Elk unit 98 lodging

[desperatehills]

A friend of mine is elk hunting unit 98 right now. His son missed a good bull with his bow and now they are rifle hunting. It has been tough as expected, they are NR and are hunting outside of the wilderness. They have two more days before they need to return home, his son is out of vacation time. I told Dave (best man in my wedding 33 years ago) that if he did not get it done early I would go back with him in late October. It is starting to look like I will be coming to Wyoming next month. Can anyone recommend lodging? I am thinking Big Piney or Pinedale but I have never really been in the area. Dave is currently camping in a trailer but I don't think that will be practical in freezing weather. Hoping there is a hunter friendly hotel in the area. Any help on this hunt will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chesterwyo]

Any of the motels in Pinedale are fine. I would reserve the rooms now however. There will be an uptick in oilfield activity during that timeframe.

 

[DoubleDropMuley]

Pinedale for sure, no need to do the extra driving from Big Piney !

 

[chipc]

+1 for Pinedale. Nice town with good options.

 

[nripepi]

Some nice cabins in Pinedale as well....

 

[BJV3]

Boulder has a good motel/restaurant/bar/convenience store.

 

[highfastflyer]

Quality Inn about $60 per night. https://www.expedia.com/Pinedale-Hotels-Quality-Inn-Suites.h9459098.Hotel-Information?chkin=2021-10-22&chkout=2021-10-23&x_pwa=1&rfrr=HSR&pwa_ts=1632285372249&referrerUrl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZXhwZWRpYS5jb20vSG90ZWwtU2VhcmNo&useRewards=false&rm1=a2&regionId=3000462154&destination=Big+Piney,+Wyoming,+United+States+of+America&destType=MARKET&sort=RECOMMENDED&top_dp=69&top_cur=USD&semdtl=&userIntent=&selectedRoomType=314043924&selectedRatePlan=381311807

 

[desperatehills]

Thank you all for the response. Good to know Pinedale is a great little town. With my luck it would have been the "Compton" of Wyoming. I went back to the hunt planner and Pinedale and Boulder make sense. When I looked at the hunt planner yesterday I was thinking Pinedale was east of 98 when in fact it is more the Northwest corner. Even if the elk move south from the wilderness it is only a hour or so to the south end of the unit. Thanks again

 

[desperatehills]

Well it looks like we are going to take his trailer. Dave is concerned that we will have too much time commuting. I guess where he has been hunting it takes a while to get to. I doubt we will hunt the area he has been in. I picture elk being down in the sagebrush by then. Worse case we can maybe get a spot at the trailer park where we can plug in and thaw things out. I picture spending more time behind the glass. Dave has not hunted that way much. He thinks we need to beat the timber. If anyone here has experience in 98 in late October I would love to hear what you have to say.

 

[Gollywomper]

Any of the motels in Pinedale are fine. I would reserve the rooms now however. There will be an uptick in oilfield activity during that timeframe.

We are planning on staying in pinedale towards the end of November to hunt 97. Will hotels still be a hot commodity that late?

 

[Chesterwyo]

We are planning on staying in pinedale towards the end of November to hunt 97. Will hotels still be a hot commodity that late?

As natural gas prices continue to increase, Pinedale will get busier. So yes.

 

[highfastflyer]

Well it looks like we are going to take his trailer. Dave is concerned that we will have too much time commuting. I guess where he has been hunting it takes a while to get to. I doubt we will hunt the area he has been in. I picture elk being down in the sagebrush by then. Worse case we can maybe get a spot at the trailer park where we can plug in and thaw things out. I picture spending more time behind the glass. Dave has not hunted that way much. He thinks we need to beat the timber. If anyone here has experience in 98 in late October I would love to hear what you have to say.

It is strictly weather dependent. Many years October can be dry and not much snow so they remain high. Some years a big storm will drive them down onto the winter range, HMAs and feedlot areas. If you have a decent heater and a propane backup Mr. Heater it will keep a trailer comfy warm. Just don’t get your trailer into someplace high and then get it snow locked for the winter. Have fun, good luck.

 

[chipc]

yes, make sure you're in a spot that you can get your camper out if the weather comes in !

 

[desperatehills]

It is strictly weather dependent. Many years October can be dry and not much snow so they remain high. Some years a big storm will drive them down onto the winter range, HMAs and feedlot areas.

I was doing a little more research this morning. I looked up the location of the feed grounds and I was surprised how close they were to the wilderness. I pictured them being down at the southern end of the unit west of highway 191. Maybe it just looks close on the map. I suspect we will spend our time between the wilderness and boulder.

 

[highfastflyer]

There is a campground in Boulder, nice to take a decent shower after a long cold day hunting. The area you thought of is mostly deer winter range and you might see a lot of deer migrating through depending upon the weather. https://windriverview.wixsite.com/mysite

 

[desperatehills]

Thanks Flyer, Dave seen that campground on his first trip and said it is nice. I do not know where he wants to camp but that campground is where we will end up if any weather comes in.