Unit Cedar/Stansbury

Deseret Peak and Stansbury Peak serve as major glassing reference points visible across the unit. Hickman Peak and Little Granite Mountain anchor navigation in the northern sections. Six Horse Pass, Rydalch Pass, and the narrows (Lower, Upper, Devils Gate) provide natural drainage corridors and travel routes.

South Willow Lake and North Willow Lake mark water sources in the Stansburys; Mill Pond offers orientation in the north. Lone Rock Pillar stands distinctly in Long Rock Basin. White Marl Bluff provides a recognizable northern marker.

These landmarks are essential—reliable terrain reading in open country where maps matter more than landmarks.

The unit contains extreme vertical relief but most of the acreage sits in low-elevation desert. Stansbury Peak (11,031 ft) and Deseret Peak (11,032 ft) dominate the skyline, with numerous summits exceeding 9,500 feet scattered across the ranges. Below them, you drop quickly into sagebrush basins and dry valleys.

Sparse juniper and pinyon appear on mid-elevation slopes; higher peaks hold scattered conifers but timber coverage is minimal overall. The Dugway, Skull Valley, and Six Horse Pass areas are largely open desert—shadscale and greasewood flats broken by rocky outcrops. Elevation jumps happen fast moving through canyons.

Roads total over 1,200 miles but density is low relative to unit size, and military installations fragment the landscape significantly. Dugway Proving Ground and Tooele Army Depot occupy substantial blocks on the western and northern portions—access there is restricted or heavily monitored. I-80 and SR-36 provide entry corridors; the Pony Express Road runs the southern boundary.

Internal roads range from maintained two-tracks to rough four-wheel-drive routes. Most hunters concentrate near I-80 access points and the Stansbury slopes. The remote central basins and Cedar Range see far fewer visitors.

Hunting pressure varies dramatically by access point and season.

Unit 18a sits in the heart of Utah's West Desert, bounded by I-80 on the north and the Pony Express Road on the south. It's a maze of interconnected ranges: the Stansbury and Cedar mountains dominate, with the Onaqui Range to the east and several smaller ranges in between. Tooele and Juab counties split the unit.

Interstate 80 cuts the northern boundary, exits 41 and 99 mark the corners. This is remote country—closest towns are Tooele and Vernon, both 30+ miles away. Military installations occupy significant acreage, restricting access in places.

Water is the critical constraint here. Reliable sources include South Willow Lake and North Willow Lake on the Stansbury slopes, plus Stansbury Lake to the east. Springs are scattered and seasonal—Cane Springs, Cedar Spring, Eightmile Spring, Henry Spring, and Big Spring exist but many dry by mid-summer.

Permanent creeks are few: North Willow Creek, Soldier Creek, and Barlow Creek are your best bets. Smaller drainages (Clover Creek, Dry Lake Fork, Pockets Fork) run intermittently. Most basins (Wildcat, Long Rock, Lone Rock) lack reliable year-round water.

Planning must center on spring and creek locations—many hunts fail here due to water miscalculation.

This unit supports elk, mule deer, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, moose, black bear, mountain lion, and bison—a diverse slate reflecting the mixed elevation and habitat. Elk use the mid to high elevations of the major ranges (Stansbury, Onaqui, Cedar), moving seasonally between summer peaks and lower winter grounds. Mule deer are widespread from basin floors to ridge tops.

Mountain goats inhabit the highest cliffs and escarpments of Deseret Peak and surrounding summits. Desert bighorn sheep concentrate in the rougher canyon country. Pronghorn use open basins and flats.

Success requires understanding seasonal shifts—early season pursuits focus on high country, rut hunting uses drainages and passes, late season drops to lower elevation. The terrain complexity and water scarcity demand experienced navigation and self-reliance.