Unit 15A/15B/18A (Verde Valley–Agua Fria)

Music Mountains, along the Hualapai fence

Start here. AZGFD's guides for 15A and 15B say the highest elk numbers in those two units are in the Music Mountains, along the Hualapai Indian Reservation boundary fence. The terrain data puts the Music Mountains range at 6,641 feet, so it's the high country of the 15 side. The agency names three ways in: Antares Road, U.S. Route 66 and Diamond Bar Road. Antares is graded gravel, about 9.6 miles in the road data, and a 2WD rig or small trailer can handle it.

Crossing from the reservation into 15A takes a Trespass Permit from the Hualapai Wildlife Department. You also have to sign in at the boxes at the gates. Sort that out before you leave town. Don't treat the fence as a line you can drift across.

Peacock Mountains

This is the second population in 15A/B, and the agency gives it less weight. Reach it from Route 66 and Hackberry Road. We'd treat it as a backup or a way to split scouting time, not the main plan. The guide calls the elk low-density, so expect to cover ground.

Unit 18A: Anvil Rock Road to Willow Creek

The 18A guide is the only one that gives a real list. It points hunters to Anvil Rock Road, Jolly Road, Black Mountain, Denny Ranch, Nelson Canyon and the Fort Rock area. It also says State Land portions of the X-1 Ranch, Truxton Flats and the Willow Creek areas all hold elk. AZGFD is blunt that elk aren't evenly spread here. They sit in pockets and shift from year to year with water and forage.

Subdivisions are mixed in all through those same areas, and there are boundary lines where hunting isn't allowed. The guide calls for extreme caution. Know exactly where you're standing before you glass or shoot.

Land status and what to skip

The private part of X Bar One Ranch and the CEMEX property are closed to the public. Fort Rock Ranch is the exception, with limited recreational access. Passes come from the ranch manager, first come, first served, and AZGFD warns they run out fast. Call right after the draw results post. The agency's Fort Rock Ranches Landowner Compact page has the rules and contact details. The 18A guide also lists Fort Rock Ranch as closed, so confirm with the ranch before you plan around it.

The ownership layer in our data lumps everything into "Private / Other," so it can't tell you where public land starts. For 15A/B, AZGFD says most of the ground is open and sends you to the BLM office in Kingman, (928) 718-3700, for a resource area map. Get that map. Skip anything you can't confirm as public.

The terrain data lists elevations from 2,670 to 5,768 feet, with a mean around 4,372. It also lists glassing points such as Cross Mountain, Sugarloaf Peak, Twin Buttes and Biscuit Hill in Yavapai County. We can't confirm from the packet which ones fall inside your boundary, so check them against the map first.