Unit 869 Barney Top/Kaiparowits
3,400 square miles from 10,500-ft Barney Top down to Lake Powell slickrock — a rugged, overwhelmingly public limited-entry unit that demands fitness and rewards scouting
Southern Utah — Boulder / Escalante / Kaiparowits Plateau · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
3,398
sq mi
Public land
97%
approx.
Elevation
3,700–10,500
feet
Motorized
limited
access
Overview
Barney Top/Kaiparowits is a vast south-central Utah unit spanning the country from the high, timbered Barney Top and the Escalante Mountains down through the benches of the Kaiparowits Plateau to the red slickrock canyons above Lake Powell. It is a limited-entry management area — the elk hunt is the complex's only HAMSS (limited-entry any-legal-weapon) tag, carved from the larger Boulder/Kaiparowits unit where terrain is rougher and elk densities lower, and the deer are managed for quality on premium tags. Land is almost entirely public — BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante, Dixie National Forest up high, and NPS Glen Canyon along the lake — but the sheer scale, brutal access and thin animal densities make this a scout-hard, hunt-hard proposition, not a numbers game.
Terrain
An enormous elevation span — from Lake Powell slickrock near 3,700 ft, up through stepped desert benches and the Straight Cliffs of the Kaiparowits Plateau, to the forested crest of Barney Top and the Escalante Mountains topping out above 10,500 ft. Deeply dissected canyon country with long, waterless mesas.
Cover: Blackbrush and salt-desert scrub on the low benches; sagebrush and expansive pinyon-juniper across the plateaus; ponderosa, aspen, and spruce-fir on the high Barney Top / Escalante Mountains crest. Riparian pockets are rare and precious, and the prime elk habitat concentrates along the timbered northern edge.
Landmarks: Barney Top · Escalante Mountains · Kaiparowits Plateau / Fifty Mile Mountain (Straight Cliffs) · Hole-in-the-Rock Road · Aquarius Plateau edge / Boulder Mountain · Lake Powell north shore · Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Access
Overwhelmingly public — BLM monument land across the plateau and benches, Dixie National Forest on the high Barney Top / Escalante crest, and NPS Glen Canyon along Lake Powell, with scattered SITLA (open to hunting) sections and small private near Escalante and Boulder. Access is via a few long dirt arteries — Hole-in-the-Rock Road, spurs off SR-12 and the Burr Trail, and Dixie NF roads onto Barney Top — that turn to impassable clay when wet. The interior plateau is effectively roadless; plan long foot approaches from road ends and carry paper maps plus a GIS layer.
Managers: BLM (Grand Staircase-Escalante NM), USFS Dixie NF, NPS (Glen Canyon NRA), SITLA, private
Access points: SR-12 (Escalante / Boulder corridor) · Hole-in-the-Rock Road (from SR-12 near Escalante) · Burr Trail (from Boulder) · Dixie NF roads onto Barney Top / Escalante Mountains · US-89 / Big Water on the south · Lake Powell boat access
Species notes
Mule Deer
common qualityManaged for quality on limited-entry premium tags, the Kaiparowits/Boulder-Escalante deer are a well-regarded southern-Utah draw. The huge elevation span means deer scattered from high timber to desert benches, and the rugged, roadless interior protects mature bucks for hunters who scout and grind.
- →Glass the pinyon-juniper benches and slickrock rims of the Kaiparowits at first and last light — big desert bucks use the broken country for security
- →Scout multiple zones preseason; this is huge, diverse country and buck distribution shifts with feed and water
- →Work the high Barney Top / Escalante aspen and conifer edges early, then follow deer down onto the benches as the season and weather progress
- →Time serious effort to the rut, when mature bucks move and become far more visible
- →Get well off the road ends into the roadless interior for the oldest age class
Rocky Mountain Elk
limited qualityA limited-entry HAMSS bull hunt — the only such tag in the Greater Plateau complex — carved from the larger Boulder/Kaiparowits unit into a piece with tougher terrain and lower elk densities. Mature bulls are present but sparse and hard-won; the best habitat is along the timbered northern edge.
- →Concentrate on the timbered northern edge — Barney Top, the Escalante Mountains and the high plateau margins where elk actually live
- →Scout hard: densities are low across a vast area, so preseason work to locate a herd is the whole game
- →Glass conifer-meadow edges and aspen pockets at daylight, and hunt water in the dry early season
- →During the rut, cover ground to locate bugling bulls, then commit to the pack-out reality of remote, rugged country
Pronghorn
limited opportunityPronghorn range the open sage-and-grass benches of the plateau country in low densities, a secondary opportunity behind the marquee deer and elk hunts.
- →Glass the open benches and sage flats from a high vantage, then plan a terrain-screened stalk
- →Key on water and green feed in this dry country
- →Use washes and folds to close distance across open ground
Pro tips
- →Scout, scout, scout — this is 3,400 square miles of diverse country with low elk density; boots and glass before the opener decide the hunt
- →For elk, ignore the vast desert middle and focus your effort on the timbered northern edge where the animals actually are
- →Match your zone to your tag and fitness — high Barney Top timber and low slickrock benches are utterly different hunts
- →Watch the weather on the dirt: monument clay becomes impassable gumbo when wet, and can strand you deep in the unit
- →Plan the pack-out before you shoot — the roadless interior means long, rugged retrieves
Watch out for
- !Vast, rugged, roadless interior — genuine backcountry fitness and navigation required
- !Low elk density across huge country; this is a hard tag, not a sure thing
- !Dirt roads turn to impassable clay when wet — can trap vehicles deep in the unit
- !Water is scarce away from the high crest
- !No cell coverage and long distances to services — self-rescue capability essential
- !Small private and SITLA parcels near Escalante/Boulder — confirm boundaries
Logistics
Base out of Escalante or Boulder on SR-12 for the high north end, or the Cannonville/Big Water side for the southern Kaiparowits. These are small towns — Escalante has the most services (fuel, groceries, lodging, a few outfitters) but plan to be largely self-sufficient. Interior travel is long dirt roads and foot; carry extra fuel, ample water, recovery gear and paper maps. Cell coverage is nonexistent across most of the unit. Dispersed camping on BLM and Dixie NF is the norm.
Nearest towns: Escalante, Boulder, Tropic, Cannonville, Henrieville, Big Water
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Utah sources:
Research sources: UDWR Greater Plateau Elk Complex Management Plan · GOHUNT — Utah Barney Top/Kaiparowits Unit Profile · Dixie National Forest — USDA Forest Service · BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
FAQ
- How big is Unit 869 in Utah?
- Unit 869 (Barney Top/Kaiparowits) covers about 3,398 square miles, ranging from roughly 3,700 to 10,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 869?
- Approximately 97% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM (Grand Staircase-Escalante NM), USFS Dixie NF, NPS (Glen Canyon NRA), SITLA, private. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 869?
- 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 869 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.