Unit 79

Several small lakes provide visual anchors and potential water sources: Halfmoon Lake, Emma Matilda Lake, and Two Ocean Lake dot the landscape and offer glassing vantage points overlooking surrounding country. Mount Reid, Uhl Hill, and Lozier Hill provide elevated reference points for navigation across the forested terrain. Grand View Point offers panoramic sightlines useful for assessing wind and planning routes.

Major drainages—Bailey Creek, East Fork Pilgrim Creek, and the named draws (Coal Mine, Eynon, Uhl)—serve as logical travel corridors through the dense timber, with reliable seasonal water and natural elk movement paths.

Terrain spans a modest elevation band in the 6,700 to 7,900 foot range, placing the unit firmly in coniferous forest country. Dense timber dominates the landscape—Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, and spruce create continuous canopy across most slopes and draws. Open parks and grassland pockets are scattered throughout, particularly in drainages like Coal Mine Draw and Eynon Draw where meadows break up the forest.

The relatively flat topography by Wyoming standards means rolling hills and gentle slopes rather than sharp ridges or cliff faces. This creates predictable elk habitat with good bedding cover in timber and forage in nearby parks.

Seventy-six miles of roads create fair accessibility without creating a heavily roaded landscape relative to unit size. Most access funnels through Moran and Highway 191, meaning hunters naturally concentrate in northern and western portions of the unit where road-based scouting is easiest. The southern and eastern sections backing against Grand Teton National Park boundary see lighter pressure due to greater distance from roads and trailheads.

Terrain simplicity and compact size mean this isn't an area where pressure diffuses into sprawling backcountry—a focused effort can efficiently cover accessible ground. Early season often brings concentrated use; late season sees lighter traffic as hunters move to other units.

Unit 79 occupies a compact foothill zone wedged between the Pinto Ranch private lands to the east, Grand Teton National Park to the south and west, and U.S. Highway 191 defining the western boundary. The Buffalo Fork River forms the unit's eastern edge, a major geographic anchor that hunters use for orientation. Moran lies just outside the unit to the north, serving as the primary access point and staging area.

The unit sits directly in the transition zone between Jackson Hole's river valleys and the Teton Range's higher elevations, making it a natural funnel for elk movement between public lands.

Water availability is moderate across the unit, a significant advantage in this compact foothill country. Named creeks and seasonal draws provide drinking water throughout most of the season, reducing the need to plan routes solely around water. The small lakes serve as reliable sources and hunting landmarks.

Buffalo Fork River boundaries the unit to the east but may be less accessible from core hunting areas. Seasonal variation matters here—creeks may diminish by late summer, so early-season water scouting pays dividends. The presence of multiple drainages means elk have reliable water and hunters can predict movement patterns accordingly.

Elk are the primary draw here, using the forested slopes and draw meadows during fall hunting season. Early season tactics focus on ridge-top glassing toward open parks and timber edges where elk transition between bedding and feeding. The gentle topography means steady hiking without extreme elevation gain, but dense forest makes locating animals more challenging than in open country.

Rut-season bulls concentrate in parks and along drainages where cows gather; these areas become hunting focal points. The unit's modest size and road network make it suitable for mobile hunting strategies—covering different drainages and parks across multiple days is feasible. Water availability throughout eliminates desperation watering patterns, so elk dispersal is more flexible, requiring adaptive scouting.