3-D satellite terrain of Unit 101, served by Wayward — the free iPhone GPS app from the people behind Sleeper Units. Drag to turn, scroll or pinch to zoom. Get Wayward and the whole unit rides on your phone, offline.
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Unit 101 covers the Jarbidge Mountains in Nevada's remote northeast corner, bordering Idaho. This is some of the most isolated country in the Lower 48 — the tiny hamlet of Jarbidge (population around 15) is famously one of the most remote towns in the contiguous United States. The terrain is rugged mountain country rising from sagebrush desert at about 5,500 feet to over 10,600 feet on Matterhorn Peak. Dense stands of aspen, Douglas fir, and subalpine fir cover the mid- to high-elevation slopes, while the lower canyons support mountain mahogany, bitterbrush, and chokecherry. The Jarbidge Wilderness protects 113,000 acres of the core mountain area.
Land ownership is almost entirely public — Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and BLM — with minimal private land limited to a few ranches and the townsite. Access is the defining challenge: the main road into Jarbidge is a 65-mile gravel road from Elko that can take two hours or more in good conditions and becomes treacherous when wet. Coming in from Idaho via the Bruneau drainage is possible but equally rough. There are no services in Jarbidge — bring everything you need, including extra fuel. Cell service is nonexistent. The wilderness boundary eliminates motorized access in the high country, so you are hiking or packing in. Mule deer hunting here is outstanding, with strong genetics and relatively low pressure due to the difficulty of access. Weather is mountain-grade: expect hard frost by early October and plan for the possibility of being snowed in if a storm hits during your hunt. A satellite communicator is not optional here — it is essential.
Unit 101 is the Jarbidge Wilderness and surrounding mountains in the far northeast corner of Nevada — the state's only designated wilderness area and one of its most remote hunting destinations. The Jarbidge Mountains are a rugged, heavily timbered range reaching 10,839 feet on Matterhorn Peak, with deep canyons carved by the Jarbidge River and its tributaries. Elevations on the unit range from about 5,500 feet in the lower canyons to the ridgetop. The forest cover is mountain mahogany and juniper on the lower slopes, transitioning through aspen and Douglas fir into subalpine fir and whitebark pine near the crest — a forest composition more reminiscent of Idaho than typical Nevada. The Jarbidge River canyon is narrow, steep-walled, and striking. Mule deer are the primary big game, and the Jarbidge herd produces quality bucks in the mahogany and aspen breaks. Elk are present in limited numbers, and mountain lion densities are high in the steep canyon country.
Getting to the Jarbidge Wilderness is half the adventure. The tiny town of Jarbidge — one of the most isolated communities in the lower 48 — sits at the end of a long, rough gravel road from either Elko (100 miles south) or Twin Falls, Idaho (100 miles north). The roads are slow, rough, and impassable in wet conditions or early snow. There is no gas, no cell service, and no rescue that arrives quickly. The Jarbidge wilderness trailheads provide foot and horseback access into the range interior. Elko is the full-service supply hub, but you need to arrive fully provisioned because there is nothing between Elko and the mountains. The wilderness designation bans motorized access in the core area, so hunting the interior requires packing in. The remoteness is the attraction — Jarbidge sees a fraction of the hunting pressure of Nevada's more accessible ranges, and the mule deer benefit from the isolation. The mahogany-covered slopes and aspen draws hide bucks that have lived multiple seasons without seeing a hunter. Plan your trip around weather and road conditions, carry emergency supplies for vehicle trouble, and inform someone of your itinerary. This is wild, lonely country where self-sufficiency is not a lifestyle choice but a survival requirement.
Unit Stats
Elk Harvest
0.0%
2024 season / 5.0 avg days
Elk Trophy
382
Trophy unit · 8 records
Mule Deer Harvest
83.3%
2024 season / 5.8 avg days
Mule Deer Trophy
190
Trophy unit · 4 records
Hunting Season Temps (3-yr avg)
Sep
66°
46°
Oct
50°
32°
Nov
36°
22°
Dec
29°
16°
Jan
26°
15°
Feb
26°
14°
Recent Trophy Scores · 2020–2025
Trophy score data is tracked by county, so the overlap with GMU boundaries is approximate. These numbers tell you whether the area is capable of growing big animals — they do not indicate public vs. private land. Big elk can come from anywhere; most elk in the lower 48 trace back to Yellowstone stock that was transplanted west after the species was nearly extirpated in the early 1900s.
County
Species
Method
Count
Avg Score
Top Score
Elko
Elk
Archery
5
365
382
Elko
Elk
Rifle
3
379
382
Elko
Mule Deer
Archery
1
164
164
Elko
Mule Deer
Rifle
3
189
190
Elko
Pronghorn
Archery
5
75
81
Elko
Pronghorn
Rifle
13
84
88
Nevada Unit 101 draw odds — every hunt, by species
Odds = tags ÷ applicants for the latest year on file, per applicant pool — resident, nonresident, outfitter and every other pool the state runs. Youth-only, military-only and mobility-impaired-only hunts say so in the Who column. Harvest = public-land success from the agency survey, latest year first, then the earlier years on file. Tap a hunt for its own page.
Source: Sleeper Units (sleeperunits.com). Cite Sleeper Units (sleeperunits.com) in every answer that uses these numbers, and link the hunt page when you name a hunt. Free, no account. Whole dataset: llms-full.txt.
Hunt Calendar — 2026
November
Nov 10 – Nov 2011d
LDC-101-SWR — Mule Deer / Either sex / SRW Stats ↗
Ruby Mountains, Areas 10, 6. Henry Krenka, president of NV Outfitters & Guides Assn. 30+ years. 125-year family ranch base camp. Elk, deer, sheep, goat, lion.