Unit 98 Kaiparowits, East
The eastern slickrock canyons above Lake Powell — Utah's up-and-coming once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn ground
Southern Utah — Kaiparowits East / Lake Powell canyons · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
1,003
sq mi
Public land
98%
approx.
Elevation
3,900–7,600
feet
Motorized
limited
access
Overview
Kaiparowits East is the eastern sub-unit of the Kaiparowits desert bighorn country, a remote sweep of high desert and steep sandstone canyons running down to the north shore of Lake Powell between the Smoky Mountain Road and the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. It is almost entirely federal — BLM's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument up top and NPS Glen Canyon NRA along the lake — with only trivial state-trust and private acreage. Sheep numbers here have grown, in part as drought pushed animals east from the western unit, and it currently holds more mature rams than the West unit, making this the more coveted of the two once-in-a-lifetime desert bighorn tags.
Terrain
Rolling high-desert plateau and benches on top, dropping through steep, rocky slickrock canyons that cut toward the north shore of Lake Powell near 3,900 feet. Mostly open country broken by sheer canyon systems.
Cover: Pinyon-juniper and sagebrush on the higher benches grading into sparse blackbrush, desert scrub and bare slickrock in the canyons near the lake. Open and glass-able throughout.
Landmarks: Smoky Mountain Road · Hole-in-the-Rock Road · Nipple Butte / Nipple Bench · Warm Creek · Last Chance Bay (Lake Powell) · Grand Staircase-Escalante NM
Access
Overwhelmingly federal — roughly two-thirds BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante NM and one-third NPS Glen Canyon NRA within the sheep country, with only a sliver of SITLA state-trust land (open to hunting) and negligible private. Access is via the Smoky Mountain Road on the west edge and the Hole-in-the-Rock Road on the east, both long primitive dirt routes, plus foot travel into roadless canyon interiors. The clay road surfaces wash out and turn impassable when wet.
Managers: BLM (Grand Staircase-Escalante NM), NPS (Glen Canyon NRA), SITLA, private
Access points: Smoky Mountain Road (from Big Water, US-89) · Hole-in-the-Rock Road (from SR-12 near Escalante) · US-89 / Big Water (southern staging) · Lake Powell (boat access to canyon mouths)
Species notes
Bighorn Sheep
limited trophyDesert bighorn are the marquee, once-in-a-lifetime hunt and the reason to draw this unit. The East herd has been increasing and currently carries more mature rams than the neighboring West unit, giving it the better odds at a good ram of the two Kaiparowits sub-units — though trophy quality is still average by statewide standards and permits are few.
- →Concentrate on the canyon rims, cliff bands and slickrock breaks within a few miles of Lake Powell where rams hold escape terrain
- →Access canyon mouths by boat off Lake Powell to reach sheep the roads never touch
- →Glass exhaustively from high vantage points and build a list of several rams before committing
- →Hunt the feeding edges of the crags early and late when sheep move off the cliffs
Mule Deer
limited opportunityMule deer range the pinyon-juniper benches and canyon heads at low density across this arid country. They are a secondary presence here well behind the sheep, thinly scattered and tied to what water and browse the desert offers.
- →Glass the sage and pinyon-juniper benches at first and last light
- →Focus effort near the scarce water sources and greener canyon heads
Cougar
common opportunityMountain lions travel the canyon-and-bench country following deer and sheep. A workable pursuit unit when tracking snow arrives on the higher ground.
- →Cut roads and canyon rims for tracks after fresh snow
- →Key on the broken cliff terrain and deer sign lions concentrate around
Pro tips
- →This is a once-in-a-lifetime draw — if you pull it, structure the whole hunt around finding one good ram
- →East currently out-produces the West sub-unit for mature rams, but permits are minimal
- →A boat on Lake Powell opens canyon country the roads can't reach and is worth the effort
- →Watch the sky — a single storm can trap you behind miles of impassable clay road
- →Scout hard and pre-locate rams; sheep are sparse across huge terrain
Watch out for
- !Clay roads turn impassable when wet and strand vehicles for days
- !Water is scarce and unreliable across the unit
- !No services or cell coverage in the interior — full self-sufficiency required
- !Sheer canyon rims and slickrock demand care on foot
- !Very few permits — a bucket-list draw, not an annual plan
Logistics
Base out of Big Water or Page on the south, or Escalante on the north, depending on which road you're working — all offer fuel and basic services but everything past the highway is remote. Bring extra fuel, all your water, recovery gear and spare tires; the roads wash out and cell service disappears once you leave US-89 or SR-12. A boat on Lake Powell is a major advantage for reaching the canyon country. Plan to be fully self-reliant for the duration.
Nearest towns: Big Water, Page, AZ, Escalante, Kanab
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 Kaiparowits East DBHS Unit Profile · BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
FAQ
- How big is Unit 98 in Utah?
- Unit 98 (Kaiparowits, East) covers about 1,003 square miles, ranging from roughly 3,900 to 7,600 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in Unit 98?
- Approximately 98% 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 98?
- 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 98 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.