Unit 925 Cedar/Stansbury
Island ranges above the Great Salt Lake desert — Stansbury high country and lonely desert antelope flats.
Northern Utah — West Desert / Tooele County · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
2,226
sq mi
Public land
80%
approx.
Elevation
4,200–11,031
feet
Motorized
extensive
access
Overview
The Cedar/Stansbury unit sits west of Tooele and the Great Salt Lake, built around the abrupt Stansbury Mountains — crowned by 11,031-ft Deseret Peak and its wilderness — plus the drier Onaqui, Cedar, and Lakeside ranges rising out of Skull, Rush, and Cedar valleys. It is a general-season mule deer unit with a genuine high-mountain component in the Stansburys and vast BLM desert antelope country between the ranges. The same footprint anchors the coveted Oquirrh-Stansbury limited-entry elk hunt, a quality-bull draw many hunters wait years for.
Terrain
A cluster of steep, isolated fault-block ranges separated by broad sagebrush valleys and salt flats. The Stansburys are the crown jewel — timbered canyons, glacial cirques, and alpine ridge above 10,000 ft — while the Cedar, Onaqui, and Lakeside ranges are lower, drier, and rockier.
Cover: Valley sagebrush-grass and greasewood/shadscale on the flats; pinyon-juniper and mountain mahogany on the mid-slopes; aspen, Douglas-fir, and limber pine in the upper Stansbury canyons with small alpine meadows near Deseret Peak.
Landmarks: Deseret Peak (11,031 ft) · Deseret Peak Wilderness · Stansbury Mountains · Onaqui Mountains · Cedar Mountains · Skull Valley · Rush Valley · South Willow Canyon
Access
Overwhelmingly public. The Stansbury high country is Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF (Deseret Peak Wilderness is foot/horse only) reached via South Willow Canyon; the surrounding valleys and lower ranges are open BLM and SITLA trust land (SITLA is generally open to hunting in Utah). Dugway Proving Ground to the west and the Deseret Peak Wilderness are the main hard closures; scattered private inholdings and ranches ring the range bases in Skull and Rush valleys.
Managers: BLM, USFS Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF, SITLA, private
Access points: South Willow Canyon Road (Stansbury/Deseret Peak trailheads) · Skull Valley Road (SR-196) · Johnson Pass / Pony Express Road · Cedar Mountains BLM two-tracks off I-80 · Onaqui Mountains via Terra / Lookout Pass
Species notes
Mule Deer
common opportunityGeneral-season buck deer unit with a rewarding split personality: high, timbered Stansbury bucks and scattered desert bucks in the Cedar, Onaqui, and Lakeside ranges. DWR has increased general-season permits here in recent seasons on the back of good fawn recruitment.
- →Glass the upper Stansbury canyons and mahogany benches at first light, then still-hunt aspen pockets
- →In the desert ranges, focus on north-facing juniper draws and rimrock near the few reliable springs
- →Hit the Onaqui and Cedar ranges for lower-pressure bucks once the Stansbury trailheads fill up
- →Late in the season watch for bucks dropping to the valley sage as snow builds in the high country
Rocky Mountain Elk
common qualityPart of the limited-entry Oquirrh-Stansbury elk unit — a well-regarded quality-bull draw producing mature 290-330-class bulls with occasional larger. Elk hold in the Stansbury timber and use the desert ranges seasonally.
- →If drawn, focus early hunts on Stansbury aspen and dark-timber benches near water
- →Locate bugling bulls at dawn from valley glassing points then move in on the wind
- →Watch for elk shifting onto private valley ground during summer/early fall — scout access boundaries carefully
- →Late any-weapon hunts pay off when bulls regroup on wintering slopes
Pronghorn
common qualitySkull, Rush, and Cedar valleys hold classic West Desert antelope on open BLM flats — the Rush Valley area is a sought-after limited-entry buck pronghorn hunt.
- →Glass the sagebrush basins from valley high points and drive the BLM two-tracks to locate bucks
- →Use terrain folds and washes to close the distance on open ground
- →Set up near isolated water or fencelines during warm early hunts
- →Judge horn mass and prong length carefully — desert bucks can be deceptively good
Pro tips
- →Treat this as two hunts — a mountain hunt in the Stansburys and a desert hunt in the outlying ranges — and pick based on weather and pressure
- →The Deseret Peak Wilderness holds the least-pressured mature bucks but demands a backpack-in effort
- →Scout water sources before the hunt; in the desert ranges the deer and antelope orbit a handful of springs and guzzlers
- →Respect the Dugway Proving Ground and Skull Valley reservation boundaries — know exactly where public land ends
- →Weekday hunting dramatically thins the crowd at South Willow Canyon
Watch out for
- !Dugway Proving Ground (military, closed) forms much of the western boundary
- !Skull Valley Goshute Reservation is tribal land — not open to general public hunting
- !Deseret Peak Wilderness is non-motorized — no ATVs or trucks
- !Private ranch inholdings at the range bases in Skull and Rush valleys
- !Scarce water and long distances between services in the desert
Logistics
Tooele and Grantsville, 30-45 minutes from Salt Lake City, provide full services, fuel, lodging, and processing. Beyond the towns it is remote desert — carry extra water, fuel, and recovery gear, and expect no services in Skull or Rush valleys. South Willow Canyon has developed Forest Service campgrounds; the desert ranges are dispersed camping only.
Nearest towns: Tooele, Grantsville, Stansbury Park, Rush Valley, Dugway
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Utah sources:
Research sources: Utah DWR — Hunt tables, maps and boundaries · Deseret Peak Wilderness — Wilderness.net · Stansbury Mountains — Wikipedia · GOHUNT — Utah Cedar/Stansbury Unit Profile · BLM — North Stansbury Mountains WSA
FAQ
- How big is Unit 925 in Utah?
- Unit 925 (Cedar/Stansbury) covers about 2,226 square miles, ranging from roughly 4,200 to 11,031 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 925?
- Approximately 80% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM, USFS Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF, SITLA, private. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 925?
- 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 925 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.