This unit, which borders the Rogue River and is north of Grants Pass and northwest of Medford, has scattered herds of Roosevelt elk as well as pure Columbia blacktail deer on Umpqua National Forest, BLM, corporate timber land and private farm land.

This is one of the better places in Oregon for hunting mature blacktail bucks without having to draw a tag, but the challenge is finding a good place to hunt because most deer hang around private farm land. Roosevelt elk also mainly inhabit private lands, some of which are open to the public.

The Rogue River forms part of the boundary of this unit, which features some wide valleys full of farmland, low foothills and mountains that range mostly between 2,000 and 4,000 feet in elevation. Grants Pass, population about 35,000, is on the southern edge, while the southeast corner of the unit borders Medford, population 77,000. The northern end is more mountainous and has less farm ground and recently logged terrain than the southern half.

Grassy pastures, meadows and farmland are in the valleys, including Sunny, Evans, Sam and Pleasant Valleys and the flatlands along the Rogue River in places, such as north of Medford. Brush, willows and trees grow along creeks. Most foothills are heavily brushed and timbered, mostly with conifers. Mountains are typically densely timbered with firs and pines, but there are also alders, maple, a few oaks and ashes. Other plants include buckthorn, ceanothus, manzanita, silktassel, laurel, mountain hemlock, Brewer spruce, snowberry, Oregon grape, Pacific madrone, chinkapin and even poison oak.

Few campgrounds are here. Three of them are Devil’s Flat Campground, which is 10 miles east of Galesville Reservoir, Threehorn Campground near the Rogue-Umpqua Divide, and a KOA in Central Point just outside the unit near Medford. Other lodging options include:

Much of the northern part of the unit is in the Umpqua National Forest, which is served by three primary roads: Upper Cow Creek Road, Forest Roads 3230 and 3220 and Road 32-3-5. Much of the unit is a checkerboard-pattern mixture of private timber land and public forest land. Galice Road, Winona Road, East Evans Creek Road and others provide access to federal land as well as to corporate tree farms that are often open to public hunting. Hunters who arrange for access to farmland and private rangeland that is not open to the public generally have higher success rates on elk and deer.