- Don't spend any time trying to find bears off of the mountain
- Be sure to call and check with the Wyoming Game and Fish office to ensure the hunt area is still open
This unit is located on the western side of the state, north of Big Piney and Marbleton, on the eastern side of the Wyoming range and the famous Greys River. This unit is like most units in Wyoming, with oilfield prairies in the lower elevations giving way to picturesque mountain ranges.
Even though this unit doesn’t have the total number of black bears being harvested each year, this unit should be high on your list.
Like most of Wyoming, this unit has a little of everything to offer: ranch and farm lands along the rivers, oil fields and prairies in the lower elevations, and steep, rugged mountains on the western side of this unit. The mountains in this unit have steep timber covered ridges. The further east you travel towards Pinedale, the more you will run into rolling prairies. Once above timberline, you are going to find what you would typically expect in an alpine environment, big basins with bald, rocky mountain peaks.
Like most units in Wyoming, this area consists of sagebrush prairies and timber covered mountains. In the mountains, the majority of the trees you will find are lodgepole pines. The higher you get in elevation in this unit, the more alpine vegetation you will see. There was a big fire in the northern portion of this unit recently, which could be a blessing or a hindrance depending on how much new green growth comes up.
Access to public lands in this unit couldn’t be easier. There are four main roads that provide access to the National Forest in this unit. McDougal Gap Road provides access to the southern portion of this unit, and Horse Creek Road, Dry Beaver Road and North Beaver Road provide access to the northern portion. There are other roads that spur off of these four main roads. Luckily for nonresidents, there are no Wilderness Areas in this unit.
There are three towns in this unit with accommodations and provision: Big Piney and Marbleton, which are both just a little south of this unit, and Pinedale, which is nearby but is a little further of a drive. Like most Wyoming towns, these are not big towns, so bringing the majority of the supplies needed for a hunt would be best. There aren’t any established campgrounds in this unit, but there are a few trailheads that can provide places to set up a base camp. One thing to remember though is once you are on National Forest, you can set up a campsite just about anywhere.
Roughly 596 square miles
53% public land
Elevations range from 5,500-12,000 feet
Maps, GPS, and a Compass are recommended
No Wilderness Area in this unit
There are no established campgrounds here
There are a few trailheads that can provide a place to set up base camp
Three small towns with limited support in them