Unit San Rafael, North A

Major benches dominate navigation—Poison Spring Bench, Indian Bench, Oil Well Bench, and Ivie Creek Bench provide high vantage points for glassing and orientation. Cedar Mountain and the Chalk Hills offer directional landmarks visible across the unit. The Red Ledges and Sand Bench Rim create visual reference points.

Sinbad Valley represents a major geographic feature. Named waters like Dugway Reservoir, Hadden Reservoir, and Molen Tanks mark reliable reference points. The Wedge and Little Wedge Plateau form the eastern anchor.

Canyons—particularly Blue Trail, McCadden Hollow, and Huntington Canyon—provide navigation corridors and concentrate water.

Elevation spans from 4,180 feet in lower valleys to 9,911 feet on the highest ridges, creating distinct habitat zones from sagebrush-dominated flats to sparse conifer stands. Lower elevations feature open desert scrub and greasewood flats typical of the Colorado Plateau, while mid-elevation benches support scattered pinyon-juniper woodland with ponderosa on protected slopes. Higher ridges above 8,000 feet transition to mixed conifer and alpine meadow.

Vegetation is predominantly sparse, with vegetation corridors concentrated along canyon bottoms and drainages. The landscape is more open than forested, creating expansive glassing country interrupted by isolated stands of timber.

Connected road network provides fair accessibility across the unit. US-6, I-70, and SR-10 offer main access; multiple bench roads (Consumers Road, Benches Road, and numerous unnamed tracks) penetrate the interior. Well-established routes into popular areas like Ivie Creek and Cedar Mountain funnel early-season pressure.

Despite road connectivity, the vast size and sparse water distribution mean hunters must navigate away from main corridors to find quieter country. Elevation and terrain complexity keep some areas lightly used. Early seasons see concentrated pressure near water sources and main canyons; later seasons allow for more dispersed hunting as water becomes critical and hunters avoid dead-end drainages.

San Rafael North A spans portions of Carbon, Emery, and Sevier counties, bounded by Price to the west and extending across the San Rafael Desert and Plateau. The unit borders Price and US-6 on the west, follows I-70 to the north, and SR-10 along the western flank. USFS boundaries define the northern limit near Huntington Canyon.

The unit encompasses the iconic high-desert landscape of central Utah, with multiple population centers—Wellington, Cleveland, Lawrence, and Mohrland—serving as base towns. The vast area includes the Little Wedge Plateau and Sinbad Valley as major terrain features.

Water is limited and requires careful planning. Reliable sources include Hadden Holes, Wimmer Spring, Gooseberry Spring, and Wiregrass Spring scattered across the benches. Reservoirs—Dugway, Hadden, Molen Tanks, and Olsen—provide secondary water options, though many are seasonal or unreliable.

Ivie Creek, the largest drainage, flows intermittently through lower country. Seeps and ponds concentrated near benches (Lynns Pond, Cloyds Pond, Guymon Pond) offer water during spring and early season. Canyon bottoms—Reed Wash, Peavine Wash, South Wash—are the most reliable water corridors during wet years.

Plan water camps around known springs rather than assuming open water.

San Rafael North A supports elk, mule deer, pronghorn, moose, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, desert bighorn, bison, mountain lion, and bear. Elk occupy higher benches and conifer stands, migrating down-canyon as snow accumulates. Mule deer utilize the full elevation range, concentrating where water and browse intersect.

Pronghorn inhabit open flats and basin country—Sinbad Valley and Horse Heaven Basin represent prime pronghorn habitat. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats inhabit cliff country and the Cedar Mountains. Early season focus on benches and ridges for glassing and elk; rut season targets canyon bottoms where cover thickens and water concentrates.

Late season requires water-source hunting given limited reliable sources. The complexity of navigation and water distribution rewards hunters who pre-scout and establish reliable water camps before season.