# Ant Flat Road



## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

Anybody know much about the area west of the Ant Flat Road between Hwy 39 and 101 (Blacksmith Fork Cyn)? I am mainly looking for information about whether it is mostly public or private. I plan to do some scouting of this area this summer if there is good public access. PM's are welcome and appreciated.


----------



## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

Most of it is private. There is a small chunk of state ground just south of the "lodge" at the top of Scare Canyon and Cinnamon Creek that gets hammered by hunters and campers. Other than that, it's all tied up.


----------



## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

Thanks Tree, I was afraid of that. What about the area just south of Blacksmith Fork Cyn? Any public access in that area? I thought that area was all Cache NF.


----------



## loneelkhunter (May 19, 2011)

I once bowhunted south cottonwood canyon for elk the last day of the bowhunt a few years ago. South Cottonwod is up Blacksmith Fork Cnyn southside of the road, west of Ant Flat road. You have to be careful around the Coldwater Ranch, but there are maps of the boundaries out there, plus it is posted pretty well. There was elk sign, but no elk we hiked long and hard and got pretty high, but once you're up, there isn't much non-private ground that you could hunt. Good luck!


----------



## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

Thanks loneelkhunter. That is exactly the area I was considering. So is there access to that area from Ant Flat Road, or is it only accessible from Hwy 101? Isn't that area part of Cache NF? Usually when I have encountered private land mixed in with NF land it is the lower elevation that is private but the higher elevation is public.


----------



## loneelkhunter (May 19, 2011)

MM, it turns out I was mistaken. It was actually Devils Gate Canyon I went up. There is a trail up the bottom of that canyon, accessed from SR-101. It was about 4 years ago that I went up there. Since that time, there may have actually been a land swap that involved Hardware Ranch property and it could be 100% private now. Just curiously, why such an interest in this area? I actually live in Hyrum and I know that about the whole territory is private. There are some areas in the state with enormous chunks of private land and this area you have described is one of them. But if you're determined, I would contact some of the people up at Hardware Ranch for instance. Good luck!


----------



## mm73 (Feb 5, 2010)

Thanks loneelkhunter. The reason I was looking at this area is because it is in the Buck/Bull Combo unit, which appears to be the tag I have drawn this year, and I know there are lots of elk up in that area. I am just looking for alternatives to the over-crowded areas I have hunted near Kamas for the last ten years. I have a few different areas in mind and this was just one of them, but it sounds like it isnt going to have enough access. I appreciate the info. It saved me a long drive this summer.


----------

