Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area: hunting, rules and access
Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area is 80 acres by KDWP's count, centered just southeast of Coolidge, in Hamilton County and deer Unit 17. Camping: no; equipment: none (KDWP 2026-27).
Data updated October 2026. KDWP's Fall 2026-Spring 2027 summary; KDWP GIS; WIHA 2026-27.
KDWP landBLMState park or recreation areaWalk-in (WIHA)Cottonwood Flats Wildlife AreaOther wildlife areasDeer unit lineLakeHighway
| Acres | 80 (KDWP); 95 inside the mapped boundary, water included |
|---|---|
| Location (KDWP) | 1 mi. S, 1/2 mi. E of Coolidge |
| Phone | (620) 276-8886 |
| Camping | No |
| Boating | None |
| Equipment restrictions | None |
| Daily check-in/check-out | Not listed for this area |
| County | Hamilton |
| Deer unit | Unit 17 |
What are the rules on Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area?
KDWP's 2026-27 listing puts no equipment restriction on the area. No other rule is listed.
Source: KDWP's Fall 2026-Spring 2027 Hunting & Furharvesting Regulations Summary, page 12.
Which deer unit is Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area in?
Deer Unit 17, 9,056 square miles, with 2,405 deer taken across the whole unit in 2021. Whitetail Antlerless-only permits are not valid in Unit 17.
Unit 17 gets 619 nonresident whitetail permits in 2026 (KDWP deer quotas and draw statistics; KDWP's Fall 2026-Spring 2027 Hunting & Furharvesting Regulations Summary, page 30).
Harvest: KDWP deer harvest by unit (2017 to 2021).
What public and walk-in land is near Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area?
Within five miles: 95 acres of KDWP land (this area included), and 937 acres of WIHA walk-in land on 5 tracts. The biggest walk-in tracts reaching into that ring: 320 acres 3 miles north (Sept. 1 to Jan. 31), 320 acres 4.3 miles north (Sept. 1 to Jan. 31), 270 acres 4.5 miles northwest (Sept. 1 to Jan. 31) and 160 acres 3.8 miles north (Sept. 1 to Jan. 31). Nearest wildlife areas: Hamilton State Fishing Lake and Wildlife Area (8.4 mi).
Measured by FilledTag from USGS PAD-US 4.1 and KDWP Walk-In Hunting Access (WIHA) tracts. County walk-in totals: Hamilton County.
How do you get to Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area?
KDWP's directions: 1 mi. S, 1/2 mi. E of Coolidge. Highways within five miles, longest stretch first: US 50 and US 400.
| Town | Miles from the boundary | Direction from the area |
|---|---|---|
| Coolidge | under 1 | northwest |
| Syracuse | 12 | southeast |
Questions hunters ask
Can you camp at Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area?
No. KDWP's 2026-27 listing says no camping.
Do you have to check in to hunt Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area?
Not by KDWP's 2026-27 list of check-in areas.
Where is Cottonwood Flats Wildlife Area?
Its middle is just southeast of Coolidge, in Hamilton County and deer Unit 17.
Get a Kansas hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Kansas are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Kansas included.
Sources: KDWP's Fall 2026-Spring 2027 Hunting & Furharvesting Regulations Summary, page 7 to 16; KDWP wildlife areas; USGS PAD-US 4.1; KDWP Walk-In Hunting Access (WIHA) tracts; KDWP deer harvest by unit (2017 to 2021). General KDWP public land rules: all wildlife areas. FilledTag is not part of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.