Unit research · California Zone X9a

Zone X9a — California

96% public across 1,245,692 ac. Road access is easy — only 19% of the public land is more than a mile from a road. Almost none of the public land is landlocked.

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Deer draw odds (1)Odds and pins: free, no account

Zone X9aFull map — ownership, roads, wind →

4,080–13,550 ft

elevation range

96%

public land

19%

of public >1 mi from a road

2,226 ac

landlocked public

2.78

road miles per mi²

731 mi

maintained trails

Computed from primary government data by the open pipeline. See the code →

Tags & season

Draw hunts on this ground.

One limited-entry deer hunt is drawn on Zone X9a: apply in the California draw, by the agency's deadline below.

Deer tag · 1 draw hunt (2026-27)$42.38 resident · $377.35 nonresident

Plus: California annual hunting license (2026-27)$64.54 resident · $225.46 nonresident

Season dates: see California Department of Fish and Wildlife's regulations

2026 California Big Game Digest (rev. 2026-04-17) ↗

California deer draw calendar

Apr 15, 2027 — applications open
Jun 2, 2027 — application deadline

CDFW big game hunting tags ↗Draw odds for California deer →How the California draw works →

Fees and draw dates from California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2026-27, verified 2026-08-05. Tag type from the agency's published draw statistics: a zone that appears in none of them has no limited-entry hunt we know of. Source: CDFW license items and fees (2026-27) · 2026 California Big Game Digest (rev. 2026-04-17) · CDFW big game hunting tags.

Land & access

■ USFS 58%■ BLM 26%■ CITY 8%■ Other public 4%□ Private 4%

Unit area1,245,692 ac

Public land1,194,106 ac (96%)

Landlocked public2,226 ac (0.2%)

Walk-in access1,726 ac

Motorized routes (MVUM + roads)5,416 mi

Maintained trails731 mi

Backcountry

Public land >1 mi from a road225,133 ac (19% of public)

Road density2.78 mi/mi²

Managed byUSFS 728k ac · BLM 318k ac · CITY 98k ac

Elevation4,080–13,550 ft

Median elevation7,260 ft

Median slope6°

Where the ground sits

4,080 ft13,550 ft

Tap or hover the bars for each elevation band

Slope mix

Which way the slopes face

N 24%

E 36%

S 20%

W 21%

Share of ground steeper than 5° — flat ground has no facing

North slopes hold shade, cover and snow; south slopes open first.

USGS 3DEP 1 arc-second (30 m), slope at native resolution in a local metric projection, sampled on a 200 m grid. See the code →

Unit intelligence report

81,955 ac of this zone has burned — 7% of the unit. USGS migration corridors cover 37%. The full report assembles it into one printable document and keeps it current as the facts change.

Open the report →

Season conditions — measured, not vibes

Historical temperatures · 2000–2025

Normals for 2000–2025 — tap or hover for a month

Measured at BISHOP AIRPORT, 56 km from the unit’s center and ~3,100 ft below its median elevation — expect the unit to run colder. NOAA ISD-Lite hourly observations.

How these numbers are made

public_land_pct = public_area / unit_area
landlocked = public ∖ reachable(roads, corners)
remote = public ∖ buffer(roads, 1 mi)
# AGPL — read the pipeline →

Computed, not curated: no paid research team, no opinions dressed as data. If a number looks wrong, file an issue — the fix ships for everyone.

Nearby zones

Zone X1287% public · 21% remote Zone D757% public · 46% remote Zone X9b99% public · 32% remote Zone D655% public · 45% remote Zone X9c91% public · 47% remote Zone A-South20% public · 24% remote

Ready to scout it?

Everything on this page, live on the map — ownership, boundaries, roads, and your own waypoints.

Open Zone X9a in the map

What happens nextApr 15 — Deer applications open · details →Jun 2 — Deer application deadline · details →