Unit 88

The Hoback Rim provides the most significant terrain reference—a north-south ridge system offering vantage points and navigation landmarks. Strawberry Ridge, Aspen Ridge, and Beaver Ridge break the landscape into distinct hunting units. Soap Hole Basin and the flats around Forty Rod and Haines offer major open-country glassing areas.

Key drainages including Dry Basin Creek, Little Cottonwood Creek, and Silver Mine Creek serve as travel corridors and water references. Jewett Pinnacle and Tripod Hill mark ridgeline positions useful for orientation across the sagebrush terrain.

Terrain spans from low valleys along the Green River drainage to mid-elevation ridge systems, creating a sagebrush-dominated landscape with sparse forest pockets. The country opens into relatively gentle terrain across much of the unit, with sagebrush flats interrupted by brush-covered ridges and scattered pine stands on the higher divide country. Vegetation transitions gradually rather than dramatically, reflecting the moderate elevation band and limited tree cover.

Open sightlines dominate, making optics and glassing central to hunting strategy across the exposed basins and ridges.

Fair access via 450 miles of roads provides reasonable entry points throughout the unit, though the terrain remains moderately complex with numerous ridges and basins. The Hoback Rim and ridge systems create natural navigation challenges—hunters need to plan routes carefully to avoid dead-ends and wasted effort. Road density allows fair coverage, but the open nature of the country means that once hunters are on the ground, pressure visibility is high.

Early-season access before snow is optimal; timing the sagebrush flats and ridge saddles during pronghorn migrations requires understanding seasonal movement patterns.

Unit 88 occupies the drainage between the Green River on its eastern boundary and the divide separating the Green from the Greys River to the west. The Hoback Rim forms the northern backbone, while Highway 191 and the East Green River Road frame access points near Cora Junction. The unit encompasses classic Wyoming intermountain country—broad basins and ridges rather than steep mountainous terrain.

Nearby towns like Daniel and Halfway provide staging points for hunters accessing the unit via fair-quality road networks.

Water availability is limited and scattered across Unit 88. The Green River forms the eastern boundary and provides reliable flow, while Cottonwood Creek and its forks offer seasonal water in the western drainages. Several reservoirs—Ryegrass, Raven, and Travelute among them—provide reliable water but are concentrated in specific locations. Creeks like Dry Basin, Silver Mine, and Chase drain into the basins but may run seasonally.

Understanding water locations is essential for both route planning and locating pronghorn during dry periods.

Unit 88 is pronghorn country, and the landscape favors classic antelope hunting across open sagebrush. The combination of broad basins, scattered ridges, and fair sightlines means successful hunters glass extensively from high points and vantage positions. Pronghorn will use the ridges for movement corridors and the basins for feeding, making early morning and late evening glassing critical.

Water sources concentrate animals during dry spells, particularly around the reservoirs and creek drainages. The moderate terrain complexity rewards hunters who take time to understand ridge systems and drainage patterns rather than rushing across open ground.