Unit 120

Three Buttes serves as the dominant landscape marker—a distinctive multi-peaked feature visible for miles across the flats, useful for orientation and glassing. Kidd Flat on the northern tier provides a logical staging point and marks the upper basin country. Multiple named draws—Hemingway, Anderson, Big Sulfur—function as natural travel corridors and habitat concentration zones.

Badwater Creek and Buffalo Creek drainages are the primary water arteries and also key hunting approaches. The Reefs (limestone pillars in the western section) offers localized glassing opportunities. These features create natural navigation lattice in country that otherwise reads as repetitive basin and ridge.

Terrain spans from roughly 4,800 feet along the North Platte River to over 9,100 feet on the high ridges, with the vast majority sitting in the 5,000 to 6,500-foot band—rolling semi-arid country. Low-elevation draws and basins are predominantly sagebrush steppe with scattered juniper and greasewood. As elevations increase, ponderosa pine becomes the dominant cover on north-facing slopes and ridge systems, with occasional stands of Douglas fir in protected drainages.

The terrain is characteristically open and windswept at lower elevations, gradually transitioning to timbered ridges and canyon systems in the upper unit. Grass and browse concentrate in drainage bottoms and north-facing slopes.

Unit 120 has limited developed road access despite the road network exceeding 670 miles—most are county-maintained ranch roads with variable quality, especially in wet weather. Primary entry points are Waltman (County Road 104) from the south, the Midwest corridor from the east via Highway 259, and the 33-Mile Road from the northeast. Highway 387 provides eastern access but much of the unit west of that corridor requires patience and local knowledge to navigate roads.

Proximity to Casper creates moderate pressure during rifle season, but the sprawling size and limited road infrastructure distribute pressure. Pockets of solitude exist for hunters willing to walk away from roads and navigate draws systematically.

Unit 120 forms a large polygon anchored by Casper to the southeast, bounded by Interstate 25 on the south and east, and extending westward into the Natrona County high country. The North Platte River marks the southeastern boundary through town, while the unit encompasses the entire drainage basin north and west including Badwater Creek, Buffalo Creek, and multiple tributaries feeding the Casper area. The vast majority is public land with scattered private inholdings near populated areas.

Adjacent to Wyoming Highway 387 and Highway 259, the unit straddles the transition zone between the Casper lowlands and the North-Central Wyoming foothills.

Water is the limiting factor throughout the unit. Perennial streams include the North Platte River (forming the southern boundary), Badwater Creek, Buffalo Creek and its forks, Cottonwood Creek, and Willow Creek—these are your reliable water sources. Scattered springs (Big Sulfur, Clapp, Hackett, Bar, and others) provide backup in mid-country.

Several reservoirs (Bad Water Creek, Brewer, Metcalf, Willow, Rochelle) add reliability but vary seasonally. Most of the basin flats are dry; elk movement is dictated by these water points. Upper canyons and springs attract concentrated use.

Planning water sources is fundamental to success here—don't rely on finding water away from named features.

Elk are the primary quarry, favoring upper drainages and canyon systems where ponderosa stands provide cover and water. Early season: locate elk using high-elevation springs and shaded north slopes near Three Buttes and the upper Buffalo/Badwater drainages; glassing from high vantage points is essential given the open terrain. Rut period: focus on timbered drainages where bulls concentrate; Cottonwood Creek and Willow Creek drainages are traditional gathering areas.

Late season: elk drop to lower elevations and water sources, concentrating along creek bottoms and in protected canyon systems. The terrain's complexity lies in navigation and water knowledge rather than difficulty—study the draw systems and spring locations before hunting, and use them to intercept animals moving between basins. This is a hunt-hard unit requiring footwork and patience.