Henry Mtns Mule Deer Hunting, Utah

The Henry Mtns unit is rolling country with some steeper breaks, spread across three main mountains — Mt. Ellen, Mt. Pennell, and Mt. Hillers. Most of the hunting and most of the harvest happens above 7,000 feet, where deer can be glassed across open slopes and timbered pockets. Mt. Ellen draws the bulk of hunters because the loop road lets a hunter glass a lot of country and a lot of different bucks in a short time, but Mt. Hillers and Mt. Pennell hold their own opportunity for older-age-class bucks and see less traffic. This is foot-and-glass country as much as anything — all three mountains have good access along with places to walk away from the roads.

Getting around the unit means learning a network of connecting roads rather than one main route. Mount Ellen can be reached from the north via Sawmill Basin Road out of Hanksville, or from the east via Little Egypt Road off SR95. The west side of Ellen and Pennell come in off the Notom/Burr Trail road near Sandy Ranch, while the Coyote Benches/Stanton Pass road off SR276 reaches the east side of Pennell and the north side of Hillers; the east and south sides of Hillers are accessed from Star Springs Road, also off SR276. These roads all tie together, and BLM signage helps with navigation. About 89% of the unit — BLM and State Trust Land — is generally open to public hunting, with most trust land opened through a standing state access agreement, though individual parcels can still be leased or restricted. A separate 9.8% of the unit falls inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where hunting is allowed with a Utah license but subject to the recreation area's own local closures, worth checking before heading in. Private land exists on both Mt. Ellen and Mt. Hillers, so written permission is required before crossing those boundaries, and permit holders cannot hunt any CWMUs on the unit.

None of this unit's three premium limited-entry seasons falls during the November rut — archery, muzzleloader, and any legal weapon all come before it, which shapes how deer behave and how they're hunted through the fall.

Lower elevations

• Sagebrush67%
• Other cover32%
• Grass and meadow1%

Mid elevations

• Sagebrush89%
• Other cover9%
• Conifer1%

Higher elevations

• Sagebrush64%
• Conifer34%
• Aspen1%

• BLM79%
• State Trust Land10%

• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area10%

• Unclassified ownership<1%

• Private1%

Most Utah State Trust Land is open to hunting under a standing state access agreement. Individual parcels can be leased or restricted, so check the parcel before planning around it.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is National Park Service land where hunting is allowed with a Utah licence, subject to the recreation area's own local closures — check them before you go. National parks and monuments are closed to hunting.

Do I need bonus points to hunt buck deer on the Henry Mtns unit?

Points are not a requirement to apply for the premium limited-entry buck hunts on the Henry Mtns unit. Half of the permits go to applicants with the most bonus points, but the other half are drawn at random with one extra entry per point, so an applicant at any point level can draw. Nobody is guaranteed a tag by holding points, and nobody is locked out for lacking them.

How hard is it to draw a Henry Mtns limited-entry buck tag?

The archery hunt, which is the easiest of the unit's three premium limited-entry buck seasons to draw, falls in the Elite band, meaning a Utah resident has typically needed 20 or more bonus points to draw reliably in recent years. The muzzleloader and any legal weapon hunts take more points than that. Even below that level, the random half of the draw still gives an applicant a chance.

Which of the Henry Mtns seasons fall during the rut?

None of the three premium limited-entry seasons on this unit — archery, muzzleloader, or any legal weapon — reaches into the November rut. All three close before mid-November, so every hunt here is conducted on bucks that have not yet shifted into rutting behavior.

How much of the Henry Mtns unit is public land I can actually hunt?

About 89% of the unit, roughly 1,152 square miles, is BLM and State Trust Land generally open to public hunting. Most of the trust land portion is opened through a standing state access agreement, though individual trust parcels can still be leased or otherwise restricted, so it pays to check status before setting up on one. An additional 9.8% of the unit lies inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where hunting is allowed with a Utah license but subject to the recreation area's own local closures.

Can I hunt private land or CWMUs on the Henry Mtns unit?

Private land makes up about 1.3% of the unit and shows up on both Mt. Ellen and Mt. Hillers, so written permission is required before crossing onto it. Permit holders on this unit are also barred from hunting any CWMUs within its boundaries, regardless of weapon or season.

Where should I camp or base out of while hunting the Henry Mtns unit?

Three managed campgrounds serve the unit: Lonesome Beaver and McMillan on Mt. Ellen, and Star Springs on Mt. Hillers. Questions about maps or camping regulations go to the Hanksville BLM Field Office. Basing at one of these puts a hunter within reach of the loop road system on Ellen or the Star Springs road access into Hillers, depending on which mountain is the focus.