Hunt Area DG-01 Devils Garden (DG-01)
The northeast high-desert corner of the Devils Garden herd: sagebrush, juniper and lava-rock BLM country from Christmas Valley to the Wagontire fringe — mostly public, mostly open.
ODFW Klamath/Lake — Fort Rock basin & Christmas Valley high desert (Devils Garden herd range) · Last reviewed 2026-07-17
Area
1,568
sq mi
Public land
83%
approx.
Elevation
4,300–6,500
feet
Motorized
extensive
access
Overview
Devils Garden (DG-01) is one of the new 2026 ODFW Deer Hunt Areas that replaced eastern-Oregon Wildlife Management Unit deer hunts. It covers roughly 1,568 square miles of the northeastern Devils Garden herd range in Lake County, looping from Riley south on US 395 and the Christmas Valley Highway, out to the Millican/Fox Butte country and back to Highway 20. On the ground this is the old high-desert eastern edge of the Fort Rock and Wagontire units — open sage-steppe, western juniper and lava flows (the actual 'Devils Garden' lava field sits inside this ground northeast of Fort Rock). ODFW lists it at 83% public land, the highest of the four Devils Garden areas, almost all BLM. It is a low-density, big-country mule deer area where deer are migratory and success comes from covering ground and finding water and feed — manage expectations for numbers, not for access.
Terrain
Classic Oregon high desert: broad sagebrush basins and flats broken by juniper rims, cinder cones, lava fields and scattered buttes. Relief is gentle over most of the area, rising to isolated highs like Green Mountain, Wagontire Mountain and the Glass Buttes on the fringes. Deer here are thinly spread and tied to water sources, so the landform that matters most is the seep, spring, guzzler or green draw.
Cover: Big sagebrush and bitterbrush steppe with expanding western juniper, greasewood in the alkaline flats, and bunchgrass; scattered ponderosa/juniper transition on the higher buttes. Bitterbrush and mountain mahogany pockets are the key deer browse.
Landmarks: Fort Rock (tuff ring) and Fort Rock basin · Devils Garden lava field · Christmas Valley and Christmas Valley Highway (Lake Co Rd 5-14) · Crack-in-the-Ground / Hole-in-the-Ground · Green Mountain · Glass Buttes · Wagontire Mountain (northeast fringe) · US Hwy 395 / US Hwy 20 (Riley) · Millican / Fox Butte-Newt Morris Rd
Access
This is one of the more open-access deer areas in the state — the vast majority is BLM high desert laced with an extensive network of two-tracks and gravel county/BLM roads, so most of the country can be reached. The catch is not gates but land quality: public sections are interlaced with private ranch and irrigated-pivot inholdings around Christmas Valley, Fort Rock and Silver Lake, so carry an ownership map and know where the pivots and posted ground start. Water, not permission, is the limiting factor — many roads are washboard or sandy, and some BLM two-tracks are impassable when wet. Use the ODFW/BLM land-status layers and download the printable hunt-area map before you go.
Managers: BLM (Lakeview District — Christmas Valley & Fort Rock), BLM (Prineville District), State of Oregon (scattered sections), Private ranchland (irrigated pivots near Christmas Valley/Fort Rock)
Access points: US 395 corridor from Riley south toward Christmas Valley · Christmas Valley Highway (Lake Co Rd 5-14) east-west spine · Millican Road / Fox Butte-Newt Morris Road (north side to Hwy 20) · BLM road network out of Christmas Valley and Fort Rock · US Hwy 20 (Riley) along the north boundary
Species notes
Mule Deer
limited opportunityPrimary species, but this is low-density desert range for the Devils Garden herd — deer are migratory and thinly distributed, moving with feed and water rather than holding in numbers. Recent wet winters and spring precipitation have filled dugouts and guzzlers and nudged the desert population up slightly. Expect to work for a buck; the payoff is space, high public access and light competition compared to the forest units.
- →Glass the juniper rims and sage benches above green draws at first and last light — deer feed in the open early, then bed in juniper stringers.
- →Hunt water: dugouts, guzzlers, springs and the greenest bitterbrush pockets concentrate deer in dry country, especially in warm early seasons.
- →Cover ground by vehicle to locate deer, then still-hunt or spot-and-stalk the juniper and mahogany pockets on foot.
- →Focus on rougher rimrock and lava edges away from the pivots where deer are less pressured.
- →Key on transition edges between old burns/openings and unburned browse where new shrub growth draws feeding deer.
Pronghorn
common qualityThe Fort Rock/Christmas Valley/Wagontire high desert is genuine pronghorn country, and ODFW reports steady-to-slightly-increasing antelope numbers across this district with strong recruitment in recent wet years. Pronghorn tags here are controlled-hunt only and hard to draw, but the buck quality can be excellent.
- →Glass the wide sage flats from a vehicle or high point and pick apart distant herds before committing to a stalk.
- →Use terrain folds, dry lake edges and rims to close the open-country distance on a located buck.
- →Watch water sources and green feed in dry stretches — antelope concentrate near reliable water.
- →Scout early: the biggest bucks are patternable on open feed before the season and pressure move them.
Cougar
limited opportunityCougars range the juniper and rimrock country following the desert deer, but densities are low across this open ground. Most are taken opportunistically by deer hunters rather than targeted.
- →Carry the tag and be ready while glassing for deer — encounters are incidental here.
- →Cut fresh tracks in sandy two-tracks and around water sources and rimrock.
- →Hunt where deer concentrate; the cats follow the prey into the juniper stringers.
Pro tips
- →Treat DG-01 as a spot-and-stalk desert hunt: glass big, cover country, and hunt water and green feed rather than expecting to bump deer in cover.
- →Carry a current land-ownership map — the public BLM is interlaced with private ranch and irrigated-pivot inholdings around Christmas Valley and Fort Rock.
- →After wet winters, hit the guzzlers, dugouts and greenest bitterbrush; the desert herd tracks water and new growth.
- →Get off the main gravel roads onto the rimrock and lava edges to find less-pressured bucks.
- →Come self-sufficient: fuel up in Christmas Valley, pack water and tire-repair kit, and don't count on cell service.
Watch out for
- !Low deer density — this is not a numbers area; plan for a working spot-and-stalk hunt over lots of country.
- !Private ranch and center-pivot inholdings are scattered through the public land; verify ownership before you hunt or camp.
- !Sandy and clay two-tracks can be impassable when wet — carry recovery gear and don't over-commit a 2WD.
- !Water and services are sparse; there is no fuel or cell coverage across much of the interior.
- !Pronghorn (and any elk) tags here are controlled-hunt only — confirm what your tag actually allows in the current Big Game Regulations.
Logistics
Christmas Valley is the practical hub with fuel, a small store, lodging and an airstrip; Fort Rock and Silver Lake have limited services, and Burns to the northeast is the nearest full-service town. Most hunters camp — dispersed camping on BLM ground is wide open across the area (mind fire restrictions and stay off private/pivot ground). Bring water, spare tires and recovery gear; roads are gravel and sandy two-track, and cell coverage is spotty to nonexistent once off the main highways. Nearest reliable services and cell are back on the US 395/Hwy 20 corridor.
Nearest towns: Christmas Valley, Fort Rock, Silver Lake, Riley, Hampton, Burns
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Oregon sources:
Research sources: ODFW — Devils Garden Hunt Area DG-01 (boundary description, 83% public land, Lakeview/Prineville/Vale BLM) · ODFW — Eastern Oregon Deer Hunt Areas for 2026 · ODFW 2026 Big Game Regulations — Eastern Oregon Deer Hunt Area Boundary Descriptions (Devils Garden DG-01, 83% public) · ODFW 2025 Big Game Hunting Forecast — Wagontire/Fort Rock desert deer & pronghorn conditions · ODFW — Wagontire Unit 73 (legacy WMU boundary/public land, high-desert character)
FAQ
- How big is Hunt Area DG-01 in Oregon?
- Hunt Area DG-01 (Devils Garden (DG-01)) covers about 1,568 square miles, ranging from roughly 4,300 to 6,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Hunt Area DG-01?
- Approximately 83% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM (Lakeview District — Christmas Valley & Fort Rock), BLM (Prineville District), State of Oregon (scattered sections), Private ranchland (irrigated pivots near Christmas Valley/Fort Rock). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Hunt Area DG-01?
- Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Cougar. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Oregon agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Hunt Area DG-01 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.