Unit 28 Box Elder, West Bear River
A farm-country valley unit that is almost entirely private — an access puzzle, not a wilderness hunt.
Northern Utah — Bear River Valley / Box Elder County · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
227
sq mi
Public land
5%
approx.
Elevation
4,200–5,500
feet
Motorized
extensive
access
Overview
The Box Elder, West Bear River unit sits in the agricultural Bear River Valley of Box Elder County, northwest of Brigham City and around Tremonton, Bear River City and Corinne. It is low, flat valley ground — a mosaic of irrigated farmland, pasture and rural residential with one small mountainous pocket toward the center. The overwhelming reality here is private land: only a sliver of the unit is public, so this is primarily a knock-on-doors, get-permission hunt rather than a public-land adventure. It is a general-season/extended-archery buck deer area, and pronghorn use the open valley flats, though most of the accessible antelope ground lies in the adjacent Box Elder, West unit.
Terrain
Flat to gently rolling Bear River Valley bottomland, mostly under 4,600 ft, with one small isolated hill/mountain rising near the center of the unit. Little relief and little cover — an agricultural basin, not mountain country.
Cover: Irrigated cropland, alfalfa and pasture, weedy field edges and canal/riparian brush along the Bear River, with sage and grass on the drier flats and low hills.
Landmarks: Bear River (eastern boundary) · Tremonton / Bear River City farmland · Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (to the south) · Small central hill (private) · Corinne / Lower Bear River bottoms
Access
Roughly 95% private. Public hunting opportunity is very limited — the valley is dominated by farms and rural homes, and even the one small central mountain block is private. Successful hunters here almost always secure landowner permission. County roads and farm lanes grid the valley, so physical access is easy, but legal access is the constant challenge. The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to the south is a federal waterfowl area, not a big-game destination.
Managers: private (heavy — agricultural and residential), SITLA (scattered), BLM (minimal)
Access points: I-15 / US-30 through Tremonton · SR-13 and the Bear River City / Corinne road grid · County farm roads (private on both sides — verify permission) · Scattered SITLA parcels (open, but small and few)
Species notes
Mule Deer
common opportunityDeer live in and around the irrigated farm ground and riparian brush, and some can grow well on the ag feed, but access is the whole game — the animals are almost all on private land. This reads as an extended-archery/opportunity hunt best suited to hunters who already have landowner permission.
- →Line up landowner permission well before the season — public options are minimal
- →Glass alfalfa and crop edges at dawn and dusk where deer feed
- →Work canal and Bear River riparian brush as bedding cover
- →Be a low-impact, ethical guest — repeat access depends entirely on landowner goodwill
Pronghorn
limited opportunityPronghorn range the open valley flats and sage on the west and southwest side of the unit. Antelope are present, but the larger share of accessible public antelope ground sits in the neighboring Box Elder, West unit rather than inside this heavily-private subunit.
- →Glass the open sage-and-grass flats on the southwest side for grouped-up bucks
- →Confirm land status before any stalk — much of the antelope range is private ag ground
- →Use terrain folds and canals to close the distance on open ground
Pro tips
- →Treat landowner permission as the entire hunt — secure it early or hunt elsewhere
- →Only about 5% is public; don't count on finding open ground once you arrive
- →Scout crop rotations — deer and antelope follow the standing feed
- →For accessible public antelope, look hard at the adjacent Box Elder, West unit
- →Be an exemplary guest so a landowner invites you back next year
Watch out for
- !~95% private — trespass risk is high and boundaries are a patchwork of farms and homes
- !Rural residential means safety zones and no-shooting areas near dwellings
- !Very little public land to fall back on if permission falls through
- !Antelope range straddles private ag ground — verify status before stalking
- !Do not confuse the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (waterfowl) with big-game access
Logistics
Every service you need — fuel, groceries, lodging — is right in Tremonton or Brigham City along I-15, so logistics are the easy part. The hard part is entirely legal access: this is a hunt you plan around landowner relationships, not gear or remoteness. Day-trip it from town; there is no backcountry to camp in.
Nearest towns: Tremonton, Brigham City, Bear River City, Corinne, Garland
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Utah sources:
Research sources: GOHUNT Utah Box Elder, West Bear River deer unit profile (5% public, 4,200–5,500 ft, ~225 sq mi, heavily private) · GOHUNT Utah Box Elder, West antelope unit profile (public antelope ground, SW concentration) · Utah Wildlife Forum — 'Box Elder, West Bear River unit is mostly private'
FAQ
- How big is Unit 28 in Utah?
- Unit 28 (Box Elder, West Bear River) covers about 227 square miles, ranging from roughly 4,200 to 5,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 28?
- Approximately 5% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: private (heavy — agricultural and residential), SITLA (scattered), BLM (minimal). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 28?
- Mule Deer, Pronghorn. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Utah agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Unit 28 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.