Unit 111

Ashley Lake and the chain of lakes including Hanson, Hawks, Fish, and Lower Stillwater Lake are the most recognizable water features for navigation and orientation. These lakes anchor different sections of the unit and create focal points for glassing and route planning. Martin Falls and nearby Martin Lakes offer a distinctive landmark in the northern portions.

Trixie Pass and Haskill Pass provide navigation reference points along ridge systems. The Salish Mountains form the geographic spine of the unit, with individual peaks like Mount Conner, Pilot Knob, and Pleasant Valley Mountain serving as visual landmarks for hunters establishing position within the rolling terrain.

This is predominantly lower-elevation country sitting below the alpine zone, covered in dense forest throughout most of its terrain. The landscape ranges from low valley floors along creeks to rolling, timbered ridges that rarely exceed 6,600 feet. Dense coniferous forest dominates the unit, creating corridors of cover that connect lakes, meadows, and drainages.

Scattered meadows—including Shorts, Purple, Star, Round, Mountain, and Hill Meadows—break the timber and provide feeding areas within the forest matrix. The combination of dense timber and open meadow pockets creates the thermal cover and forage combination typical of prime moose habitat in northwestern Montana.

Over 1,700 miles of roads provide connected access throughout the unit, creating fair accessibility from multiple entry points. The well-developed road network means the unit sees distributed pressure rather than concentrated use at a few access points. Road density suggests good connection to surrounding communities and reasonable ability to move between different hunting areas within the unit.

Main corridors like U.S. Highway 93 and Pleasant Valley Road provide staging routes; communities like Olney and Rhodes offer reference points for hunters orienting to the area. The accessible road network makes this unit manageable for hunters without exceptional bushwhacking skills.

Unit 111 spans portions of Lincoln and Flathead Counties, anchored by the Flathead National Forest boundary on its northern edge near Spring Creek Campground off U.S. Highway 93. The unit extends south and west along ridge systems including the Salish Mountains, defined by divides between creeks and prominent features like Elk Mountain, Tepee Mountain, and Sanders Mountain. Southern and eastern boundaries follow Pleasant Valley Road and the Little Bitterroot Lake Road, creating a connected block of lower-elevation country that transitions between forested ridges and valley floors. The unit encompasses terrain ranging from around 2,900 feet in the valleys to roughly 6,600 feet on the higher ridges.

Water is abundant throughout the unit, with numerous lakes and perennial streams creating reliable access to water across the hunting season. Major drainages include Spring Creek, South Fork Hand Creek, Robertson Creek, and multiple other named streams that flow through valleys and offer natural travel corridors. Hanson Lake and the associated chain of lakes provide substantial water sources.

Hand Creek and related drainages offer both access routes and water for camps. The combination of multiple lakes and consistent creeks means water logistics are straightforward; hunters can plan camps with confidence around established water sources rather than searching for seasonal sources.

Unit 111 offers moose hunting across lower-elevation, lake-rich forest terrain. Moose in this country use dense timber for daytime cover and move to meadows and lake edges for feeding, especially during early season and in fall. Valleys and meadows like those near the Hand Creek system and around the lake chain provide opportunity zones where moose concentrate.

Creeks and drainages funnel moose movement and create natural travel corridors to glass from ridge vantage points. The moderate terrain complexity means hunters can cover country efficiently, focusing on the interface between timber and meadow, particularly near water sources. September and early October hunting capitalizes on moose activity around lakes and in open feed areas before they retreat deeper into timber for winter.