. There is road access on all sides of the unit with well-maintained dirt roads leading to less-maintained four-wheel-drive roads or ATV trails. Highway 12, a scenic byway, cuts through the middle of the unit and wraps around the southeast side of the Boulder Mountain. The Box-Death Hollow Wilderness Area, to the west of the town of Boulder, is canyon country and is limited to foot and horse traffic.

Most hunters camp along roads. There are several locations that have good, flat camping ground for travel trailers or tents. A couple of designated campgrounds are open to the public. Teasdale, Torrey, Boulder, Loa, and Escalante are the nearest towns, some offering limited lodging.