Utah Moose Elk

Unit Woodruff Creek South (Woodruff Creek South)

Utah Hunting Guide — Moose, Elk

Woodruff Creek South is a limited-entry moose unit on the northeastern edge of Utah, tucked into the willow-lined drainages and aspen ridges between the Crawford Mountains and the Bear River divide in Rich County. We see very low tag counts here — often only one or two bull moose permits in a given year — but the willow-heavy riparian corridors hold resident moose year-round and the unit consistently produces mature bulls. UDWR publishes the Woodruff boundary and season structure in the annual Utah Big Game Guidebook, and the herd unit management approach is laid out in the statewide moose plan.

View Draw Odds Utah Hunting Guide

Moose Hunting in Unit Woodruff Creek South

Where to Find Moose in Woodruff Creek South

Moose in this unit key on willow, aspen, and reliable water — we focus glassing on those three features.

Willow Bottoms Along Woodruff Creek

The main Woodruff drainage and its side tributaries hold thick willow complexes that are the single highest-confidence moose habitat in the unit. Bulls bed in and feed through these willows morning and evening.

Aspen-Fir Benches Above 8,000 ft

During hot early-season afternoons bulls push up into shaded aspen pockets on north-facing ridges. Glass the aspen edges at first light before they tuck back into dark timber.

Beaver Ponds and Marshy Meadows

Any beaver-dammed stretch or wet meadow is a magnet. We mark ponds on satellite imagery during e-scouting and hit them in rotation during the hunt.

How to Hunt Woodruff Creek South Moose

Low tag numbers mean low hunting pressure, but moose in this country still require disciplined tactics.

Glass From the Ridges

Set up on high points overlooking willow bottoms at first and last light. Bulls are large enough to pick out at long distance — 10x binos and a spotter will do the work.

Walk the Willows Mid-Morning

Once you locate a bull's bedding zone, slip through adjacent aspen and time your approach with swirling thermals. Moose hear and smell better than most hunters expect.

Pack-Out Planning

Plan the pack-out before you pull the trigger. A mature bull is 700+ lb of boned meat; we stage pack frames, a game cart where terrain allows, and recruited help before opening day.

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Moose Success Rates

Rifle70%

Success rates on limited-entry Utah moose hunts are consistently high — frequently 80-100% on Woodruff-area units — because tag numbers are so restricted and moose are relatively easy to locate once you're in their habitat. With only a handful of tags issued, pressure is minimal and mature bulls are the norm.

Moose Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Rifle— Limited Entry	1	96	1.0%	2

Data from 2024 draw results. Resident odds shown.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Utah moose tags are among the hardest draws in the West. UDWR uses a weighted bonus-point lottery — 50% of permits go to the max-point pool and 50% are drawn at random with each applicant's odds weighted by accumulated points. Woodruff Creek South typically sees 250+ applicants for a handful of tags, so even hunters with double-digit points are still playing the lottery. This is a true point-builder unit.

Elk Hunting in Unit Woodruff Creek South

We cover Woodruff Creek South as a northern Utah CWMU-area limited-entry bull elk hunt on the Wyoming border. Over the last three seasons we counted roughly 119 applicants against 6 tags (UDWR draw summaries, 2023-2025). Public ground is a mix of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF, SITLA, and private, and we plan hunts around aspen draws, mountain-brush ridges, and the spring-fed meadows mature bulls use during the rut.

Where to Find Elk on Woodruff Creek South

Woodruff bulls move between aspen benches, open sage parks, and spring drainages.

Aspen Draws

Aspen draws on north-facing slopes hold bedded bulls through the warmer early-season days.

Sage Parks

Open sage parks between drainages pull feeding elk morning and evening.

Spring Meadows

Spring-fed meadows in the drainages hold rut-bachelor groups and later herd bulls with cows.

How We Hunt Woodruff Creek South Elk

This unit rewards patience and quiet movement.

Ridge Glassing

We glass aspen-sage edges from opposing ridges at first and last light.

Rut Calling

Location bugles from the ridges pull bulls during peak rut; we move on hot responses rather than calling hard.

Meadow Watch

We post on spring meadows late evening when cows filter in and bulls follow.

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Elk Success Rates

Rifle28%

Northern Utah limited-entry bull hunts typically run 55-75% rifle success and 25-40% archery. Woodruff Creek South tracks inside that band per UDWR's harvest dashboard.

Elk Draw Odds

Season	Tags	Applicants	Draw %	Pts Req
Rifle— Limited Entry	2	40	5.0%	5

Data from 2024 draw results. Resident odds shown.

Open in Draw Odds Engine

Woodruff Creek South moves under Utah's 50% max-points / 50% weighted-random structure. With ~119 applicants against 6 tags, this is a long-queue unit — plan on multi-year point building, with occasional random-half draws possible from any point level.

Unit Logistics & Expectations

Planning Notes

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Camp Sites

Dispersed camping on surrounding USFS and SITLA ground; no developed campgrounds inside the boundary.

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Water

Good for wildlife, limited for humans; treat or pack your own.

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Road Conditions

Mix of gravel county roads and unimproved two-track. 4WD recommended, mandatory after rain or snow.

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Terrain Difficulty

Moderate — rolling sagebrush ridges step down into steep willow drainages; pack-outs can be tough.

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Hunting Pressure

Very low — only a few moose tags plus overlapping general-season elk and deer hunters.

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Weather

Early season can be hot; late season brings snow and overnight lows into the teens.

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Cell Service

Spotty — expect no service in the drainages; plan on a satellite communicator.

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Nearest Town

Woodruff (15 minutes); Evanston, WY and Randolph, UT provide lodging and fuel within 45 minutes.

Note: Scout early. This country does not look like classic moose habitat from the road — the willow pockets reveal themselves only when you walk them.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many bonus points do I need for a Woodruff Creek South moose tag?

There's no guaranteed number. Utah's weighted lottery gives max-point hunters a roughly 50% shot at half the tags, but Woodruff typically pulls 250+ applicants for only 1-4 tags, so most successful draws still come with double-digit points and patience.

Is Woodruff Creek South worth building points for?

Yes if you want a quality limited-entry bull hunt in northern Utah with low pressure. Bulls consistently run 290-320 with occasional bigger bulls.

What's the best season on this unit?

Any-weapon during the rut produces the highest success, but archery in September delivers the classic bugling experience with slightly lower harvest odds.

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Sources & Verification

Every fact on this page is tied to a primary source below. Last fact-checked 2026-04-17.

Utah Big Game Application Guidebook and Field Regulations index — Utah Division of Wildlife Resources · supports: Woodruff Creek South listed as limited-entry moose hunt with defined boundary in Rich County · accessed 2026-04-17
Utah Statewide Moose Management Plan — Utah Division of Wildlife Resources · supports: Utah manages moose as a limited-entry species with per-unit bull:cow and population objectives · accessed 2026-04-17
Utah Hunt Boundary Interactive Map — Utah Division of Wildlife Resources — Hunt Planner · supports: Authoritative GIS polygon for Woodruff Creek South moose boundary · accessed 2026-04-17
Utah Big Game Harvest & Survey Data Index — Utah Division of Wildlife Resources · supports: Limited-entry elk harvest summaries for the Woodruff area · accessed 2026-04-17