GMU 278 Wahluke
Lower Crab Creek shrub-steppe and Saddle Mountain slope above the Columbia bend
WDFW Region 2 / District 5 — Columbia Basin (Grant County) · Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Area
848
sq mi
Public land
15%
approx.
Elevation
400–2,500
feet
Motorized
moderate
access
Overview
GMU 278 (Wahluke) sits in southern Grant County, spanning the Wahluke Slope and Saddle Mountains down to Lower Crab Creek and the Columbia River bend at Priest Rapids and Wanapum. It is a mule-deer and upland-bird unit set in classic Columbia Basin shrub-steppe, anchored by roughly 36,000 acres of the Lower Crab Creek Unit of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area plus scattered WDNR and federal parcels. Deer numbers are modest but stable — WDFW runs no formal survey here — and general-season pressure is light, with only 100-310 hunters and a 20-90 deer harvest most years.
Terrain
Shrub-steppe benches and coulees rising from the Columbia River and Lower Crab Creek up onto the south face of the Saddle Mountains, cut by wasteways and irrigation drains.
Cover: Big sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, and bunchgrass on the uplands, with cattail, bulrush, Russian olive, and willow along Crab Creek and the wasteway corridors. Irrigated circle-pivot farmland fringes the north.
Landmarks: Saddle Mountains · Lower Crab Creek · Columbia River (Priest Rapids / Wanapum pools) · Beverly / Smyrna · Wahluke Slope
Access
Better public access than most Basin deer units. The ~36,000-acre Lower Crab Creek Unit of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area is open to hunting, and interspersed WDNR and Reclamation ground adds walk-in country along Crab Creek and the wasteways. A Discover Pass (or WDFW Vehicle Access Pass) is required on state land. Note the adjacent Hanford Reach National Monument: the Wahluke Unit allows some hunting but the Saddle Mountain NWR portion is closed — verify boundaries on the WDFW Hunt Planner before hunting the south edge.
Managers: WDFW — Columbia Basin Wildlife Area (Lower Crab Creek Unit, ~36,000 ac), WDNR state lands, US Bureau of Reclamation / Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, USFWS Hanford Reach National Monument (Wahluke Unit, to the south), Private irrigated & dryland farms
Access points: Lower Crab Creek Road (Beverly / Smyrna) · SR 243 along the Columbia · Road W SW and county grid off SR 26 · Wanapum / Vantage area from I-90
Species notes
Mule Deer
common opportunityThe backbone of the unit. 2024 saw 77 bucks taken by 343 hunters — modern firearm ran about 16% success, muzzleloader 26%, and multi-season tags 47%. Deer hold in the shrub-steppe pockets, Crab Creek brush, and Saddle Mountain draws. Antlerless opportunity in the archery general season has been folded into the antlerless permit category.
- →Glass sagebrush benches and the Saddle Mountain slope at first and last light
- →Work the transition between irrigated farmland edges and untillable shrub-steppe
- →Still-hunt the Crab Creek brush and wasteway corridors where bucks bed
- →The Columbia Basin Wildlife Area ground is your open-access anchor — learn its boundaries on the Hunt Planner
Rocky Mountain Elk
transient opportunityNo resident elk herd exists in District 5, but 'Any Elk' opportunity runs all seasons and 7 elk were taken in GMU 278 in 2024. Animals are scattered and unpredictable; most come off private ag ground.
- →Chase fresh sightings rather than trying to pattern a herd
- →Focus on farm edges and river-bottom cover where transient elk feed
- →Securing private-land permission is the single biggest driver of success
Cougar
limited opportunityDistrict 5 holds a small, stable cougar population with fewer than five taken district-wide most years — the Crab Creek drainage is one of the more likely corridors. A low-odds opportunistic add-on to a deer hunt.
- →Cut for tracks along Crab Creek and the coulee brush after fresh snow
- →Treat it as incidental to deer hunting
- →Odds are low — this is not a cougar destination
Pro tips
- →The Lower Crab Creek Unit (~36k ac) of the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area is the open-access heart of this unit — most Basin deer country is locked-up private, so lean on it.
- →Hunt the untillable shrub-steppe and Saddle Mountain slope, not the open pivots, for undisturbed bucks.
- →Multi-season tag holders posted a 47% success rate here in 2024 — by far the best odds of any weapon choice.
- →Verify the Hanford Reach boundary on the south edge: the Wahluke Unit allows some hunting but the Saddle Mountain NWR is closed.
- →Carry a parcel app — private farms, Reclamation ground, WDNR, and the wildlife area interfinger and are easy to cross by mistake.
Watch out for
- !Adjacent Hanford Reach / Saddle Mountain NWR is closed to hunting — do not stray across the boundary.
- !Heavy waterfowl and pheasant pressure crowds the same wildlife-area ground during permit seasons.
- !Gravel section roads become impassable gumbo when wet; the coulees are remote.
- !CWD carcass-transport rules apply in eastern Washington — check the current pamphlet.
- !Discover Pass or WDFW Vehicle Access Pass required on state land; enforcement is active.
Logistics
Base out of Mattawa or Royal City for fuel and basics; Moses Lake (~40 minutes north) is the full-service hub for lodging and supplies. Cell coverage is decent near SR 26/243 and the farm belt but drops in the coulees and along Crab Creek. Roads are a mix of paved highways and gravel section-line grid that turns greasy when wet.
Nearest towns: Mattawa, Royal City, Beverly, Vantage, Othello
Seasons & regulations
This page carries no season dates or regulations. Get current rules from the official Washington sources:
Research sources: WDFW 2025 District 5 Hunting Prospects (Grant & Adams counties) · WDFW Desert Wildlife Area Unit · WDFW Game Management Units
FAQ
- How big is GMU 278 in Washington?
- GMU 278 (Wahluke) covers about 848 square miles, ranging from roughly 400 to 2,500 feet in elevation. Area is computed from the unit boundary polygon.
- How much public land is in GMU 278?
- Approximately 15% of the unit is public land. Primary managers: WDFW — Columbia Basin Wildlife Area (Lower Crab Creek Unit, ~36,000 ac), WDNR state lands, US Bureau of Reclamation / Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, USFWS Hanford Reach National Monument (Wahluke Unit, to the south), Private irrigated & dryland farms. Always verify ownership boundaries on the ground.
- What species does the catalog list for GMU 278?
- Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk, Cougar. For seasons, tags, and regulations, use the official Washington agency resources linked on this page — this page carries no regulatory information.
Put GMU 278 on your map.
Boundary lines, public/private ownership, topo, and offline maps for this unit — in Baseline Maps, free for 14 days.