Unit 90

Key landmarks include Pyramid Peak and Pronghorn Peak for high-country orientation, with Muddy Ridge and the Sharks Nose cliff band providing reliable visual references across the unit. The Continental Divide runs as a natural boundary and navigational spine. Major drainages like South Muddy Creek, Sylvan Creek, and Silver Creek Canyon cut through the terrain and serve as travel corridors.

Several passes—Texas Pass and Washakie Pass—offer ridge crossing points. Named springs including Antelope Spring, Steele Hot Springs, and Chalk Butte Spring mark reliable water sources for planning water-dependent hunts. These features help break up the vastness and provide navigation anchors.

The landscape transitions from lower sagebrush basins around 6,800 feet up to windswept peaks above 12,400 feet along the Continental Divide. Moderate forest coverage includes patches of aspen and conifer scattered across mid-elevation slopes, with sagebrush and grassland dominating the open country. The majority of huntable terrain sits in the 7,000-9,000 foot range where pronghorn favor the open flats and gentle slopes.

Higher elevations feature rocky ridges and sparse timber. The terrain creates natural movement corridors along creek drainages and between open basins, with elevation providing temperature and moisture gradients that influence animal movement seasonally.

The 354 miles of roads provide reasonable entry, but distribution across vast terrain means access isn't uniform. Highway 191 offers obvious entry along the western boundary, with secondary roads branching into major drainages. The Big Sandy Reservoir area provides southern access infrastructure.

However, terrain complexity and the unit's size mean that much of the interior remains challenging to access—hunters who push beyond obvious road ends and trailheads find less pressure. This is not a drive-by unit; serious hunting requires parking and hiking. Fair accessibility means moderate pressure near developed areas, but significant backcountry remains available to those willing to work for it.

Unit 90 sits in southwestern Wyoming's high-desert basin country, bordered on the west by U.S. Highway 191 and anchored by the Big Sandy Reservoir to the south. The Continental Divide forms the northern boundary, running through rocky terrain and high passes. The Big Sandy River serves as the southern drainage, with Boulder Creek and its Middle Fork cutting into the terrain from the east.

This is serious country—substantial in scope and complexity, requiring map work and willingness to navigate beyond maintained roads. The unit encompasses both accessible valley bottoms and remote ridge systems.

Water is reasonably distributed throughout the unit via perennial creeks and springs, critical in high-desert terrain. The Big Sandy River anchors the southern drainage, fed by tributaries including the South Fork and multiple lesser creeks. South Muddy Creek, Sylvan Creek, and Spring Creek run year-round or seasonal depending on snow melt.

Scattered reservoirs and Soda Lake, Toboggan Lakes, and Three Elk Lake provide both reliable water sources and natural gathering points for wildlife. Springs dot the higher basins—Steele Hot Springs, Antelope Spring, and others—offering water in otherwise dry country. Understanding water availability is essential to planning movement and predicting where animals concentrate.

Unit 90 is pronghorn country, and the open basins and ridge systems provide both opportunity and challenge. Pronghorn favor the sagebrush flats and gentle slopes between 7,000 and 9,000 feet where visibility is exceptional. Early season finds animals in traditional summer ranges across the open country; glassing from high points and ridge lines is essential.

Develop a system using key peaks and vantage points to cover large country. Water sources concentrate animals in dry periods, making springs and reservoirs strategic locations. The terrain's openness demands long-range glassing patience rather than stalking.

High terrain complexity means detailed map study, waypoint planning, and willingness to navigate rough country away from roads. Pronghorn migration patterns shift with temperature and grass conditions, rewarding flexibility and observation.