Unit 280 Ogden Extended Archery Area
Late-season, either-sex urban-edge archery for mule deer — steep front-range canyons above town that quietly grow giant bucks.
Northern Utah — Wasatch Front / Ogden · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
324
sq mi
Public land
41%
approx.
Elevation
4,200–9,712
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
The Ogden Extended Archery Area covers the western face of the Wasatch above Ogden, from the valley floor and foothills up into the high peaks between Ogden and Pineview Reservoir. It was created as an archery-only deer-management hunt to thin deer in the residential Wasatch Front, and it has become a beloved late-season either-sex bowhunt for hunters who didn't fill an earlier general-season archery tag. The lower ground is a patchwork of houses and private foothills, but the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest blankets the mountains — Ben Lomond, Mount Ogden and the Snowbasin high country — giving good public access. It's a crowded hunt, but the long season and Front-range genetics mean one or two 190-inch B&C bucks come off this area most years.
Terrain
Classic Wasatch Front relief — valley floor near 4,200 ft rising abruptly through steep oak-brush foothills to rugged peaks and knife-edge ridges approaching 9,700 ft at Ben Lomond and Mount Ogden. Short horizontal distances, brutal vertical, deep canyons.
Cover: Gambel oak, maple and mountain-mahogany brush on the foothills and lower slopes, aspen and mixed conifer (spruce-fir, Douglas-fir) in the high canyons and on north faces, with grassy avalanche chutes and rock at the peaks.
Landmarks: Ben Lomond Peak (~9,712 ft) · Mount Ogden (~9,572 ft) · Ogden Canyon / North Ogden Divide · Pineview Reservoir (Ogden Valley) · Snowbasin / the Snowbasin road corridor
Access
About 41% public. The valley floor and lower foothills are largely private and residential, but the mountains above town are Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest with dependable public access via canyon trailheads. Because this is an urban-interface hunt, expect no-shooting safety zones near homes and roads, and use extra caution given the number of hikers and residents. An online bowhunter education/ethics course is required for the extended-archery hunts.
Managers: USFS Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF, private (valley floor and foothills), SITLA
Access points: Ogden Canyon (SR-39) trailheads · North Ogden Divide road and Ben Lomond trail · Snowbasin road corridor to the Mount Ogden high country · Pineview / Ogden Valley approaches from the east · Foothill trailheads on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (verify private edges)
Species notes
Mule Deer
common qualityThe marquee. An either-sex extended-archery hunt running late into fall, catching the early rut and cold weather. Deer hold in the steep oak-brush foothills and high canyons; hunting pressure is heavy on easy ground, but patient bowhunters who climb away from the crowds occasionally tag exceptional bucks — a 190-class B&C is harvested most years.
- →Glass oak-brush foothill pockets and canyon mouths at first and last light
- →Climb above the road-and-trailhead crowd to find undisturbed bucks
- →Hunt the late dates hard — cold weather and the early rut get mature bucks on their feet
- →Watch the private/public seam and residential safety zones on every stalk
Rocky Mountain Elk
common opportunityElk share the high Wasatch canyons here, and the extended-archery corridor sees plenty of hunters pursuing both deer and elk. They favor the timbered high basins and aspen, dropping into brush with pressure.
- →Work the high aspen and spruce-fir basins near Ben Lomond and Mount Ogden
- →Get in early and quiet — this is heavily hunted, thermally tricky front-range terrain
- →Use steep timbered north slopes as midday holding cover
Moose
limited opportunityShiras moose inhabit the willow-and-aspen riparian pockets of the Ogden-area Wasatch and the Pineview drainages. A limited-entry once-in-a-while opportunity, not a general pursuit.
- →Focus willow bottoms and aspen-lined creek drainages in the high canyons
- →Glass wet meadows and beaver-pond complexes early and late
Cougar
common opportunityCougars follow the dense front-range deer herds through the oak-brush canyons above Ogden. A viable houndsman's opportunity where access and snow allow.
- →Cut tracks along canyon rims and the National Forest road edges after snow
- →Hunt the deer-wintering oak-brush foothills
Pro tips
- →Hunt the late, cold dates — snow and the early rut move the big bucks that live here
- →The National Forest above town is your reliable public access; the valley is private/residential
- →Complete the required online archery ethics course before you hunt
- →Climb past the trailhead crowds — pressure is heavy on the easy ground
- →Mind residential safety zones and the many hikers on the Bonneville Shoreline foothills
Watch out for
- !Urban interface — no-shooting safety zones near homes, roads and busy trails
- !Valley floor and lower foothills are largely private; verify boundaries
- !Crowded hunt with lots of deer and elk hunters, plus non-hunting trail users
- !Steep, thermally difficult front-range canyons — physically demanding stalks
- !Early high-country snow can close upper roads and shift deer to winter range
Logistics
Ogden is right at the foot of the unit, so lodging, fuel, gear and food are all minutes from the trailheads — this is a hunt you can run from home or a motel with day hikes into the canyons. Huntsville and Eden serve the Ogden Valley/Pineview side. There's little need for backcountry camping; the challenge is steep vertical and shared trails, not remoteness.
Nearest towns: Ogden, North Ogden, Huntsville, Eden, Pleasant View
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Utah sources:
Research sources: GOHUNT Utah Ogden extended archery deer unit profile (41.2% public, 4,200–9,700 ft, ~323 sq mi, occasional 190" B&C) · GOHUNT Utah Wasatch Front extended archery unit profile (Ben Lomond, urban-origin population control, crowded either-sex hunt) · UDWR Utah Hunt Planner — Extended Archery Deer (DB0008)
FAQ
- How big is Unit 280 in Utah?
- Unit 280 (Ogden Extended Archery Area) covers about 324 square miles, ranging from roughly 4,200 to 9,712 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 280?
- Approximately 41% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: USFS Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF, private (valley floor and foothills), SITLA. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 280?
- Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Moose, Cougar. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Utah agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Unit 280 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.