Unit 339

Conical Peak and the Crazy Mountain Divide serve as navigational anchors on the eastern skyline, with Wilsall Peak and Iddings Peak providing reference points for orientation. Grasshopper Glacier on the high divide offers a distant landmark. Closer at hand, Sheep Mountain, Elk Mountain, and Antelope Butte break the skyline and help hunters glass across open benches.

Cottonwood Creek and Duck Creek systems provide logical travel corridors and water reference points. Rock Lake and Smeller Lake sit in mid-elevation drainages as secondary water sources. Rattlesnake Ridge and Long Ridge define terrain divisions useful for route-finding and hunting strategy.

Elevation spans from roughly 4,200 feet along the Yellowstone River to above 10,800 feet on the Crazy Mountain ridges, but most huntable terrain sits in the lower to mid-elevation bands. Sagebrush plains and grasslands dominate the valley floors and open slopes, with scattered ponderosa and Douglas-fir becoming more prevalent above 6,000 feet. Stands of aspen and spruce-fir appear on north-facing slopes and ridge systems.

The terrain is primarily open country rather than forest—pronghorn habitat mixed with scattered timber patches that harbor mule deer and occasional elk in the higher drainages. Willow and cottonwood fingers along creeks provide riparian corridors through otherwise arid country.

Two hundred twenty-six miles of roads provide fair access throughout the unit, though road density doesn't translate to density of access points—much of the network threads through private land or connects distant valleys. US Highway 89 provides the main corridor; local ranch roads and forest service routes spider outward into public terrain. The moderate size and mixed ownership pattern mean hunter pressure concentrates along accessible ridges and creek bottoms, leaving rougher country on the edges.

Camping and staging areas cluster near Clyde Park and along Highway 89. Weekends and opening week draw predictable crowds to obvious glassing benches and saddles.

Unit 339 encompasses portions of Park and Sweet Grass Counties between US Highway 89 north of Livingston and the Crazy Mountain Divide to the northeast. The Yellowstone River forms the western anchor, with Cottonwood Creek draining northward and Duck Creek systems cutting southeast toward the river. This moderate-sized unit sits at the transition between the Paradise Valley floor and the mountain front, creating a mosaic of open country and forested terrain.

Nearby Clyde Park provides a reference point on the northern boundary. The unit's shape follows drainage divides and creek systems rather than straight political lines, creating an irregular but navigable footprint.

Water is the limiting factor in this unit. The Yellowstone River runs year-round along the western boundary and is accessible from Highway 89. Cottonwood Creek drains northward and offers perennial flow in upper sections. Duck Creek systems (West Fork and main stem) cut through the unit's eastern half with seasonal to moderate flow.

Middle Fork Rock Creek, Sheep Creek, and Hammond Creek provide secondary drainages with variable reliability. Several developed springs and ditch systems support irrigation but may not provide reliable hunting-season water. High country terrain above 8,000 feet likely holds snowmelt-fed springs into mid-season, but lower elevations dry significantly by late summer.

Pronghorn are the primary focus—open-country glassing hunters work sagebrush benches and grasslands throughout the lower and mid-elevation terrain, typically between 4,500 and 7,000 feet. Early season hunts capitalize on pronghorn movement across open ridges before retreat into rougher country. Mule deer utilize the scattered timber on north-facing slopes and creek bottoms; hunting them requires dropping into drainages and working timber patches methodically.

Elk presence is limited to high-country meadows and spruce-fir habitat above 8,000 feet, accessible mainly via ridge-top approaches from the Crazy Mountain Divide. The terrain complexity and water scarcity reward hunters who spend time understanding private/public boundaries and who locate reliable water sources before opening day.