Unit 17

Mount Leidy and the Red Hills serve as major orientation landmarks visible from multiple vantage points and useful for glassing. The Moccasin Basin Road corridor provides a logical access spine, while Blackrock Meadows and the various lakes (Lily, Leidy, Hidden, Dallas) mark significant terrain features worth targeting. Gunsight Pass offers a natural saddle for crossing ridge systems.

The Continental Divide to the east forms a hard eastern boundary, useful for knowing when you've traversed too far. These features, combined with named creeks like Turpin and Coal Creek, create a navigable framework even in moderate timber.

The unit straddles high-elevation terrain with a median around 8,500 feet and peaks exceeding 11,000 feet. Dense conifer forests—primarily spruce-fir and lodgepole—dominate the upper slopes and ridgetops, creating thick cover punctuated by natural openings. Meadow systems like Blackrock Meadows, Beauty Park, and Preacher Park break the timber at various elevations, providing the primary forage areas.

The rolling topography means you transition between dense timber and open country multiple times while ascending drainages. Early season finds hunters working lower meadows; as snow advances, animals shift toward higher parks and south-facing timber benches.

The unit enjoys solid road access with 438 miles of roads supporting a connected network. Togwotee Lodge and the Highway 26-287 corridor provide straightforward staging, and the Moccasin Basin Road (USFS 30750) penetrates deep into the unit, reducing approach distances significantly. This accessibility means pressure concentrates along road-accessible meadows and lower drainages in September.

However, the rolling terrain with dense timber above trailheads allows hunters to escape crowds quickly by working upslope. Road-bound competitors typically don't venture far from vehicle parking, making mid-elevation ridges and upper basin country quieter.

Unit 17 occupies the ridge country between the Gros Ventre River to the west (bordering Grand Teton National Park) and the Continental Divide to the east. The northern boundary runs along Highway 26-287 near Togwotee Lodge, while the southern edge follows the Moccasin Basin Road drainage system. This positions the unit as a transition zone between the Teton high country and the Absaroka range, roughly 15 miles east of Jackson.

The unit's moderate size makes it substantial enough to absorb hunting pressure without becoming oversaturated, though most hunting gravitates toward accessible meadow basins and lower-elevation benches.

Water is reliably present but not abundant—a key planning consideration. The Gros Ventre River anchors the western boundary, while major drainages like Fish Creek, Coal Creek, Turpin Creek, and Tent Creek provide secondary sources. Multiple springs (Antelope Spring noted) and small lakes (Toppings Lakes, Dry Lake, Marys Lake) exist at various elevations, but spacing between them isn't guaranteed.

The Fish Creek system flowing from the Moccasin Basin Road south toward the Gros Ventre River offers the most reliable water corridor for extended trips. Hunters should plan camps near identified water rather than assuming constant availability.

Unit 17 is moose country, and the unit's dense timber interspersed with meadow openings provides ideal habitat. Early season (September) finds bulls moving between timber bedding and meadow feeding areas—focus glassing efforts on Blackrock Meadows, Beauty Park, and the smaller parks during morning and evening hours. Water access is critical; concentrate effort within 1-2 miles of Fish Creek, Turpin Creek, and the smaller drainages where bulls must come to drink.

The rolling ridgetops and timber saddles serve as travel corridors; positioning along these routes during mid-day can intercept bulls moving between bedding and feeding areas. Higher elevation parks become primary above 9,500 feet as temperatures cool. Plan water caches and know reliable spring locations before heading deep into the unit.