Hunters in the Nebo Unit of Utah often experience high competition from both foot and horse-backed hunters, especially during the rifle season, which can make pursuing game particularly challenging. Experienced hunters emphasize the importance of understanding the terrain, as deer tend to stay both high and low, requiring strategic planning and effort to reach locations like Loafer Mountain or Mount Nebo. Despite the unit's high hunter density, there are insights to be gleaned about animal patterns and promising scouting strategies, especially around stream drainages early in the season. With its increasing recreational use and historical changes, hunters are advised to leverage local knowledge and scout early while remaining patient and focused on learning the area for ongoing and future hunts.
| species | general Size | trophy potential |
|---|---|---|
| Mule Deer | 140"-160" | 160"+ |
High
Low
This largely public unit, 75-miles-long, holds deer year-round but also has winter range for herds from the east. Elevation changes are extreme, starting at 4,550 feet in Utah Valley and topping out on 11,877-foot-high Mount Nebo.
Herds are low but growing. Hunting pressure is heavy, but some bucks survive long enough to grow old. Hunters often are surprised at the lack of deer in ideal habitat.
Elevation changes are extreme in this unit, which averages about 20 miles from east to west and 75 miles from north to south. Several mountain peaks of 10,000 feet or more as well as the unit’s namesake, 11,877-foot-high Mount Nebo, tower over valleys that are 4,550-5,000 feet above sea level. The Mount Nebo Wilderness in the Uinta National Forest and the San Pitch Mountains in the Manti-La Sal National Forest hold deer during all seasons with bucks moving south, east and west to lower altitudes as snow builds. The southern end of the unit is composed of the Valley Mountains east of Scipio and the southern tip of the San Pitch Mountains. Both areas are winter range for deer but with hills as high as 8,189 feet also hold deer all year.
Private property largely surrounds the Valley Mountains and the San Pitch Mountains, but most of the public land in those ranges are accessed by dirt roads and ATV trails that can be reached from public roads, such as Highway 28, which separates the two ranges. The Nebo Loop Road bisects the northern part of the unit, accessing trailheads to the high peaks in the Uinta National Forest.
Low elevations consist mainly of grass and sagebrush with a few croplands at lower elevations. Middle elevations have foothills covered with pinyon, juniper, sagebrush, Bigtooth Maple and oak brush with grassy ridges. High elevations consist of aspens, firs and spruces with lots of grassy and brushy openings that grow prime deer feed, such as chokecherry. The high parts of mountains in the north are largely free of timber with vast slopes cleared by forest fires.
Most hunters in this unit camp along dirt roads in the Uinta National Forest and the Manti La Sal National Forest, but there are numerous campgrounds, including some that are open during all or part of rifle deer season. Numerous motels offer lodging in Spanish Fork, Nephi, Ephraim, Manti and Gunnison.
Roughly 1,700 square miles
50% public land
Elevations from 4,550-11,877 feet
Four-wheel-drive recommended during wet or snowy weather
ATVs necessary on some roads
Most ranches hunted by landowner families and guests
Hikers can access much land blocked by private roads