Unit 13

Major landmarks include The Needles and Rocky Point cliffs providing glassing vantage points, plus several named benches—Bigelow, Leavitt, and Tipperary—that offer elevated terrain for survey work. Key drainages for navigation include East Fork Smiths Fork, Aspen Creek, and Mill Creek, which funnel through the benches and provide water and travel corridors. Ridges like Cap White, Knight, and Moslander Ridge structure the country visually and serve as natural travel routes and hunting platforms.

Named parks and flats such as Hilliard Flat, Poverty Flats, and Deadhorse Park mark open country where animals congregate seasonally.

Terrain spans from around 6,000 feet in the river bottoms to just under 10,000 feet on the higher ridges, with most hunting occurring on the mid-elevation benches and draws. The landscape is predominantly open sagebrush flats and grassland meadows broken by scattered juniper and aspen stands, creating a mosaic of open country punctuated by patches of timber. Lower elevations feature sage parks and creek bottoms with cottonwood and willow, while higher areas transition to more substantial timber.

The sparse forest coverage means extensive glassing country interspersed with pockets of heavy cover—ideal terrain for predator movement and hunting.

Roughly 1,200 miles of road network provides fair access throughout the unit, though road density varies significantly across the landscape. Interstate 80 offers quick highway access from the north, while county roads and ranch roads penetrate into the working landscape. Staging is convenient from nearby towns like Lyman and Aspen, reducing the need for extended backcountry camps.

Road density suggests moderate pressure in accessible areas, but the size and terrain complexity mean substantial country exists away from main travel routes. Private ranch land interspersed with public access means understanding which ground you can legally hunt is critical before entry.

Unit 13 sits in southwestern Wyoming's high-elevation country, bounded by Interstate 80 on the north where it crosses the Green River, the Green River itself flowing southward to form the western boundary, the Wyoming-Utah state line creating the southern and eastern limits, and I-80 returning eastward to close the loop. The unit encompasses a substantial landscape of rolling sagebrush country interspersed with mountain terrain, anchored by communities like Lyman, Aspen, and Urie that serve as staging points for hunters. This is working ranch and public land country, accessible from multiple directions but requiring knowledge of the specific access points.

Water is distributed but requires local knowledge to find reliably. Major creeks include East Fork Smiths Fork, Aspen Creek, Mill Creek, and Stoney Run, flowing through the unit year-round or seasonally. Numerous springs—Dog Spring, Big Spring, Rocky Springs, Webb Spring, and others—dot the landscape and serve as critical water sources for both wildlife and hunters.

Multiple reservoirs including Massae, Austin, Martin, Piedmont, and others provide reliable water in specific locations. The Green River forms the western boundary but is less accessible for hunting purposes; focus instead on the creeks and springs scattered across the benches and drainages.

Unit 13 is mountain lion country, plain and simple. The sparse timber mixed with expansive sagebrush benches creates ideal cougar habitat—prey base is solid, terrain offers escape routes via draws and ridges, and cover is distributed in ways that concentrate lion movement. Early season hunting focuses on benches and saddles where lions move between bedding and hunting grounds; glass from high vantage points like The Needles or ridge systems and look for track in snow or dust on roads and trails.

Winter pushes lions down to lower elevations and creek bottoms where they hunt deer congregations. Hunt creeks like Aspen and Mill with dogs in timber patches, or glass open country looking for movement at dawn and dusk. Success depends on understanding local terrain, knowing where prey concentrates seasonally, and being prepared for long, physical stalks through variable country.