Unit 32 Cache, Crawford Mtn
A weather-driven, limited-entry migratory-buck unit along the Wyoming line — snow-dependent, BLM sagebrush, and a shot at a heavy migratory deer
Northern Utah — Bear Lake / Rich County (Crawford Mountains) · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
129
sq mi
Public land
41%
approx.
Elevation
6,200–8,000
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
The Cache, Crawford Mtn subunit is a small limited-entry mule deer unit in Utah's northeast corner, wrapped around the Crawford Mountains along the Utah-Wyoming border east of Bear Lake. It is managed as a migratory trophy-buck hunt: the deer that make it huntable here are pushed down out of Wyoming and the surrounding high country by winter weather, so the quality of any given season hinges on snow timing. Most of the huntable ground is BLM sagebrush and foothill terrain, giving decent public access for a limited-entry tag, but success is fundamentally about being in position when a storm gets deer moving. It is a genuine trophy-managed unit despite its small size.
Terrain
A compact north-south foothill-and-mountain block — the Crawford Mountains — rising off the Bear River valley to timbered ridgelines near 8,000 ft along the Wyoming line. Sagebrush benches, brushy draws and rocky ridges give way to scattered timber up high.
Cover: Great Basin sagebrush and grassland on the benches and lower slopes, mountain brush, mahogany and aspen pockets in the draws, and juniper and scattered conifer on the higher ridges. Open country favors glassing.
Landmarks: Crawford Mountains · Bear River valley · Woodruff · Utah-Wyoming state line · Randolph area
Access
Roughly 41% public, with most of that managed by the BLM as sagebrush foothill country; scattered SITLA state-trust sections are open to hunting. The balance is private ranch and agricultural land in the Bear River valley, so a detailed land-ownership map is essential to stay legal along the checkerboard edges. Access is off county and ranch roads out of the Woodruff/Randolph area; carry a GIS layer to distinguish BLM from private.
Managers: BLM, SITLA, private
Access points: SR-16 / Woodruff area · County roads from Randolph · BLM two-tracks into the Crawford Mountains · Utah-Wyoming state-line access
Species notes
Mule Deer
common trophyThe entire reason for the unit. Managed as a limited-entry migratory trophy hunt with a post-season buck:doe target around 15-17:100, it can produce heavy, mature bucks — but the deer are migratory, so numbers and quality in any given hunt depend heavily on winter weather pushing animals down out of the high country and Wyoming. In a mild year the herd may not have arrived; in a snowy year the hunting can be excellent.
- →Watch the weather obsessively — plan to hunt the days right after a storm front pushes migratory deer down onto the benches
- →Glass the sagebrush foothills and brushy draws at first and last light where migrating bucks funnel
- →Hunt as much of the season as possible; timing the migration is everything on this unit
- →Work the transition zones between open sage benches and timbered ridges where mature bucks stage
- →Keep a land-ownership map handy to hunt the BLM/SITLA ground without trespassing the private valley
Rocky Mountain Elk
limited opportunityElk move through the Crawford Mountains and adjacent Rich County country but are secondary to the deer hunt on this subunit. Herds are scattered and heavily influenced by private ground.
- →Check the higher timbered ridges and mahogany pockets
- →Glass at the timber-sage edges early and late
Pronghorn
limited opportunityPronghorn use the open sagebrush flats of the Bear River valley and surrounding Rich County rangeland, an incidental part of the fauna around this unit.
- →Glass the open sage and grassland flats
- →Use terrain to close distance across exposed benches
Pro tips
- →Live and die by the forecast — the best days are immediately after a snowstorm pushes deer down
- →Do not judge the unit in a mild, dry year; a heavy migratory buck can appear overnight when weather hits
- →Carry a detailed BLM/SITLA/private ownership map — the valley is a checkerboard and trespass is easy
- →Glass more than you walk; open sage country rewards optics
- →Coordinate with the Wyoming-line geography — deer filter down from the north
Watch out for
- !Success is entirely weather-dependent; a warm season can leave few deer on the unit
- !Checkerboard private ranch land in the valley — verify boundaries before shooting
- !Muddy roads and early snow can limit access
- !Limited services in Rich County — fuel and stock up in advance
- !Cold, exposed foothill country in late fall
Logistics
Base out of Woodruff or Randolph for the closest access, or the Garden City / Bear Lake area for lodging and services; Evanston, Wyoming and Logan are the larger supply towns. Fuel and groceries are limited in Rich County, so stock up. Cell coverage is spotty in the foothills. This is high, cold country in late fall — come prepared for snow, mud and freezing nights, which are exactly the conditions that make the hunt.
Nearest towns: Woodruff, Randolph, Garden City, Evanston (WY), Logan
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Utah sources:
Research sources: GOHUNT — Utah Cache, Crawford Mtn Unit Profile · UDWR Cache Deer Herd Unit Management Plan (#2) · UDWR Hunt Planner · Utah Wildlife Forum — Cache Crawford Mountain Deer Hunt
FAQ
- How big is Unit 32 in Utah?
- Unit 32 (Cache, Crawford Mtn) covers about 129 square miles, ranging from roughly 6,200 to 8,000 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 32?
- Approximately 41% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM, SITLA, private. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 32?
- Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Pronghorn. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Utah agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Unit 32 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.