Unit 13

Hat Rock, Ship Rock, and Castle Rock are prominent pillar formations visible from distance—excellent glassing vantage points and navigation markers across the open plains. The Hat Creek Breaks themselves form the primary terrain feature, offering canyon country and escape terrain in an otherwise open landscape. Rocky Top, Chalk Buttes, and the scattered Horseshoe Hills, Harney Hills, and Hamilton Hills provide elevation and overlook opportunity.

These landmarks are widely spaced across vast open country, so they serve as critical navigation references for hunters working the flats and breaks.

Elevation here is consistent and low, ranging through the lower plains band with gentle undulation rather than dramatic changes. The landscape is predominantly open country—sparse sagebrush, short grass prairie, and scattered juniper on exposed ridges. Cottonwood draws and breaks along Hat Creek and the few named creeks provide the only concentrated vegetation corridors.

Rock outcrops and badland formations break the monotony of the flats, creating the breaks and canyons that give this area its character and provide cover for mule deer and whitetails in the bottoms.

Fair road access via county roads connecting Lost Springs, Lusk, Lance Creek, and Van Tassell provides entry points, though the 469 miles of roads spread across this vast, largely private landscape mean actual public access is limited. Most land is private; public hunting opportunity is sparse. The flat terrain and wide-open nature mean little natural pressure concentration—hunters here operate independently across large swaths of country.

Solitude is likely, but so is the challenge of covering ground and locating game without established access corridors.

Unit 13 occupies the northeast corner of Wyoming's high plains, bounded by the Nebraska state line on the east, U.S. Highway 20 to the south, Highway 85 to the east, and Highway 270 to the north near Lance Creek. The unit encompasses rolling plains country around Lost Springs, Lusk, and Lance Creek communities, with the Hat Creek Breaks forming the main geographic feature. Size and elevation are modest—the entire unit sits between 4,200 and 5,600 feet, making this low-elevation plains and foothill terrain far removed from Wyoming's mountain country.

Water is the limiting factor here. Hat Creek is the primary drainage, flowing through the breaks and offering the most reliable water source in the unit. Several named creeks—Middle Creek, Wyatte Creek, Quinn Creek, Young Woman Creek—provide secondary drainages, though most carry water only seasonally.

A dozen scattered reservoirs (McMaster, Thomas, Castlerock, Quinn, Lance Creek Number 2) and a handful of springs (Three Willow, Darrell, Kelly) are the only reliable summer water. Deer concentrate around these sparse sources, making water location critical for hunting strategy.

Unit 13 holds mule deer and whitetails, with whitetails concentrated in the creek breaks and draws while mules favor the open plains and ridge systems. Early season success depends on finding deer at water sources—scout the reservoirs and named springs before the hunt. Glassing from elevated rock formations (Hat Rock, Castle Rock, Rocky Top) can be productive for spotting mule deer on distant ridges, though the terrain is big and requires patience.

Whitetails are best hunted in the cottonwood bottoms and breaks around Hat Creek and the named creeks. Private land limitations mean this unit requires permission and planning; it's not plug-and-play country but rewards hunters who understand the sparse water sources and breaks-and-buttes topography.