Unit 422

The Steps bench provides natural travel corridors and vantage points for orientation. Deep Creek and its North and South Forks form the critical northern drainage system, with the South Fork serving as a major terrain reference. The Sun River anchors the southern boundary and is the unit's most reliable water feature.

Twin Lakes, Renshaw Lake, and Hidden Lake offer navigation references in higher terrain. Sawtooth Ridge and Wood Creek Hogback provide ridge-running options. The numerous basins—Cataract, Honeymoon, Joslin, Harrison—create natural congregating areas where terrain funnels movement.

Elk Pass and Lewis and Clark Pass serve as traditional crossing points.

The unit spans from roughly 3,950 feet in valley bottoms to above 9,100 feet in higher ridges, with most productive terrain sitting in the middle elevations. Open basin country dominates lower sections—sagebrush and grassland flats interspersed with scattered timber patches. As elevation increases, forest cover becomes more consistent, with Douglas fir and lodgepole typical of the 6,000 to 8,000-foot band.

The terrain creates distinct habitat tiers: valley meadows and willow bottomland near permanent water, sagebrush-grass slopes in mid-elevations, and denser timber on ridge systems. This vertical arrangement allows moose to move between season-dependent resources.

Over 834 miles of road penetrate the unit, primarily following major valley bottoms and drainage corridors. The road density suggests fair accessibility, with main routes connecting to Highway 287 and branching into basin systems. Most pressure concentrates along valley-bottom routes near Augusta and the river corridors—standard access funneling.

The Sun Canyon Road provides southern access, while trail systems (particularly Forest Service Trails 128 and 223) offer foot-traffic alternatives for hunting pressure avoidance. The terrain complexity (7.5/10) means pushing beyond obvious roads reveals less-hunted basin and ridge country. Private land scattered throughout requires careful boundary awareness.

Unit 422 occupies portions of Teton County bounded by Deep Creek on the north and west, the Sun River on the south, and U.S. Highway 287 serving as the eastern reference line. The unit encompasses the transition country between lower valley systems and higher ridge systems, including drainage basins that run north-south into the main rivers. Augusta sits as the primary reference point for access and supplies.

The terrain bridges montane foothill country with significant basin systems throughout—a sprawling unit with notable elevation relief despite the rolling topography designation.

The Sun River and Deep Creek are the unit's water arteries, flowing year-round and creating the primary drainage structure. The South Fork of Deep Creek runs northward through productive terrain. Cataract Falls and other cascade features indicate reliable water in upland sections, though most springs are seasonal.

The extensive canal and ditch network (Vaughn, Gillette, Bean, Geldrich, Florence) reflects historical water development but adds navigational complexity. Beaver Creek and its Middle Fork, along with Park Creek and Mule Creek, provide secondary drainage systems. Water scarcity in certain basin sections makes the perennial creeks and small reservoirs critical focal points during dry periods.

This is moose country shaped by the unit's drainage systems and basin structure. Moose concentrate in willow thickets along Deep Creek and the Sun River, particularly in broader valley sections where riparian growth provides both food and security. Early season hunting focuses on lower elevations where moose feed in open meadows near timber, especially in basin areas like Honeymoon and Joslin.

As seasons progress, moose shift to higher willow patches and creek bottoms in timber. The rolling terrain and multiple drainages mean glassing from ridge systems and bench country (The Steps) can locate animals before stalk. Expect most pressure along main roads; foot access into upper creek drainages and side basins offers better solitude and undisturbed moose movement.