At a Glance
Quick Tips
- Good trout fishing in Deep Creek Reservoir
- Daniels Reservoir has good rainbow trout fishing
- Bring a shotgun for hunting grouse, pheasant and waterfowl
Terrain
Access
Historical Temperatures
High
Low
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Low
Moose have been hunted here since 2011. This area is on the Utah border and includes mountain ranges that run north on both sides of Malad.
This is a good unit for hunting trophy-size moose with the average bull having antler widths of 40" or better. Good success rate on bulls with antler widths of 36-42”
This unit consists of the mountains on both sides of Malad and the southern part of the Bannock Range. The highest point is 9,300-foot Oxford Peak. Elkhorn Peak also exceeds 9,000 feet and is part of a six or seven-mile-long semicircular ridge that is east of Malad Summit. Some peaks, including Elkhorn Ridge and Oxford Peak, are rugged and have cliff faces. Most of the mountains are steep, rising several thousand feet above the valleys which lie at elevations ranging from about 4,600 to 5,500 feet. Most valley land is private and divided into farm fields and cattle pastures with some large meadows and marshes in places.
If you draw a tag, visit landowners before the season to ask permission to hunt. You can reach most public land by road or by hiking short distances. The Samaria Mountains have roads up Gardner, Henderson and North Canyons, allowing hunters to drive to the high ridges. Pleasantview Hills have roads up almost every big canyon on the east side and to a radio tower on the west side. The west side of Elkhorn Mountain is mostly roadless. The west side of Wakley Peak is steep and roadless as well.
Low country is made up of agricultural land separated by draws and washes full of sagebrush and grass with willows and riparian brush along creeks. Some foothills are covered by sagebrush and maple brush with juniper woodlands and patches of aspens. Mountains are open on western and southern exposures and timbered or heavily brushed on north and east exposures. Firs, pines, spruces and aspens grow in the mountains. Serviceberry, snowberry, chokecherry, bitterbrush, elderberry and sagebrush are the main browse plants, while dense bigtooth maple brush provides excellent cover for deer and elk.
Some hunters camp on public land along dirt and gravel roads. Cherry Creek Campground is at the end of the South Cherry Creek Road. Third Creek Group Site Campground is 12 miles northeast of Malad on the Weston Highway near Deep Creek Reservoir. Summit Campground is east of Malad Summit on Powerhouse Road. Dry Creek Campground is on Dry Canyon Road, which intersects Route 36 northwest of Weston. Curlew Campground on the Curlew National Grassland offers seven campsites. Many lodging options are available in Pocatello. Malad Inn offers basic rooms in Malad as well as the highly rated Abigail’s Bed & Breakfast.
Roughly 1,804 square miles
33.6% public land
Elevations from 4,500-9,300 feet
ATVs can be used only on roads that can be used by full-size vehicles
Four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended
GPS units with land ownership memory cards are recommended