Unit 33

Castle Rock and the Red Wall features (Red Wall Number 1 and 2) serve as prominent visual anchors visible across the plains, useful for glassing and navigation. Steamboat Rock, Fraker Mountain, and Frewens Castle are distinctive summits that break the horizon in the higher country. The numerous draws—Big Red Draw, Shale Draw, Rim Rock Draw—are key travel corridors for both hunters and deer moving between elevations.

Hole-in-the-Wall Lake and the scattered reservoirs (Pass, Fauber, Keith, Hardluck) mark water sources but are generally small. Mayoworth and Barnum serve as practical reference points for road-based orientation, and the Slip Road and Mayoworth Road are major county thoroughfares for accessing different sections of the unit.

The unit spans roughly 4,600 to 8,400 feet, starting in sagebrush and grass flats along the lower river valleys and rising into juniper and ponderosa pine-covered ridges and slopes. The low-elevation basins around Kaycee and the Powder River drainages are open and relatively treeless—classic mule deer country with good visibility. As elevation increases moving away from the main rivers, scattered timber becomes denser, particularly on north-facing slopes and ridge systems like Harlan Ridge and Pine Ridge.

The transition creates distinct habitat zones where deer migrate seasonally between lower winter range and higher summer refuge. Much of the country remains fairly open sagebrush with islands of timber rather than dense forest, giving it a semi-open character despite the forested badge.

The unit is well-threaded with county roads totaling over 220 miles, providing fair access from multiple staging points. Highway 196, the Mayoworth Road, the Slip Road, and numerous ranch roads create a web of entry points. Kaycee and Mayoworth are the main towns for staging and supplies.

The road density suggests moderate hunting pressure concentrated along major drainages and county roads, leaving ridge systems and draw country potentially less hunted if you're willing to walk away from vehicle access. Some roads are seasonal or may require high-clearance vehicles depending on weather. The mix of public and private land means knowing specific access points is critical—boundary lines follow natural features but cross working ranch country.

Unit 33 occupies the foothill zone straddling Johnson and Natrona counties in the Powder River Basin. The unit is framed by Interstate 25 to the east and the town of Kaycee as the primary reference point, with Mayoworth marking the northern reach. The Powder River system and its forks form the drainage backbone—the South Fork, Middle Fork, and Red Fork all flow through or border the unit, providing clear geographic anchors.

Buffalo Creek and Beartrap Creek are secondary drainages that help subdivide the country. The boundary essentially captures the terrain between the plains and the high ridges, making it moderate in size but significant in topographic relief.

Water is limited but concentrated in key drainages. The three Powder River forks—South, Middle, and North Fork of the Red Fork—are perennial but confined to canyon bottoms in many sections. Buffalo Creek, Beartrap Creek, Alkali Creek, and Spring Creek are secondary drainages that may be reliable seasonally but should not be counted on in late season.

The Barnum Ditch system and other irrigation infrastructure historically tapped these creeks but reliability varies. Scattered springs like Shearing Pens Spring, Middle Spring, and Taylor Spring exist throughout the ridges but are often seasonal. Stock tanks and small reservoirs provide supplemental water for cattle and can help orient movement patterns.

Water strategy for late-season hunting should account for the lower-elevation creeks being your most reliable sources.

Both mule deer and white-tailed deer inhabit this unit across different terrain. Mule deer favor the more open sagebrush basins and lower ridges, with populations migrating upslope as season progresses and weather pushes them. Early season hunting should focus on high-elevation draws and ridge timber where deer seek shade and thermal cover; mid-to-late season pushes deer toward lower, protected valleys and creek bottoms.

White-tailed deer concentrate in the riparian timber along the Powder River drainages and tributary creeks. A successful approach splits effort between glassing open ridge systems and mesa tops for mule deer visibility, then working creek bottoms and timbered draws for both species. The moderate terrain complexity means high-percentage areas are accessible by road, but the best opportunities often lie a walk away from where most hunters stage.