Unit 78

Paris Peak and Bloomington Peak serve as excellent visual references and glassing points for hunters working the higher terrain. The canyon systems—particularly Fish Haven Canyon, Davis Canyon, and South Fork Paris Canyon—provide natural travel corridors and water-finding routes. Hogsback Ridge, prominent in the unit's central area, breaks up terrain and helps with navigation.

Several named basins including Mahogany Basin, Green Basin, and Egan Basin mark distinct terrain features useful for plotting camps and establishing hunt areas. These landmarks create a coherent mental map for understanding the unit's layout.

The terrain rises from around 6,000 feet in lower basins to nearly 9,500 feet at higher summits, with the median sitting comfortably in the mid-7,000s. Dense forest dominates the ridgelines and upper slopes—predominantly conifer cover typical of the Bear Lake plateau. Lower elevation basins and flats like Danish Flat and Paris Flat open into more sparsely timbered country, creating natural grazing and travel corridors.

This elevation spread supports distinct habitat zones: sagebrush and scattered timber in lower draws transitioning to solid conifer forest on ridges and higher terrain.

The connected network of Forest Service roads and county routes (572 miles of total road network) makes most of Unit 78 accessible by vehicle, with several trailheads and parking areas providing starting points for foot travel. This accessibility means the unit attracts moderate pressure during general seasons, particularly near major roads and lower-elevation basins. However, the rolling terrain and multiple canyon systems allow hunters to find solitude by moving away from main drainages.

The terrain's moderate complexity—not steep enough to deter most hunters but broken enough to offer refuge—creates pockets of quieter country for those willing to explore beyond primary access corridors.

Unit 78 encompasses portions of Bear Lake and Franklin Counties in southeastern Idaho, bounded by U.S. 89 south of Preston, Interstate 15 to the west, the Idaho-Utah state line to the east and north, and returning via Highway 30N and Highway 34. The unit sits in the Bear Lake plateau region, a transition zone between lower desert valleys and higher mountain terrain. This geographic position places it adjacent to some of Idaho's classic high-country hunting landscape, with access points from Preston, Paris, and Liberty providing logical entry corridors for hunters.

Water is limited and scattered, requiring hunters to locate and rely on named springs like Paris Spring, Huckleberry Spring, and Mahogany Basin Spring. Mill Creek, Liberty Creek, and the North and Middle Fork drainages of Bloomington and Saint Charles Creeks provide the most reliable water sources, though seasonal availability varies. Hidden Lake, Midnight Lake, and Limekiln Lake offer dependable water in their immediate vicinities but aren't distributed throughout the unit.

Success hinges on pre-hunt scouting to identify reliable springs in your hunting area—don't count on finding water through random exploration.

Unit 78 historically supports elk, deer, and black bear hunting across its diverse habitat. Lower elevation basins and parks with scattered timber provide early-season deer and elk opportunities as animals move between summer high country and winter range. Mid-elevation canyon bottoms where forest thickens offer rut and late-season pursuits.

The combination of dense timber on ridges and more open terrain in basins means success often depends on understanding movement corridors between feeding and bedding areas. Water location becomes critical in late season—springs and creeks concentrate animals and become natural ambush points. The unit's moderate accessibility means timing your hunts to avoid peak pressure periods increases your odds of finding undisturbed animals.