Unit 4D is a larger unit with a lot of public access. Part of North Dakota’s Badlands region, it’s definitely a rough hunting unit. This is a great unit for either a mule deer or whitetail tag. You’ll find lots of public access, lots of whitetail draws, and lots of badlands and creek bottoms creating excellent mule deer habitat. Exceptional unit overall for both deer species. You really can’t go wrong no matter where you hunt. The hardest part will be driving your vehicle close enough to the spot you’d like to be in the rugged badlands.

The Little Missouri River Valley south of Medora has been a hotspot for mule deer, while large whitetail bucks have been harvested south of Sentinel Butte Village along the western edge of the badlands in recent years.

Unit 4D’s northwest portion is relatively flat farmland. As you head south past the town of Golva and Bosserman Lake, that farmland transitions to rougher badlands. The rest of this unit on both sides of the Little Missouri River is extremely rough terrain. Steep, rough, forested draws and creek bottoms closer to the river. Brush-covered, forested whitetail draws as you move farther east and west from the river. The bottoms of draws throughout this unit support thick deciduous trees. Overall, there are a bunch of places for mule deer and whitetail deer to hide.

For as rough as the majority of this unit is, access is quite good overall. I-94 forms the northern border, and provides a variety of exits that will get you into Unit 4D. Just off I-94 near where it crosses the Little Missouri River is the town of Medora. This area has the only bridges across the river in this portion of the unit. There are crossings in other areas, but there’s no guarantees you’ll be able to use them.

Active oil fields in the badlands ensure that the roads will be in excellent shape. At least the roads that support heavy oil field traffic are. The oil fields have allowed for some roads to exist through the badlands that wouldn’t be there otherwise. The Little Missouri River runs through the center of the northern section of this unit. You’ll find a lot of public access along both sides of the river in the Little Missouri National Grassland, but it’s extremely rough country. Five miles in either direction of the Little Missouri River is North Dakota’s primary mule deer range. The creeks branching off the Little Missouri have carved out flat, lush valleys that are full of trees and mule deer. This truly is prime mule deer country with food, water, steep ridges and deep canyons. You’ll find some great State Trust Lands and PLOTS areas with fantastic draws that hold both muley and whitetail throughout this unit. Drainages, deep badland draws, and creek bottoms are generally covered with aspen and oak trees, while dense thickets of buckbrush provide a great place for whitetails to hunker down and hide. The northwest portion of this unit is primarily private agricultural property. As you go south along the western edge, the terrain transitions back to rough badlands. There’s generally a lot of attached PLOTS properties in the southwest portion. These PLOTS properties are attached to Little Missouri National Grassland property, creating some large areas of connected public access properties.

The Little Missouri River flows through the center of this unit, creating a forested valley of deciduous trees, primarily aspen and oak, and some small stands of ponderosa pine. Drainages, valleys and creek bottoms that branch off the river are forested with aspen and oak as well as some ash, elm, birch and juniper. Thickets of brush are common in Unit 4D as well. The northwest portion of the unit is agricultural property with wheatgrass fields. Blue grama grass is found throughout the unit as well. Outside of the draws, valleys and creek bottoms, there aren’t as many groves of trees as there are in the units north of 4D.

You’ll find a number of campgrounds South of Medora along the Little Missouri River. Medora also has hotel accommodations available. Golva City Park allows camping in the western portion of this unit. Belfield is a good town to stay in if you’re hunting the eastern part of 4D. Belfield has a sporting goods store as well. Belfield and Medora have RV parks available as well. The way this unit is laid out, and the way the Little Missouri River and badlands create major obstacles, there really isn’t much for accommodations towards the southern edge of this unit.