Unit 85

Mount Leidy and Lava Mountain provide visual anchors in the high country. The Red Hills and Lavender Hills offer moderate elevation landmarks useful for orientation. Packsaddle Pass and Gunsight Pass serve as natural travel corridors.

The scattered parks—particularly Washakie Park, Beauty Park, and Sagebrush Flat—are significant features both for navigation and potential hunting. Lower Slide Lake, Soda Lake, and Square Lake provide reference points in the upper drainages. Bacon Ridge and Buckskin Ridge are notable ridgelines for route-finding and glassing.

Terrain spans from around 6,200 feet in valley bottoms to above 11,600 feet on the higher peaks and ridges. The country is predominantly forested, with dense stands of lodgepole pine and spruce-fir covering the bulk of the unit. Open parks and meadows—Washakie Park, Beauty Park, Preacher Park, and others—break the timber at mid to upper elevations.

Sagebrush flats occupy lower areas and south-facing slopes. The rolling topography creates a mix of open glassing country and timbered cover, with elevation change providing natural habitat transitions for pronghorn movement.

Nearly 900 miles of Forest Service roads network the unit, though access density is moderate relative to the vast area. US Forest Service Road 600 (Union Pass Road) and Road 620 (Darwin Ranch Road) are primary corridors. Highway access via US 191 and US 26-287 provides entry points, but most of the unit requires driving into the national forest.

Road conditions and seasonal closures matter—spring and early summer may limit access. Fair accessibility means moderate hunting pressure in roadside drainages, but the size and complexity allow escape into less-visited country for those willing to work.

Unit 85 covers vast acreage across the eastern face of the Gros Ventre Range and surrounding country, bounded by the National Elk Refuge to the west, the Bridger-Teton National Forest boundary to the north and east, and a series of ridge divides separating drainages to the south. US Highway 191 anchors the western edge near the Gros Ventre River, while Togwotee Pass on Highway 26-287 marks the northern boundary. The unit encompasses major drainages including the Gros Ventre River, upper Green River, and numerous creeks flowing through a landscape of high plateaus and rolling mountains.

Water is the limiting factor in this unit. The Gros Ventre River anchors the western drainage, while the upper Green River system dominates the north. Key creeks include Rock Creek, West Fork Crystal Creek, Brush Creek, and Tent Creek—these provide reliable water in defined corridors but aren't abundant.

Nowlin Creek and Turpin Creek flow through mid-elevation country. Springs like Millers Springs and Peterson Springs exist but are scattered; hunters need to plan water stops around known sources. The limited water availability significantly affects pronghorn distribution and seasonal movement.

Pronghorn in Unit 85 inhabit the open parks, meadows, and sagebrush areas scattered throughout the timbered high country. Washakie Park, Beauty Park, and Sagebrush Flat are prime target areas where animals concentrate in open feed. The rolling terrain allows effective glassing from ridges overlooking these parks.

Early season hunting (fall) takes advantage of pronghorn migration and their preference for open country before snow pushes them lower. Water-dependent country means animals follow creeks and springs—concentrate near reliable water sources during dry periods. Terrain complexity requires patience; this unit rewards methodical hunters who understand drainage systems and pronghorn movement rather than casual road hunting.