Parke County, Indiana: deer harvest and public hunting land
Parke County covers 450 square miles around Rockville. Hunters took 2,557 deer here in the 2025 season, 1,228 of them antlered, by the DNR's deer report. That is up 5% from 2024, and the most in the 5 years shown. 3.2% of Parke County is public land open to the public, the largest share state parks (3,595 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the DNR's deer reports, 2021 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting property layer.
Properties open to public hunting (DNR map)Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesState parksCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landParke CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 288,000 acres (450 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer taken, 2025 | 2,557 (1,228 antlered, 1,329 antlerless) |
| Public land | 3.2% (9,311 acres) |
| Public hunting properties | 4 (1,830 acres inside Parke County) |
| Towns in and near it | Rockville, Montezuma, Bloomingdale, Carbon, Clinton and Waveland |
How many deer are harvested in Parke County?
Hunters took 2,557 deer in Parke County in 2025: 1,228 antlered and 1,329 antlerless (52% antlerless).
| Season | Deer taken | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,557 | 1,228 | 1,329 |
| 2024 | 2,442 | 1,147 | 1,295 |
| 2023 | 2,185 | 1,031 | 1,154 |
| 2022 | 2,222 | 1,065 | 1,157 |
| 2021 | 2,137 | 1,029 | 1,108 |
Source: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4), Parke County.
How much public land is in Parke County?
9,311 of Parke County's 288,000 acres are public land open to the public (3.2%). The biggest share is state parks: 3,595 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Parke County |
|---|---|---|
| State parks | 3,595 | 1.2% |
| Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes | 3,519 | 1.2% |
| Properties open to public hunting (DNR map) | 1,829 | 0.6% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 225 | 0.1% |
| County, city and regional land | 140 | under 0.1% |
| Other DNR land | 3 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 9,311 | 3.2% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries. Hunting rules differ by manager: properties on the DNR's public hunting map are open under the DNR's rules for each; national forest is open; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; Corps of Engineers lake land is open in many places under each project's own rules; state parks hold only special hunts; city and county land sets its own rules.
Properties open to public hunting in Parke County
Properties open to public hunting in Parke County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Sugar Creek Conservation Area: 1,338 acres
- Cecil M. Harden Lake: 230 acres
- Covered Bridge State Forest: 157 acres
- HRI Wabash River: 105 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Cecil M. Harden Recreation Area (3,747 acres).
How do you get to Parke County?
Highways through it: US 41 (about 29 miles inside) and US 36 (about 20 miles inside). Towns inside: Rockville, Montezuma, Bloomingdale, Rosedale, Mecca and Marshall. Nearby: Carbon (on the line), Clinton (on the line), Waveland (on the line) and Kingman (on the line).
Which counties border Parke County?
Parke County touches 6 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County | 1,349 | 2025 | 1.2% |
| Vigo County | 1,685 | 2025 | 3.9% |
| Putnam County | 2,721 | 2025 | 2.7% |
| Fountain County | 1,533 | 2025 | 0.4% |
| Montgomery County | 1,215 | 2025 | 1% |
| Vermillion County | 1,000 | 2025 | 0.7% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Parke County in 2025?
2,557: 1,228 antlered and 1,329 antlerless (DNR). In 2024: 2,442.
Is there public hunting land in Parke County?
9,311 acres, 3.2% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries, the largest share state parks (3,595 acres). The DNR's map shows 4 properties open to public hunting here.
What is the deer bag limit in Parke County?
Indiana's statewide limit is 1 antlered and 6 antlerless deer; each county has its own antlerless limit within that, on the DNR's county antlerless bag limit list.
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's public hunting property boundaries. DNR properties open to hunting: Indiana DNR properties with public hunting (managed lands layer).
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Indiana hunting Clay County Vigo County Putnam County Fountain County Montgomery County Vermillion County