Unit 115

Key visual references include Hawks Butte and Wild Horse Butte for high-country navigation, and the prominent passes—Sioux Pass, Powder River Pass, Cottonwood Pass—which mark major divide crossings and traditional travel corridors. Mexican Lakes and Meadowlark Lake serve as secondary waypoints in the higher basins. The Vees, High Park, and Uncle Billys Flats are significant open areas useful for glassing from distance.

Devil's Slide and other topographic features help ground-truth position on complex terrain. These landmarks are essential navigation aids given the unit's broken topography and lack of clear linear features.

Terrain spans from lower sage basins around 4,400 feet to high ridgelines exceeding 9,700 feet, with the majority of huntable country in the 6,000-8,500-foot band. Lower country consists of open sagebrush flats and draws—classic pronghorn habitat. Mid-elevations transition to scattered Douglas fir and limber pine stands mixed with sage benches.

Upper ridges become denser timber with stunted conifers and windswept parks. The sparse forest pattern suggests ponderosa, aspen, and juniper at moderate elevations with significant open-ground pronghorn and mule deer habitat. Expect a diverse mosaic rather than continuous forest or continuous open country.

Road density is minimal with only 328 miles of road across the unit—most are rough forest service and county roads requiring high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicles. Highway 16 provides the main access point; from there, hunters branch onto Blue Bank Road, Canyon Creek Road (USFS 25), and other backcountry routes that quickly degrade to rough track. Limited access suggests lower hunting pressure compared to major highway corridors, but poor road conditions mean only committed hunters with suitable vehicles penetrate the interior.

Staging from small parking areas on the periphery often means 5-10-mile pack-in distances.

Unit 115 occupies a substantial block of the Bighorn Mountain divide country between U.S. Highway 16 on the north and the Nowood River drainage to the west and southwest. The unit's eastern boundary follows canyon and forest service roads down from Highway 16, while the western perimeter traces divides between the Nowood, Badwater Creek, and Buffalo Creek drainages. Hawks Butte and Sioux Pass mark key geographic anchors.

The unit encompasses multiple drainages including the North Fork Buffalo Creek, Tensleep Creek, and various small tributaries—a complex patchwork of draws, basins, and ridgetops rather than a consolidated landscape.

Water is the critical constraint in this unit. Major perennial drainages include Tensleep Creek, Buffalo Creek system (North and West Forks), and Stove Creek, but many are seasonal or unreliable during late season. Scattered springs—Moses Spring, Taylor Spring, Healy Springs, Cooks Spring—provide water but require prior knowledge and verification of flow.

Reservoirs are numerous (Castle, Chimney, Need Water, Tensleep, and others) but many are stock tanks of uncertain reliability. The Standish Ditch canal exists but is non-potable. Plan hunting strategy around water sources; rely on maps and local knowledge rather than assumptions about availability.

Unit 115 is pronghorn country, particularly in the lower sage basins and open flats below 7,000 feet—areas like High Park, Uncle Billys Flats, and the various named sagebrush parks. Early season offers the best pronghorn hunting before heat and pressure drive animals to breaks and water. Mid-elevation benches with sage and scattered timber hold mule deer.

The broken topography and limited water create natural hunter ambush points; plan to position near reliable water sources early and late season. Success requires accepting long, difficult approach hikes, rough camping, and precise navigation. The high terrain complexity rewards hunters with map reading skills and willingness to hunt the margins rather than main roads.