Unit 45

The Sherman Mountains and Laramie Mountains form the primary terrain anchors, with the Red Buttes and Twin Mountains providing secondary reference points for navigation. Cheyenne Pass and Morton Gap serve as natural corridors through the ridge system. Key water features include Horse Creek Lakes, Lake Pearson, and several Chadwick Reservoirs that hold year-round water.

Telephone Spring, Artillery Spring, and Granite Springs mark reliable water sources in the foothills. Eagle Rock stands as a distinctive pillar feature. These landmarks help orient hunters and mark water locations critical in this limited-water unit.

This is medium-elevation country, starting at low valleys around 5,000 feet and rising to ridges exceeding 9,000 feet. The majority of terrain sits in the 6,500 to 8,000-foot band where sagebrush grassland dominates, with scattered ponderosa and limber pine on north-facing slopes. Higher ridges and the Sherman and Laramie mountain ranges support denser timber stands.

The vegetation pattern reflects moisture availability—open benches and flats give way to timber as elevation increases, creating a mosaic of grazing lands, sagebrush parks, and forested draws that concentrate wildlife movement seasonally.

The unit contains roughly 1,520 miles of roads in a vast area, indicating a sparse road network with fair but not comprehensive access. Most roads are ranch roads and unimproved tracks rather than maintained highways. Private land concentration means legal access is patchy—hunters need permission or public access land identified beforehand.

Staging is through Laramie to the south or smaller communities on the perimeter. The combination of vast size, limited road network, and significant private ownership creates natural dispersal of hunters. Pressure is likely moderate to low in accessible public areas, higher on popular private ranches where access is granted.

Unit 45 occupies the transitional country between Laramie and the Colorado state line, bounded by U.S. 30 to the north, I-25 on the east, the Colorado border to the south, and U.S. 287 to the west. The unit encompasses high plains and foothills terrain spanning roughly 50 miles north-south and 40 miles east-west. Sherman, Laramie, and smaller communities lie along the perimeter, providing supply access.

The landscape is a mix of open grassland and sparse timber, typical of Wyoming's intermountain high country around 6,800 feet median elevation.

Water is the limiting factor in Unit 45. Major drainages include North Branch Middle Lodgepole Creek, Middle Crow Creek system, Snow Creek, and Bear Creek, but most flow seasonally or are intermittent. The scattered reservoirs—Weaver, Old Smuggler, Williams, and Cashs Home—provide some reliable water, though they depend on snowmelt and spring recharge. Irrigation ditches (Canal Number 1, Polaris Ditch, Horse Creek Ditch system) indicate agricultural demands and suggest water scarcity.

Hunters must plan water access carefully, targeting perennial springs and reservoirs rather than assuming creek flow, especially in late season.

Unit 45 holds moose, primarily in the forested draws and timber pockets of the foothills and mountain ranges. Early season hunting targets moose in high-elevation timber as they move to summer range; later seasons focus on drainage systems and creek bottoms where moose congregate around reliable water sources. The Lodgepole Creek system, Middle Crow Creek drainage, and timber stands around Twin Mountains and the Sherman range hold moose habitat.

Given limited water, concentrate effort near perennial springs and year-round reservoirs. The sparse timber and elevation transitions create defined travel corridors—glass meadows and parks for feeding activity, then pursue into timber. Expect moderate terrain difficulty; success depends on securing legal access and understanding private/public boundaries.