Unit 20 20 (Selway)
Wilderness Salmon-River breaks country — earn-it backcountry mule deer, elk and river-canyon bighorns
Central Idaho — Idaho County, Salmon River breaks & Frank Church Wilderness · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
476
sq mi
Public land
99%
approx.
Elevation
2,000–9,000
feet
Motorized
wilderness
access
Overview
Unit 20 is deep, roadless central-Idaho backcountry along the divide between the Salmon and Selway drainages, reaching the Salmon River near the mouth of the South Fork. It is essentially all national forest — about 99% USFS with roughly 62% inside the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness — so this is a walk-in, pack-in, or fly-in unit for people willing to work for low-density, low-pressure game. Mule deer and elk are general-quality wilderness hunting rather than volume, black bear are plentiful, and the Salmon River canyon supports a coveted, tightly capped bighorn sheep tag.
Terrain
Extreme relief — the Salmon River canyon bottom near 2,000 ft climbing to timbered peaks and the Selway/Salmon divide around 8,000–9,000 ft across Three Prong Mountain, Burnt Knob, Salmon Mountain and Waugh Mountain.
Cover: Steep grass-and-brush breaks and bunchgrass/bitterbrush slopes low in the canyon; ponderosa and Douglas-fir mid-slope grading to lodgepole, spruce-fir and subalpine parks and burns up high. Extensive old fire mosaics create browse.
Landmarks: Salmon River · South Fork Salmon River mouth · Salmon Mountain · Burnt Knob · Three Prong Mountain · Waugh Mountain
Access
Almost entirely national forest with ~62% designated Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness (no motorized or mechanized travel). Access is by trail, pack string, jet boat on the Salmon River, or backcountry airstrip. Non-wilderness fringes reached from the Mackay Bar–Red River Ranger Station road system. Expect long approaches from any trailhead.
Managers: USFS Nez Perce-Clearwater NF, USFS Bitterroot NF, USFS Salmon-Challis NF
Access points: Salmon River jet-boat access from Vinegar Creek/Riggins · Backcountry airstrips (e.g., Mackay Bar) · Red River Ranger Station / Mackay Bar road to wilderness trailheads · Elk City road network to northern trailheads
Species notes
Mule Deer
common qualityBackcountry mule deer scattered across the breaks and high basins; densities are modest but pressure is minimal, so mature bucks live here for hunters willing to pack in. Whitetail also filter into the lower Salmon River bottoms.
- →Glass burns, subalpine parks and open ridge saddles at dawn from a high vantage
- →Hunt the timber/opening edges of old fire scars for browse-tied bucks
- →Pack in and stay — day-hunting from a trailhead rarely reaches the deer
- →Late-season storms push bucks down toward the canyon breaks
Rocky Mountain Elk
common opportunityPart of the Selway-country wilderness elk zone where numbers and harvest run low across the big roadless units, but strong pockets exist in and around burns. General-framework wilderness hunting — opportunity and solitude over high success rates.
- →Locate elk in and around the fire mosaics that regrew forage
- →Cover ground and glass basins; bulls hold in the roughest, least-visited pockets
- →September archery calling in the timber pays before pressure moves elk
- →Plan a multi-day pack camp near feed and water rather than road-hunting
Black Bear
abundant qualityBlack bears are numerous in this productive wilderness with abundant berry and forage in the burns — a strong spring green-up and fall berry hunt, often with color-phase bears.
- →Spring: glass south-facing green-up slopes and old avalanche/burn brush
- →Fall: key on huckleberry and mountain-ash benches
- →Use high glassing points to cover the breaks efficiently
- →Pair a bear hunt with a deer or elk pack trip to justify the effort
Bighorn Sheep
limited trophyThe Salmon River canyon holds Rocky Mountain bighorns and a very limited, hard-to-draw tag — a true trophy, once-in-a-lifetime hunt for the few who draw it.
- →Focus on the steep bunchgrass/rock breaks above the Salmon River
- →Scout by jet boat and long-range optics before the hunt
- →Hunt the rugged canyon rims and rock outcrops rams favor
- →Budget serious time and physical prep — access and terrain are brutal
Pro tips
- →This is a pack-in/fly-in/boat-in unit — build the trip around getting deep, not around road access.
- →Old burns are the food source; find recent fire mosaics and you find the game.
- →Salmon River jet-boat access from Riggins/Vinegar Creek is the key that unlocks the low canyon.
- →62% wilderness means no wheels, no bikes — plan meat-packing logistics before you shoot.
- →Low elk success is the wilderness norm; measure the hunt in solitude and quality, not odds.
Watch out for
- !Frank Church Wilderness prohibits all motorized and mechanized travel — verify boundaries
- !Extreme terrain and long pack-outs; grizzly not present but black bears at meat caches are
- !River access depends on flow; airstrips and trails can be weathered-in
- !Cell service is nonexistent — carry a satellite communicator
- !Long emergency-evacuation times; hunt within your fitness and self-rescue limits
Logistics
Remote, expedition-style logistics. Stage from Grangeville/Elk City to the north or Riggins for Salmon River jet-boat access; McCall/Salmon serve the southern approaches. Plan for outfitter jet-boat drops, chartered backcountry flights, or multi-day pack strings, and carry everything self-contained. No services inside the unit.
Nearest towns: Elk City, Riggins, Grangeville, Salmon, McCall
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Idaho sources:
Research sources: IDFG Hunt Planner — Unit 20 (ownership, boundary, wilderness, species) · IDFG — 2025 Deer/Elk Hunting Outlook (Selway-area elk) · USFS Salmon-Challis / Frank Church Wilderness
FAQ
- How big is Unit 20 in Idaho?
- Unit 20 (20 (Selway)) covers about 476 square miles, ranging from roughly 2,000 to 9,000 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 20?
- Approximately 99% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: USFS Nez Perce-Clearwater NF, USFS Bitterroot NF, USFS Salmon-Challis NF. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 20?
- Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Black Bear, Bighorn Sheep. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Idaho agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Unit 20 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.