Have an opportunity to trap a location that is a big wooded hillside. It's mature forest with no real logging roads or anything distinct.
I know there are coyotes moving through it regularly.
I do not have access to wood edges, just the woods.

Cables don't seem to be an option because of pa laws that would restrict it in these areas.

So, how would you set or would you simply not set?

If u know coyotes are moving through regularly you must be seeing good sign or seeing them. Set where u are seeing them or the sign.

I would focus on the travel ways, top of the ridges, bottom of the hils, gaps between hills, Any brush piles/thickets that can harbor prey, ponds/water tanks, deer trails.

Bad thing about mature forests is they tend to not harbor much in the way for predators.

Build a bait station. Get them coming in. Trap around it

A forest like that could be loaded with opossum.

I trap large forest land here in Pa. on two of my lines.
Imagine no trees. Take the trees away and read the land.

Sound advice.
Mac

Something along the above that sorta helps me in that terrain is to look beyond the property. It’s really same as I do in open farm country. What natural features are they keyed on beyond the mature woods that dictate how tgey navigate the open trees. There’s likely something of prominence

This is exactly what I was going to say. I will look at an aerial image of the property that has topography. I highlight all the areas of interest- recently timbered areas, thickets, fields/openings in the middle of the woods, etc... these areas are all green... I imagine the rest of the areas as red.... From this point I will look for ridge lines, benches, draws that connect these 'green' areas. Then I get in there and scout it. I really prefer areas that have forest roads through them as those dogs just run those roads relentlessly- heck, just checking out 2 properties the last two days I found over 4 sandwich bags full of coyote scat on the roads.

Since you don't have any slam dunk places, I'd target game trails as mentioned above. Do you have the ability to place some game cams in there and get a read on the game trails?

Thanks guys. I will scout it out and put some of these ideas into play.

The area I trap is 99% forest for miles and miles. Very tough areas to trap as coyote numbers are not high. I think I caught 14 or 15 coyotes off of this pile over 3 months. No traps any closer than 100 yards from the bait and most even further, utilizing the travel routes they used to and from the pile. Caught several on blind sets that had a chunk of bait at the catch circle indicating they were carrying it with them when they stepped on the pan. Before and after photos. You can see the trails they used.