Unit 97 Kaiparowits
A vast, roadless plateau of slickrock canyons and lonely benches — once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorns off Lake Powell and quality limited-entry mule deer up top
Southern Utah — Kaiparowits Plateau / Grand Staircase-Escalante · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
3,260
sq mi
Public land
97%
approx.
Elevation
3,700–7,600
feet
Motorized
limited
access
Overview
The Kaiparowits is one of the largest, most remote and least-traveled hunt units in Utah, a wedge of high desert plateau, sandstone benches and deeply incised canyons draining south to Lake Powell inside Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It is almost entirely federal land with a tiny private and state-trust footprint, so access is a question of roads and water, not permission. The two marquee hunts are a once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn sheep tag in the canyons along the lake and a quality limited-entry mule deer permit on the plateau — this is trophy, draw-only country, not a general-tag destination.
Terrain
A tilted plateau capped by the Straight Cliffs and Fiftymile Mountain in the north and east, breaking down through a maze of benches, side canyons and slickrock to the shore of Lake Powell around 3,700 feet. Mostly flat to rolling on top, cut by steep, rocky canyons that funnel toward the lake.
Cover: High-desert mosaic — pinyon-juniper woodland and sagebrush on the plateau and benches, grasslands and shrub in the open parks, and sparse desert scrub, blackbrush and slickrock in the canyon country near the lake. Very little tall forest; glassing dominates.
Landmarks: Fiftymile Mountain / Fiftymile Bench · Straight Cliffs · Smoky Mountain Road (Kelly Grade) · Hole-in-the-Rock Road · Cottonwood Canyon Road · Escalante Canyons · Lake Powell
Access
Nearly all federal — BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante NM across the plateau and NPS Glen Canyon NRA along the Lake Powell shoreline, with only scattered SITLA state-trust sections (open to hunting) and a negligible private footprint. Travel is on long, primitive dirt roads: Smoky Mountain Road down the Kelly Grade, the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, Cottonwood Canyon Road and Croton/Fourmile roads. These are bentonite-clay surfaces that turn to impassable gumbo when wet, and interior country is roadless — plan on foot access off a handful of two-tracks.
Managers: BLM (Grand Staircase-Escalante NM), NPS (Glen Canyon NRA), SITLA, private
Access points: Smoky Mountain Road / Kelly Grade (from Big Water) · Hole-in-the-Rock Road (from SR-12 near Escalante) · Cottonwood Canyon Road (US-89 to SR-12) · US-89 corridor (Big Water / Page) · SR-12 (Escalante) · Lake Powell (boat access to canyon mouths)
Species notes
Bighorn Sheep
limited trophyDesert bighorn are the signature hunt — a once-in-a-lifetime tag with sheep concentrated in the rugged slickrock canyons draining to Lake Powell. Trophy quality is generally average for the state with the chance at a good ram, and the herd is managed conservatively; this is a draw-of-a-lifetime hunt, not an annual plan.
- →Focus on the canyon rims, cliff bands and slickrock breaks within a few miles of the Lake Powell shoreline where rams hold escape terrain
- →Consider accessing canyon mouths by boat off Lake Powell to reach country the roads never touch
- →Spend days behind a spotting scope locating and grading rams before committing to a stalk
- →Scout early and build a list of several rams — sheep are sparse and spread across enormous country
Mule Deer
common qualityThe plateau carries the mule deer half of Utah's limited-entry Boulder/Kaiparowits management, with good genetics, low pressure and the low-density, big-country dynamics that grow mature bucks. Deer are scattered across a huge unit, so this is a scout-hard, cover-ground quality hunt rather than a numbers game.
- →Glass the pinyon-juniper benches, canyon heads and sage parks at first and last light
- →Hunt the plateau tops and Fiftymile Mountain country where bucks summer, dropping lower with weather
- →Cover ground with optics from high points rather than still-hunting the thick pinyon
- →Preseason scouting is decisive — pattern individual bucks before the hunt in this low-density unit
Cougar
common opportunityMountain lions range the canyon-and-plateau country following the deer and bighorn herds. A viable pursuit unit, best after tracking snow reaches the higher benches.
- →Cut for tracks along the plateau roads and canyon rims after fresh snow
- →Focus on deer wintering country and the broken cliff terrain lions use to travel
Pro tips
- →Both marquee tags are draw-only and hard to pull — if you draw, plan the hunt around one animal in enormous country
- →Watch the weather obsessively; a single rainstorm can trap you behind miles of impassable bentonite clay
- →For sheep, a boat on Lake Powell opens canyon country the roads can't reach
- →Invest in preseason scouting — this is low-density, big-country hunting where knowing a few animals beats covering random miles
- →Carry more water, fuel and recovery gear than you think you need
Watch out for
- !Bentonite-clay roads become impassable when wet — vehicles get stranded for days
- !Water is scarce and unreliable across the entire unit
- !No services or cell coverage in the interior — full self-sufficiency required
- !Sheer canyon rims and slickrock demand caution on foot
- !Enormous, roadless unit — animals are sparse and hard to relocate
Logistics
Stage out of Escalante on the north or Big Water/Page on the south — both put you on the primary access roads and offer fuel, groceries and lodging, but services are thin and far apart. This is deep backcountry: carry extra fuel, all your water, recovery gear and a spare tire or two, and treat cell coverage as absent once you leave the highways. Boat-based hunters can launch on Lake Powell to reach the canyon country. Self-sufficiency is mandatory — the nearest help can be hours away.
Nearest towns: Escalante, Big Water, Page, AZ, Kanab, Boulder
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Utah sources:
Research sources: UDWR Kaiparowits Bighorn Sheep Unit Management Plan (WMU #26) · GOHUNT — Utah Boulder/Kaiparowits Deer Unit Profile · BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
FAQ
- How big is Unit 97 in Utah?
- Unit 97 (Kaiparowits) covers about 3,260 square miles, ranging from roughly 3,700 to 7,600 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 97?
- Approximately 97% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: BLM (Grand Staircase-Escalante NM), NPS (Glen Canyon NRA), SITLA, private. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for Unit 97?
- Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Cougar. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Utah agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put Unit 97 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.