Unit 19

Cache Creek and Granite Creek are the primary navigation features—reliable water sources that cut through the unit and serve as natural travel corridors. The Gros Ventre River marks the eastern boundary and supports dense riparian cover. The paired East and West Gros Ventre Buttes provide visual reference points for orientation.

Spring Gulch offers another drainage to navigate. These water features are critical for moose habitat and also serve hunters as obvious places to focus effort. The buttes are useful glassing points when approaching from the west.

Terrain here sits in the 6,000-foot range—a transitional zone between valley floor and mountain slope. Sagebrush grasslands dominate the open country, with scattered ponderosa and lodgepole on north-facing slopes and ridgetops. The landscape is more open than forested; think rolling sagebrush benches broken by scattered timber stands.

This elevation band captures the interface between migratory big game corridors moving between lowland winter range and higher summer habitat. Riparian vegetation follows the creek drainages, providing green belts of willow and cottonwood through otherwise dry uplands.

The unit benefits from solid road infrastructure via Highways 22 and 390, making it easy to reach from Jackson (30 minutes) and convenient for day hunting. This accessibility is a double-edged sword—easy access means predictable pressure, especially along the highways and obvious creek crossing points. The compact size means popular hunting zones can get crowded quickly, particularly near road-accessible riparian areas.

However, the small footprint makes it possible to hunt the entire unit in a day or two. Parking and staging areas exist along the highways, and the connected road network reduces navigation complexity.

Unit 19 sits in the Jackson Hole foothill zone, bounded by Wyoming Highway 22 on the south, Highway 390 on the west, Grand Teton National Park on the north, and U.S. 191 on the east. The unit wraps around the western base of the Gros Ventre Mountains, capturing a relatively small slice of the ecosystem between Park boundary and the Snake River valley lowlands. Highway 390 provides direct access from Jackson, and the unit's position between two major corridors makes it easily accessible for day hunting.

The Gros Ventre River forms a natural eastern boundary.

Water is the defining feature here—Cache and Granite creeks flow year-round through the unit, with the Gros Ventre River anchoring the eastern side. These riparian zones create corridors of willows and streamside cover where moose concentrate. Springs feed the drainages, maintaining water flow even in drier periods.

The creek bottoms are the primary hunting focus; moose beds in nearby sagebrush but moves to water daily. Understanding the drainage system is essential—it dictates where animals feed and how they move. No shortage of water makes logistics simpler than many units.

Unit 19 is moose country, plain and simple. The riparian corridors along Cache, Granite, and Gros Ventre—with their willow thickets and water access—provide ideal moose habitat. Early season (September) means bulls are active in the drainages, bugling in the sagebrush flats near water.

Late season pushes moose lower, concentrating them further into riparian zones. The sagebrush and scattered timber provide cover for stalking approach. Key strategy: focus on drainage bottoms and willow zones, especially early morning and evening when moose move to feed.

The open sagebrush allows glassing from ridges overlooking creek systems. Small unit size rewards thorough, methodical hunting over broad area coverage.