Consisting of a narrow mountain range that juts out of the desert floor to heights of more than 12,000 feet, this unit has a good number of elk that summer in upper basins and aspen and conifer forests and winter in pinyon/juniper and sagebrush foothills.

In the past 30 years, elk numbers and quality have increased. Hunters who work to get in the better parts of the mountain range typically find bigger bulls. When pressured, some elk travel to bordering Goshute tribal lands. Mature bulls tend to seek out canyons with no vehicle access. Pack horses are recommended and hunters need to be prepared physically.

Often called the Deep Creeks, this steep, rocky mountain range includes the eighth highest peak in Utah. Hunters should be in good physical condition and be prepared to pack out their kill.

Low elevations mainly consist of grasses, rabbitbrush, sagebrush, and scattered stands of pinyon/juniper. They also contain high stands of sagebrush along creeks and shady sides of ridges. Middle elevations are predominately filled with pinyons, junipers and sagebrush with scattered stands of mahogany and white pine. High elevations have Douglas firs, aspen groves, mahoganies and small, grassy parks.

Most of the elk are in the Deep Creek Wilderness Study Area. Motor vehicles are allowed on roughly a dozen public roads that extend into the mountains for distances of a quarter-mile to two and a half miles. ATVs are not allowed on Tribal Lands. This hunt is good for hunters who are in great shape and willing to backpack their elk meat to the road or for hunters who have horses.

Several Forest Service and BLM campgrounds are south and west of Vernon. Most camping in the west is along dirt roads. Near the town of Callao at the base of the Deep Creek Range is one primitive campground. Towns with lodging are so far from most hunting sites that most hunters camp in the unit.