Hunt Area 75, Four Mile, Wyoming

Mixed mountain and foothill terrain rising from roughly 7,000 feet in the lower ranch lands near I-80 and the Laramie Valley to approximately 10,700 feet along the higher ridgelines of the Snowy Range. Medicine Bow Peak sits on the eastern boundary at approximately 12,013 ft, with the area boundary running along the divide. The lower elevations feature gently rolling hills cut by creek drainages; heading south and west toward Medicine Bow National Forest, terrain becomes sharper with rocky outcroppings and steep ridges. Overall difficulty is moderate to challenging.

Primary highway access is via Wyoming Highway 130 (Snowy Range Highway) along the southern boundary from Laramie, and Interstate 80 along the northern boundary with the west Elk Mountain interchange (exit 255) providing northern entry. Wyoming Highway 72 runs along part of the northern and western boundary, connecting Elk Mountain to Carbon County Road 404 (Pass Creek Road). Within the national forest, USFS Road 100 (North Brush Creek Road), USFS Road 101 (Sand Lake Road), USFS Road 103, USFS Road 115 (Pass Creek Basin Road), and USFS Road 261 (Cedar Pass Road) are the primary interior forest roads defining interior and western boundaries and providing dispersed access to public land. Private land is a significant constraint: approximately 51% of the area is private, with notable private ranches on the north side of Elk Mountain that block direct public access to national forest lands from I-80. Hunters must use county roads that circle south of Elk Mountain to reach USFS lands with better mule deer numbers. Carbon County Road 404 (Pass Creek Road) runs north-south through the western portion. The Brush Creek/Hayden Ranger District office in Saratoga is the appropriate USFS contact for motor vehicle use maps and current road conditions. No designated wilderness areas fall within Area 75, but roadless terrain exists in the higher Snowy Range portions.

Lower elevations (plains and foothills) support short-grass prairie, sagebrush steppe, and cottonwood-lined creek bottoms that provide winter range and white-tailed deer habitat. Mid-elevation transitional zones feature mountain sagebrush and shrubby draws. Higher elevations within the Medicine Bow National Forest contain dense lodgepole pine and spruce-fir forests interspersed with aspen groves, mountain meadows, and tall-forb communities. This vertical diversity supports both mule deer (high-country summer range, lower sagebrush winter range) and white-tailed deer (eastern riparian and agricultural fringe).

Mule deer are the primary big game species; they are part of the Sheep Mountain Herd Unit (encompassing areas 61 and 74-77), which as of 2025 numbers approximately 4,200 animals (estimated range 3,800-4,600) — well below the current management objective of 10,000 (a revised objective of 5,000 has been proposed, with a target range of 4,000-6,000). The herd is largely migratory, with animals using higher-elevation forest and meadow summer range before moving to lower sagebrush and grassland winter range; some animals cross into northern Colorado's Rawah Mountains. GPS research shows average one-way migration distances of nearly 20 miles, with I-80 posing a mortality risk to northern segments. White-tailed deer are present in the eastern and lower-elevation portions of the area, particularly along riparian corridors and agricultural edges. Elk use the Medicine Bow National Forest portions seasonally; moose occur in riparian and willow-bottom habitats within the national forest. Pronghorn are present in the lower sagebrush-grassland portions, particularly near I-80 and the Laramie Valley fringe. Black bear and mountain lion occur in the forested national forest sections. The rut for white-tailed deer can begin as early as late October and run through late December.