Unit 2 Unit 2
San Juan Basin high desert: storied trophy mule deer country carrying a growing, truck-accessible desert elk herd.
NMDGF Northwest — San Juan Basin (sub-units 2A, 2B, 2C) · Last reviewed 2026-07-17
Area
2,346
sq mi
Public land
55%
approx.
Elevation
5,000–7,500
feet
Motorized
extensive
access
Overview
Unit 2 fills the far northwest corner of New Mexico — roughly 2,345 square miles of San Juan Basin high desert boxed in by the Colorado line on the north, the Navajo Nation on the west, the Jicarilla Apache reservation on the east, and the San Juan River/US 550 on the south. It is managed as three sub-units: 2A west of the Pine Arm of Navajo Reservoir, 2B east of the Pine (Los Pinos) River around Navajo Reservoir, and 2C south of the San Juan River between Bloomfield and Largo Canyon. The unit's reputation was built on mule deer — NMDGF's own deer forecast lists 2C among the state's only consistent producers of 170–180-inch bucks, and Colorado migratory deer winter in 2B — but elk are managed at the parent-unit level here, and the San Juan herd is steady to increasing, with NMDGF adding licenses to match (youth elk hunts run here too). Terrain is pinyon-juniper mesa, sagebrush flat, and sandstone canyon threaded by an enormous oil-and-gas road network; ownership swings from checkerboard BLM/private/tribal in 2A and 2B to a nearly 90% public BLM canyon complex in 2C, and sorting legal access is usually the deciding factor.
Terrain
High-desert basin country: broken hogbacks, pinyon-juniper mesas, rimrock canyons and sagebrush flats between roughly 5,000 and 7,500 feet, with irrigated river bottoms along the San Juan, Animas and Pine rivers. 2C is the most rugged piece — a deep sandstone canyon complex south of the San Juan River — while 2A and 2B roll gentler across mesa-and-flat country around Navajo Reservoir. Little of it is physically demanding; most of it is reachable by 4x4.
Cover: Pinyon-juniper woodland on the mesas grading into big sagebrush and grassland flats, greasewood arroyo bottoms, and cottonwood/willow riparian plus alfalfa and hay fields along the San Juan, Animas and Los Pinos rivers — the irrigated bottoms are magnets for deer and elk in dry country.
Landmarks: San Juan River · Navajo Reservoir / Navajo Lake State Park · Pine (Los Pinos) River — 2A/2B divide · Animas River · Largo Canyon and Cereza Canyon (2B/2C divide) · US 550 and US 64 corridors · Jicarilla Apache reservation boundary (east) · Navajo Nation boundary (west)
Access
Access character differs sharply by sub-unit. 2C is the public-land play — roughly 89% public, anchored by a huge BLM canyon complex with State Trust scattered through it. 2A and 2B are checkerboard: 35–45% public BLM/State Trust laced against private ranches, irrigated river-bottom farms, and energy leases, with the best deer widely held behind private gates. The bordering Navajo Nation, Jicarilla Apache, Southern Ute and Ute Mountain lands are closed to general NMDGF hunting — never count them as open ground. Oil-and-gas roads cross public and private alike, so a road on the map is not permission; run an ownership layer constantly. Elk licenses are valid unit-wide across 2A/2B/2C, and private-land landowner authorizations (E-PLUS for elk) are a significant part of how elk and deer are hunted here.
Managers: BLM (Farmington Field Office), private ranch and energy-lease land, NM State Trust, Navajo Nation / Jicarilla Apache (adjacent, closed to general hunting)
Access points: US 550 at Bloomfield — southern gateway into 2C's BLM canyon country · US 64 between Bloomfield and the Jicarilla boundary · NM 511 / NM 173 to Navajo Dam and the reservoir country (2B) · County and BLM oil-field roads north of the San Juan River (2A/2B) · Largo Canyon road system south of Blanco (2C)
Species notes
Rocky Mountain Elk
common qualityA resident-plus-migratory desert elk herd that NMDGF reports as steady to increasing, with license numbers raised to match — and most licenses going through the public draw. Outfitters describe typical mature bulls in the 250–290 class with a few 300-plus killed yearly, on some of the least physically demanding elk terrain in the state.
- →Hunt water: stock tanks, river bottoms and canyon seeps control elk movement in this dry basin, especially through a hot September
- →Glass PJ mesa edges and canyon rims at first and last light from the extensive 4x4 road network, then move in on foot
- →In the heat of the day, still-hunt the cool, dense PJ thickets and shaded canyon bottoms where basin elk bed
- →Calling works in the rut, but water-hole sits often out-produce running ridges in this open country
- →Remember your elk license is valid across all of 2A/2B/2C — be willing to relocate to whichever sub-unit is holding elk
Mule Deer
common trophyThe unit's fame. NMDGF's deer forecast names 2C among the only consistent producers of 170–180-inch bucks in New Mexico, 2B carries high densities plus Colorado migratory deer on winter range, and 2A grows the same heavy basin genetics. Tags are hard-drawn, densities in the quality-managed country are deliberately modest, and the biggest bucks in 2A/2B often live behind private gates.
- →Glass long from mesa rims and canyon edges at dawn and dusk rather than pushing the thick PJ
- →Hunt the PJ-to-sage transition benches where mature bucks bed within reach of feed
- →Late-season cold pushes migratory deer into 2B's winter range — storms out of Colorado can change the unit overnight
- →In 2A/2B, work fringe BLM against the irrigated river bottoms where private-ground bucks spill onto public
- →In 2C, get off the two-tracks into the roadless canyon heads where pressure evaporates
Pronghorn
limited opportunitySmall, scattered pronghorn bands use the open sage and grassland flats, a tag-limited sideline to the deer and elk story.
- →Glass the widest sage/grassland flats away from the canyon breaks
- →Key on stock tanks and water in dry stretches
Pro tips
- →Treat access as the hunt: sort BLM vs State Trust vs private vs tribal parcel-by-parcel before the season, not from the truck
- →For elk, inventory water first — tanks, seeps and the river bottoms decide where the herd is in a dry September
- →Use the unit-wide elk validity: scout all three sub-units and follow the elk rather than defending one mesa
- →For deer, hunt 2C as a public-land trophy grind and 2A/2B as an access game — a landowner tag or permission unlocks the basin's best bucks
- →Watch the irrigated Animas/San Juan/Pine bottoms at first light; dry-country deer and elk key on the green feed
- →Time deer hunts to the November rut and to cold fronts that start deer moving down out of Colorado
Watch out for
- !Navajo Nation, Jicarilla Apache, Southern Ute and Ute Mountain lands border the unit and are closed to general NMDGF hunting — boundary discipline is on you
- !Checkerboard ownership plus oil-field roads makes accidental trespass easy; a road is not permission
- !Clay lease roads become impassable gumbo when wet — a dry forecast can still strand you after one storm cell
- !Water is scarce; carry your own and expect wildlife to concentrate on the little there is
- !Draw odds on the deer tags (especially 2B/2C) are among the toughest in New Mexico — plan years, not seasons
- !Active oil-and-gas traffic shares the roads; expect truck traffic and gated well pads
Logistics
Farmington is the full-service regional hub — airport, motels, box stores, fuel — with Bloomfield and Aztec putting you minutes from the unit and the Navajo Dam community serving the reservoir country. The oil-and-gas network makes most of the unit drivable, but the clay roads turn to greasy gumbo after rain or snowmelt; carry a high-clearance 4x4, extra water, and a mapping app with an ownership layer, because the checkerboard is unforgiving. Cell coverage is decent near the highways and spotty in the canyon country. Camping is where-you-can on BLM; Navajo Lake State Park has developed sites.
Nearest towns: Farmington, Bloomfield, Aztec, Navajo Dam
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official New Mexico sources:
Research sources: 19.30.4 NMAC — GMU boundary descriptions (Units 2, 2A, 2B, 2C) · NMDGF 2023–2024 Elk Hunting Forecast (San Juan herd, GMU 2 license increases) · NMDGF / New Mexico Wildlife magazine — Deer Hunting Forecast (2B/2C quality, migratory herds) · NMDGF Game Management Unit Maps · Compass West Outfitters — New Mexico Unit 2 elk (bull quality, terrain color) · GOHUNT — New Mexico Unit 2A/2B/2C profiles (ownership percentages)
FAQ
- How big is Unit 2 in New Mexico?
- Unit 2 (Unit 2) covers about 2,346 square miles, ranging from roughly 5,000 to 7,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 2?
- Approximately 55% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM (Farmington Field Office), private ranch and energy-lease land, NM State Trust, Navajo Nation / Jicarilla Apache (adjacent, closed to general hunting). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 2?
- Rocky Mountain Elk, Mule Deer, Pronghorn. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official New Mexico agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Unit 2 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.