GMU 262 Withrow
The heart of Douglas County's dryland wheat — open-country mule deer and great upland birds, but barely 10% public land, so access permission is the whole game.
WDFW Region 2 — Columbia Basin / Waterville Plateau (District 7, Douglas County) · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
294
sq mi
Public land
10%
approx.
Elevation
700–2,700
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
GMU 262 "Withrow" is a ~297-square-mile unit covering the core of the Waterville Plateau, the heart of Douglas County's dryland wheat production, around the Withrow Moraine (the terminal moraine of the Ice-Age Okanogan Lobe and a National Natural Landmark). It offers open-country resident mule deer and some of the best upland bird hunting in the district, but access is the defining challenge: only slightly more than 10% of the unit is public, and most of that is small DNR and BLM parcels on the steep Columbia River breaks surrounded by private wheat ground. Where access is granted it hunts well — modern-firearm success was the second-best in Douglas County (~24%) in recent years — but this is a unit you plan around landowner permission, not public ground.
Terrain
Nearly flat-to-rolling dryland wheat plateau near 2,400-2,700 ft, studded with glacial erratics and hummocky ground of the Withrow Moraine, dropping abruptly through steep basalt breaks and coulees to the Columbia River near 700-800 ft on the western and northern edges. Deer concentrate in the broken breaks and coulee cover next to the vast grain fields.
Cover: Expansive dryland winter wheat and canola with CRP grasslands and remnant big-sagebrush/bunchgrass shrubsteppe on the plateau; steep native shrubsteppe and rimrock on the Columbia breaks, with thin riparian brush in the coulee bottoms. Parts of the north and west carry recovering scars from the 2020 Pearl Hill and Road 11 fires.
Landmarks: Withrow Moraine (National Natural Landmark, Okanogan Lobe terminal moraine) · Town of Withrow · Waterville (Douglas County seat, just south) · Columbia River breaks (western/northern boundary) · Badger Mountain (to the southwest) · Douglas County dryland wheat plateau
Access
Access is the crux: WDFW notes only slightly more than 10% of 262 is public, and most of that is small DNR and BLM parcels on the steep Columbia breaks, ringed by private property. Open-country mule deer and excellent upland birds are here 'where access is granted' — so success turns on WDFW's Private Lands Hunter Access enrollments and direct landowner permission. Learn the four enrollment types (Free to Hunt, Register to Hunt, Hunt by Reservation, Hunt by Written Permission), check the current-year property list before the trip, and reach out to landowners early. A Discover Pass is required on DNR/WDFW lands. This is a low-hunter-density unit, reflecting the access limits.
Managers: Private dryland-wheat farms and ranches (dominant — the heart of Douglas County grain country), Washington DNR (small scattered parcels, mostly on the Columbia breaks), Bureau of Land Management (small parcels on the steep river breaks), WDFW Private Lands Hunter Access enrolled properties (varies yearly)
Access points: SR 172 through Withrow and Mansfield across the plateau · County grid roads serving enrolled private wheat parcels · DNR/BLM access on the Columbia River breaks (western/northern edge) · Waterville as the southern staging point onto the plateau
Species notes
Mule Deer
common opportunityOpen-country resident mule deer are the primary draw, and where you can get on ground they hunt well — 262 posted the second-best modern-firearm success in Douglas County (~24%) with 56 bucks taken in 2024 (53 three-point, 12 four-point, 3 five-point-plus). But this is a low-density, low-public unit: archery success is the county's lowest (~18%) and total hunter numbers are small because access is hard to secure. Deer live in the coulee breaks and sagebrush pockets adjacent to the wheat.
- →Access first: line up landowner permission or enrolled parcels well before the season — the wheat plateau is a private checkerboard and permission is the whole hunt.
- →Hunt the breaks: the steep Columbia coulees and rimrock where DNR/BLM parcels and broken cover meet grain fields hold the deer.
- →Glass benches and coulee rims at first and last light, then spot-and-stalk the open country.
- →Expect deer to hole up in small, secure pockets in the broken ground and hold tight during daylight; still-hunt thick draws midday.
- →Modern-firearm season is the strongest bet here given the county's second-best rifle success rate.
Whitetail Deer
transient lowWhitetails are a rare incidental in Douglas County, essentially absent from the open wheat plateau and limited to a few brushy Columbia-break bottoms. Nearly all deer taken here are mule deer.
- →If encountered, look to riparian brush in the coulee and river bottoms.
- →Confirm species before shooting — season structures can differ.
Cougar
limited opportunityCougars use the Columbia River breaks and coulees along the western edge where cover and deer overlap; Douglas County cougar effort concentrates on those breaks. An incidental, snow-tracking pursuit here.
- →Wait for fresh snow and cut tracks on foot along the Columbia breaks and coulee rims.
- →Focus the broken river country rather than the open farmed plateau.
Rocky Mountain Elk
transient lowElk are very rare across Douglas County (about 2 taken county-wide in 2024), and WDFW runs liberal any-elk seasons in all GMUs to keep elk out of the wheat. Not a unit to target for elk.
- →Treat any elk as a chance encounter while deer or bird hunting.
- →If pursued, check recovering burn edges and the wetter creek and break bottoms.
Pro tips
- →Access is everything in 262 — barely 10% public. Secure enrolled parcels or landowner permission before opening day or you will be locked out of the good ground.
- →Hunt the Columbia breaks: the steep DNR/BLM slivers and coulee cover where the plateau drops to the river hold both deer and public access.
- →Rifle season is your best odds here — 262 has the county's second-best modern-firearm success rate.
- →Stack upland birds on the trip: this wheat-and-CRP country is some of the district's best pheasant and gray partridge ground where you can get on it.
- →Use the Withrow Moraine's hummocky, erratic-strewn ground and coulee edges as glassing and stalking terrain in otherwise flat country.
- →No CWD carcass restriction currently in District 7, but confirm the current rule before hauling meat out.
Watch out for
- !Only ~10% public land — the plateau is a near-solid private wheat checkerboard; trespass is the biggest pitfall.
- !Hunter Access enrollments and rules change yearly — verify each property before hunting it.
- !Low deer density and the county's lowest archery success; this is not an easy walk-in unit without permission.
- !Severe multi-year drought has cut deer numbers and dried up water and brood habitat for birds.
- !Recovering 2020 Pearl Hill and Road 11 burn scars still show reduced cover and forage in the north and west.
- !Steep Columbia breaks are the only public foothold and can be rugged, rocky, and hard to retrieve game from.
Logistics
Stage out of Waterville (the Douglas County seat, just south) or Mansfield for basic services; Wenatchee to the southwest is the nearest full-service hub. The plateau has an extensive, easy county road grid — but nearly all of it fronts private wheat ground, so a private/public boundary GPS layer and the current Hunter Access enrollment list are essential and should be downloaded offline. Cell service is spotty off the highways. A Discover Pass is needed on DNR/WDFW parcels; dispersed camping is limited, so plan lodging in Waterville or Wenatchee.
Nearest towns: Withrow, Waterville, Mansfield, Coulee City, Wenatchee
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Washington sources:
Research sources: WDFW — 2025 District 7 Hunting Prospects (GMU 262 Withrow: ~10% public, DNR/BLM on Columbia breaks, dryland wheat, harvest table, rifle success rank) · WDFW — Game Management Units (GMU 262 Withrow boundary & hunt planner) · WDFW — Private Lands Hunter Access Program (enrollment types, Douglas County)
FAQ
- How big is GMU 262 in Washington?
- GMU 262 (Withrow) covers about 294 square miles, ranging from roughly 700 to 2,700 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in GMU 262?
- Approximately 10% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: Private dryland-wheat farms and ranches (dominant — the heart of Douglas County grain country), Washington DNR (small scattered parcels, mostly on the Columbia breaks), Bureau of Land Management (small parcels on the steep river breaks), WDFW Private Lands Hunter Access enrolled properties (varies yearly). Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for GMU 262?
- Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, Cougar, Rocky Mountain Elk. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put GMU 262 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.