Unit 360

Key summits include Red Knob on the Madison-Gallatin divide, useful for orientation and glassing the high country, and The Helmet above the upper drainages. The Sawtooth Ridge, Wedge, and No Man Ridge form prominent topographic breaks visible from distance. Major water features—Echo Lake, Expedition Lake, Snake Lake, and the high alpine basins of Upper Tepee, McAtee, and Hilgard—anchor navigation in terrain where topo reading is essential.

Bear Trap Canyon on the Madison River provides a distinctive landmark and drainage corridor. Wolf Creek Hot Spring marks a known thermal feature in the higher country.

This is high-country terrain dominated by alpine and subalpine habitat. The Madison Range itself pushes above 11,000 feet with numerous peaks in the 10,000-foot range, including Red Knob, Fan Mountain, and The Helmet. Lower elevations in western valleys and around Ennis sit near 5,000 feet, but most hunting takes place in the 7,500-to-9,500-foot band where mixed conifer forest transitions to open ridges and alpine meadows.

Moderate forest coverage means timber interspersed with open parks and grass—classic high-country elk and moose habitat with elevation changes that create distinct seasonal zones.

Over 800 miles of road provide decent access, with US 287 and Highway 64 offering major entry routes from Ennis and the populated valleys. However, road density doesn't translate to easy penetration—many roads serve ranches, summer homes, and valley infrastructure rather than deep backcountry access. The terrain complexity score of 8.2 reflects genuine difficulty: once beyond roadhead, hunters face steep drainages, high passes, and navigational challenges that limit casual pressure.

The Gravelly Range Road, Madison-Ruby Divide, and various valley roads provide logical staging areas. Quality hunting likely requires off-trail scrambling into the high basins.

Unit 360 encompasses roughly 500 square miles across Madison, Park, Gallatin, Jefferson, and Broadwater Counties. The western boundary runs along the Madison-Ruby divide and the Montana-Idaho border, anchored by Mount Bradley, Lone Tree Pass, and Deer Mountain. The eastern edge follows the Gallatin-Yellowstone watershed divide down to Yellowstone National Park.

US Highway 287 forms much of the northwestern boundary near McAllister and Ennis, providing major staging access. The unit encompasses the entire Madison Range massif and surrounding high valleys—substantial, rugged country requiring navigation skill.

Water availability is solid across this unit. The Madison River system drains the western side, with the West Fork threading through high meadows toward Virginia City. Trail Creek, Wolf Creek, and Corral Creek provide reliable summer flows through timbered basins.

High alpine lakes—Snake, Expedition, Echo, and others—hold water year-round. Multiple springs scattered through the high country support game animals. Willow and riparian bottoms concentrate in the lower-elevation stream valleys and meadows, making these prime corridors for moose.

Seasonal snowmelt sustains flow through early autumn, but water reliability decreases at the highest elevations by late season.

Unit 360 is moose country at elevation. Target willow bottoms in the lower-elevation drainages—Wolf Creek, Corral Creek, and similar stream valleys where moose winter and feed in transition seasons. The high alpine meadows of McAtee, Hilgard, and Upper Tepee Basins hold moose during summer and early fall.

Early season hunters should focus middle elevations (7,500-9,000 feet) where moose move between lowland willows and high-country graze. Rut timing concentrates bulls along riparian corridors. Terrain demands fitness and navigation skill—glassing from ridgetops is essential, but actual moose will require dropping into drainages and meadow bottoms.

Plan for multi-day camps and understand the elevation zones don't necessarily mean gentler terrain at lower elevations.