Porter County, Indiana: deer harvest and public hunting land
Porter County covers 420 square miles around Portage. Hunters took 794 deer here in the 2025 season, 423 of them antlered, by the DNR's deer report. That is down 12% from 2024, and the fewest in the 5 years shown. 5.7% of Porter County is public land open to the public, the largest share national park land (7,864 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)National park landState parksOther DNR landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landPorter CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 268,740 acres (420 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer taken, 2025 | 794 (423 antlered, 371 antlerless) |
| Public land | 5.7% (15,356 acres) |
| Public hunting properties | None mapped |
| Towns in and near it | Portage, Valparaiso, Chesterton, Westville, Lake Station and Wanatah |
How many deer are harvested in Porter County?
Hunters took 794 deer in Porter County in 2025: 423 antlered and 371 antlerless (47% antlerless).
| Season | Deer taken | Antlered | Antlerless |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 794 | 423 | 371 |
| 2024 | 906 | 363 | 543 |
| 2023 | 1,646 | 693 | 953 |
| 2022 | 1,525 | 634 | 891 |
| 2021 | 1,514 | 577 | 937 |
Source: Indiana DNR White-tailed Deer Reports (2021 to 2025 seasons, Table 3-4), Porter County.
How much public land is in Porter County?
15,356 of Porter County's 268,740 acres are public land open to the public (5.7%). The biggest share is national park land: 7,864 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Porter County |
|---|---|---|
| National park land | 7,864 | 2.9% |
| Other DNR land | 2,422 | 0.9% |
| State parks | 2,164 | 0.8% |
| County, city and regional land | 1,647 | 0.6% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 1,258 | 0.5% |
| Properties open to public hunting (DNR map) | 1 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 15,356 | 5.7% |
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.
How do you get to Porter County?
Highways through it: I-94 (about 33 miles inside), US 30 (about 31 miles inside), I-80 (about 31 miles inside), I-90 (about 31 miles inside) and US 12 (about 21 miles inside). Towns inside: Portage, Valparaiso, Chesterton, Burns Harbor, Porter and Beverly Shores. Nearby: Westville (on the line), Lake Station (2 miles), Wanatah (2 miles) and La Crosse (2 miles).
Which counties border Porter County?
Porter County touches 4 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County | 1,523 | 2025 | 4.4% |
| Jasper County | 1,519 | 2025 | 2% |
| Starke County | 2,013 | 2025 | 2.2% |
| LaPorte County | 2,204 | 2025 | 3.1% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Porter County in 2025?
794: 423 antlered and 371 antlerless (DNR). In 2024: 906.
Is there public hunting land in Porter County?
15,356 acres, 5.7% 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 national park land (7,864 acres).
What is the deer bag limit in Porter 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 Lake County Jasper County Starke County LaPorte County