Unit 22

Buffalo Plateau dominates the unit's interior—a sprawling high bench that serves as a natural glassing platform. Gravel Ridge, Wildcat Ridge, and Huckleberry Ridge provide north-south spine routes through the unit. Two Ocean Pass and Phelps Pass mark critical drainage divides and navigation waypoints.

Whetstone Mountain and surrounding summits offer vantage points for orientation in complex terrain. The meadow systems—Nowlin Meadow, Fox Park Flat, Turpin Meadow, and North Fork Meadows—appear scattered across the high country as natural focal points. Soda Springs and Big Springs provide reliable water markers.

These features work together to break the big landscape into recognizable sections.

Terrain transitions from forested mid-elevation slopes rising into rolling high-country benches and ridges. The unit sits predominantly above 8,000 feet, with peaks exceeding 11,000 feet scattered throughout. Moderate forest coverage suggests a mix of lodgepole pine and spruce-fir stands interspersed with extensive meadow systems.

Lower valleys and drainages support denser timber, while exposed ridgelines and passes break into more open country. This vertical relief creates distinct habitat zones—timbered creek bottoms for shelter, rolling ridges for travel corridors, and high meadows as transition zones. The mosaic of forest and open country supports both cover and forage.

Fair road access via U.S. 26-287 provides entry, but the actual unit requires trailhead parking and foot travel. The 530-mile road network within the unit suggests main valleys have some development, but extensive backcountry demands pack-in hunting. This creates a natural pressure gradient—areas near road-accessible trailheads see more use, while deep ridgeline and meadow systems away from obvious drainages see lighter pressure.

The proximity to major parks means some pressure from park recreationists spilling into public land. Complexity score of 7.1 indicates sufficient terrain to compartmentalize pressure—patient hunters can find quiet country, but navigation mistakes risk trespassing into closed areas.

Unit 22 forms a crescent of public land squeezed between Grand Teton National Park to the south and east, and Yellowstone National Park to the north. The western boundary follows U.S. Highway 26-287, the main access corridor from Jackson. The Continental Divide forms part of the eastern boundary, establishing the unit's mountainous character.

This positioning creates a natural hunting corridor between two major preserves, roughly 25 miles of east-west span at its widest. The unit's substantial size makes navigation critical—understanding which meadows, ridges, and drainages fall within public vs. park boundaries is essential planning.

Water sources are scattered but meaningful for hunting strategy. South Buffalo Fork and North Buffalo Fork create the primary drainage system—major creek corridors cutting through the unit. East and West Whetstone Creek systems drain the central ridges, while Clear Creek and Cub Creek offer secondary drainage routes.

High lakes including Gravel Lake, Lost Lake, Toppan Lake, and Emerald Lake provide reliable water in alpine zones. Soda Springs, Big Springs, and North Buffalo Fork Springs offer dependable shallow-source options. This drainage network becomes critical in late season when surface water becomes limiting—knowing which creeks and springs hold water determines access to prime ridges and meadows.

Unit 22 is black bear country, with habitat split between timbered valleys offering security cover and high meadow systems providing early-season forage. Hunting strategy hinges on understanding the transition zones—where forest meets open country is where bears feed and travel. Spring bears work creeks and avalanche paths as green-up progresses; summer animals move higher into meadows and exposed ridges.

The extensive meadow network (Nowlin, Fox Park, Turpin, North Fork, and others) becomes critical June-July when bears shift to high country. Navigation discipline is essential—the unit's boundaries with protected parkland are unforgiving. Focus on drainages like South Buffalo Fork and clear creek systems as travel corridors, glassing meadow edges from distance.

Water sources (Soda Springs, Big Springs, high lakes) concentrate bear movement in dry periods.