Cache, Utah

Elevation ranges from roughly 4,500 feet in Cache Valley to over 10,000 feet in the Bear River Range. Terrain is predominantly steep to rugged — the Wellsville Mountains rise abruptly from the valley floor to 9,300+ feet, and the unit is characterized as moderate to rough. The Bear River Range features steep creek drainages and high basins. Approximately 80% of public land has slopes of 27 degrees or less. Rich County on the eastern side is comparatively more open, with rolling to moderately steep terrain extending toward the Wyoming border. Key canyons providing access and winter range include Logan Canyon, Blacksmith Fork Canyon, Dry Canyon, Providence Canyon, Millville Canyon, and Cottonwood Canyon.

The unit is approximately 52% public land (roughly 28% USFS, 12% BLM, 9% state). The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest (Logan Ranger District) covers the summer range at higher elevations on the Bear River Range. BLM controls lower-elevation winter range in the central valley foothills and the Crawford Mountains to the east. State Route 89 (Logan Canyon Highway) is the primary corridor into the Bear River Range from Cache Valley, providing access to numerous Forest Service spur roads. State Route 101 (Blacksmith Fork Canyon Road) provides paved access to Hardware Wildlife Management Area, located about 15 miles east of Hyrum. Trailheads and camping exist at Wapiti and Baxter-Rock Creek areas (open May 26–Dec 31) and at Hardware Flats / SR-101 hunting camps (open Aug 1–Dec 31). Road access exists on all sides of the unit, transitioning from maintained dirt roads to 4WD and ATV trails in the backcountry. Significant private land exists in Cache Valley (particularly farmland) and in Rich County; hunters should obtain written permission or consult National Forest/BLM maps to avoid trespass.

Low elevations and valley edges support irrigated farmland, sagebrush, and oakbrush. Mid-elevations (roughly 6,000–8,000 ft) host oakbrush and sagebrush interspersed with aspen groves. Upper elevations in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest include spruce-fir forests, scattered aspen stands, and grassy high basins with short sagebrush. South-facing slopes in Blacksmith Fork, Logan, Dry, Providence, and Millville canyons serve as critical winter range for mule deer. Rich County provides a mix of private and public sagebrush rangeland. Winter range is the primary limiting factor for the deer population.

Mule deer are the primary game species; the deer management plan targets a wintering population of 25,000 deer with a postseason buck-to-doe ratio objective of 15–17 bucks per 100 does. Elk winter at Hardware WMA in Blacksmith Fork Canyon and range onto the Cache National Forest in summer and fall — the unit supports a general spike-bull elk hunt and is adjacent to the West Cache extended archery elk area (archery-only, separate draw boundary). Moose are present with a small limited-entry permit allocation. Black bear inhabit the forested higher elevations. Mountain lion are present as a resident predator. Wild turkey are found in the oakbrush and riparian zones. The unit's winter range in Cache Valley foothills and canyon south-facing slopes is heavily used by deer migrating down from summer range on the national forest.

1. Beginning 2025 through 2028, the Cache mule deer general season uses restricted weapons only: restricted muzzleloader (percussion/flintlock/wheellock ignition, open/peep sights only) and restricted rifle (open/peep sights, no semi-auto). Standard modern centerfire rifles and 209-primer muzzleloaders are not legal for deer in this unit during this period. 2. The West Cache Extended Archery Area is a separate named elk boundary (archery-only, draw required, ethics course required) — not the same as the Cache deer boundary. 3. Moose tag quota of 17 for 2026 is sourced from the draft; exact figure should be verified against the 2026 Big Game Application Guidebook. 4. Harvest statistics (success rates, harvest counts) were not accessible from public web sources; UDWR annual harvest reports contain this data. 5. The Cache Crawford Mtn unit is a separate limited-entry mule deer boundary (primarily late-season LE muzzleloader trophy hunt) and is distinct from the Cache general-season boundary profiled here. 6. Exact 2026 rifle and muzzleloader deer dates should be confirmed against the official 2026 UDWR Big Game Field Regulations guidebook.