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Grand Traverse County, Michigan: deer harvest and public hunting land

Grand Traverse County covers 490 square miles around Traverse City. Hunters reported 1,837 deer here in the 2025 license year, 923 of them antlered, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is down 16% from 2024, and the fewest in the 4 years shown. 22.5% of Grand Traverse County is public land open to the public, the largest share state forest and other DNR land (64,252 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's state forest records.

Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the DNR's reported deer totals, 2022 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1, the DNR's land ownership records and its wildlife, parks, Commercial Forest and HAP layers.

Map of Michigan's Grand Traverse County: public land by manager, the counties around it, highways US 31, M 37 and M 72; towns: Traverse City, Kingsley, Fife Lake, Buckley and Lake Ann

State game and wildlife areasState forest and other DNR landState parks and recreation areasNational park landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landCommercial Forest (private, open to hunting by law)Grand Traverse CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway

Grand Traverse County at a glance
Size313,914 acres (490 square miles)
Deer reported, 20251,837 (923 antlered, 914 antlerless)
Regular firearm season, 2025832 deer
Public land22.5% (70,514 acres)
Wildlife areas and parks3 (2,009 acres inside Grand Traverse County)
Hunting Access Program landNone mapped this year
Towns in and near itTraverse City, Kingsley, Fife Lake, Buckley, Lake Ann and Elk Rapids

How many deer are harvested in Grand Traverse County?

Hunters reported 1,837 deer in Grand Traverse County in 2025: 923 antlered and 914 antlerless. By season: 832 in the regular firearm season, 595 by archers (early and late segments) and 148 in the muzzleloader season.

License yearDeer reportedAntleredAntlerlessRegular firearmArchery, earlyArchery, lateMuzzleloader
20251,83792391483254253148
20242,1841,0571,12795465185194
20231,9281,0029269596068073
20222,2601,0851,1751,1477718265

Source: Michigan DNR reported deer harvest (license years 2022 to 2025), Grand Traverse County. These are deer hunters reported; seasons not shown (youth, Liberty, antlerless and others) are in the total. The DNR's survey estimates, which count deer that were not reported, are higher.

How much public land is in Grand Traverse County?

70,514 of Grand Traverse County's 313,914 acres are public land open to the public (22.5%). The biggest share is state forest and other DNR land: 64,252 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of Grand Traverse County
State forest and other DNR land64,25220.5%
Land trusts and other open land2,1280.7%
State game and wildlife areas1,9700.6%
County, city and regional land1,1530.4%
State parks and recreation areas1,0090.3%
National forest2under 0.1%
All public land open to the public70,51422.5%
Commercial Forest (private, open to hunting by law)2,5890.8%

2,589 acres of Grand Traverse County (0.8%) are Commercial Forest land: privately owned, but under state law (MCL 324.51113) the owner may not deny the public hunting and fishing unless the DNR or the legislature closes it.

Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's land ownership records (state forest). Hunting rules differ by manager: state game areas and state forest land are open to hunting in season unless posted; national forests are open; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; state parks and recreation areas are open, open with restrictions or closed by the DNR's map; national park land is closed to most hunting; city and county land sets its own rules.

DNR wildlife areas and parks open to hunting in Grand Traverse County

DNR wildlife areas and parks open to hunting in Grand Traverse County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:

How do you get to Grand Traverse County?

Highways through it: US 31 (about 31 miles inside), M 37 (about 30 miles inside), M 72 (about 22 miles inside), M 113 (about 16 miles inside) and US 131 (about 6 miles inside). Towns inside: Traverse City, Kingsley, Fife Lake, Chums Corner, Interlochen and Grawn. Nearby: Buckley (on the line), Lake Ann (on the line), Elk Rapids (3 miles) and Copemish (6 miles).

Which counties border Grand Traverse County?

Grand Traverse County touches 7 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:

CountyDeer harvestedYearPublic landHunting Access Program land sites
Antrim County2,153202514.1%
Benzie County1,323202530.5%
Wexford County1,658202541.8%
Kalkaska County1,298202544.7%
Leelanau County1,698202523.9%
Manistee County2,439202531.5%
Missaukee County2,503202529.3%

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in Grand Traverse County in 2025?

Hunters reported 1,837 deer: 923 antlered and 914 antlerless (DNR reported deer totals). In 2024: 2,184.

Is there public hunting land in Grand Traverse County?

Yes. 70,514 acres, 22.5% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's state forest records, the largest share state forest and other DNR land (64,252 acres). The DNR's maps show 3 wildlife areas and parks open to hunting here.

Does Grand Traverse County have Hunting Access Program land?

Not on the DNR's 2026 layer of active HAP properties.

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Where these numbers come from

FilledTag is not part of the Michigan 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.

Michigan hunting Antrim County Benzie County Wexford County Kalkaska County Leelanau County Manistee County Missaukee County