HD 211 covers the heart of the Elkhorn Mountains south of Helena—an island range of granite, Douglas fir and high parks rising out of the Helena Valley between I-15 and the Missouri. Elevations run from about 4,500 feet on the lower flanks to 9,414 feet at the top of Crow Peak, the unit's high point. The lower country is open Douglas fir parkland, juniper and limber pine on the rocky outcrops; the mid-elevations are dense lodgepole and mixed conifer with a heavy understory of huckleberry and bear grass; the high country breaks into spruce-fir, alpine meadow, and granite cirques. The Elkhorns are unique in the lower 48 in being administratively designated as a "wildlife management unit," with extra restrictions on motorized travel and habitat treatments aimed at keeping elk security cover intact. The result is one of the better resident elk herds in central Montana and mature bulls that don't get blasted out by the road-hunting brigade. Helena-Lewis and Clark NF and BLM cover most of the unit, with private ranch ground ringing the base around Townsend, Boulder, and the Helena Valley. Forest roads—Crystal Park Road, Beaver Creek Road, the South Fork Crow Creek road—reach the perimeter, but a meaningful chunk of the core is closed to motorized travel through the Elkhorn Cooperative Management Area travel plan. Get a current MVUM map and read it. US-287 along the east side and I-15 on the west are the paved arteries; Helena and Townsend are the supply towns. Cell service drops fast off the shoulders. Limited-permit elk tags are the norm here for some seasons, and the unit has a real reputation among Montanans who've been at this game a while. Plan to hike past at least one closed gate before you start glassing.