Unit 116

Key navigation anchors include Meeteetse Rim and Noon Point cliffs, which define drainage edges and provide orientation reference. Tonopah Ridge runs as a major divide offering elevated vantage. Summits like Schaub Butte and Pappapau Butte serve as distant recognizable peaks.

The Wood River and its major tributaries—including Sheep Creek, Rose Creek, and Iron Creek—form the primary drainage corridors and navigation guides. Upper Sunshine Reservoir and associated water impoundments mark basin bottoms. These features combine to create distinctive terrain—hunters can identify position relative to rim country and major drainages even in poor visibility.

The unit spans from mid-elevation sagebrush and grassland basins up to high alpine ridges and summits exceeding 11,400 feet. Lower drainages feature open parks and scattered aspen or conifer patches, transitioning into denser timbered slopes at higher elevations. Ridgetop country is primarily open—wind-exposed terrain with sparse stand-up timber.

The elevation band transitions create distinct thermal zones; hunters encounter dry sage benches in lower basins, mixed forest-meadow country in mid-elevations, and above-timberline ridge systems that offer glassing vantage but present exposure.

The road network totals 88 miles but is sparse relative to terrain size, with no major highways or significant network density within the unit. Most access follows drainages or ridge saddles on rough Forest Service roads; many roads are seasonal or gated. This limited road network strongly suppresses pressure—most hunters cannot efficiently access mid and high country.

Those who do access the unit typically stage from Meeteetse or use high-country trailheads. The combination of few roads, high terrain complexity, and distance from population centers means solitude is likely, though hunters must be completely self-sufficient.

Unit 116 is defined by the Greybull and Wood River drainage systems, bounded west by the National Forest boundary and east by Wyoming Highway 120. The unit encompasses multiple sub-basins including Upper Sunshine Basin and Spring Creek Basin, creating a complex drainage network with distinct high and low points. Meeteetse sits as a reference point on the eastern boundary, while the western reaches extend into more remote Forest Service terrain. The terrain is moderate in overall size but feels expansive due to elevation relief and sparse development patterns.

Water sources are concentrated in major drainages rather than distributed throughout. The Wood River and Greybull River system, along with key tributaries like Sheep Creek, Stonewall Creek, and Iron Creek, provide reliable perennial flow. Several reservoirs including Sunshine Reservoir, Upper Sunshine Reservoir, and Rush Creek Reservoir store water in basin bottoms.

Numerous irrigation ditches (Only Chance, Sunshine Supply, Pitchfork, Nelson, and others) indicate historical water management but offer inconsistent hunting-season reliability. Between drainages, water is scarce—hunters must plan routes around known creeks or basins rather than expecting scattered springs.

Unit 116 holds mule deer and white-tailed deer in habitat that spans sagebrush basins through timbered mid-elevation slopes to open ridges. Mule deer use lower-elevation parks and sage benches early season, moving higher as temperatures rise and hunting pressure increases. Timber corridors provide migration routes; hunters should glass open benches at dawn, then work timber edges and saddles during midday.

Late season pushes deer higher onto ridges and into scattered conifer cover. White-tailed deer concentrate in riparian timber and brushy drainage bottoms where they're difficult to hunt. Success requires fitness for elevation and distance—plan multi-day hunts with camps positioned for efficient glassing access and drainage movement.