Minnesota deer hunting: permit areas, seasons and public land

The Minnesota DNR registered 186,368 deer in 2025, the most since 2020 (197,315), by its 2025 Deer Harvest Report. Deer are managed in 130 deer permit areas, each with its own bag limit. The 2026 firearms season opens November 7, archery runs September 19 to December 31, and the muzzleloader season runs November 28 to December 13 (DNR season calendar).

Data updated October 2026. Seasons: the DNR's 2026 season calendar and deer permit area map. Harvest: DNR Deer Harvest Reports, 2021 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's WMA and Walk-In Access layers.

When are Minnesota's 2026 hunting seasons?

Statewide dates for 2026 from the DNR's season calendar. Firearms deer dates depend on the permit area's series; each permit area's page lists its own dates and bag limit.

Source: DNR hunting season dates, waterfowl, upland birds and wild turkey pages. Duck zones and bag limits are in the DNR's waterfowl regulations.

How many deer do Minnesota hunters take?

Registered deer by year, from Table 1 of the DNR's 2025 Deer Harvest Report. The firearms share counts every firearms season; archery counts vertical bows and crossbows.

Source: Minnesota DNR 2025 Deer Harvest Report, Table 1. The last column is the DNR's own figure.

Which Minnesota deer permit areas have the most deer harvested?

Every permit area with at least three years of DNR harvest numbers has its own page. Sorted by number; the 2025 totals below exclude special hunts, as the DNR's Table 3 does.

Harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report). Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).

How much of Minnesota is public hunting land?

8,831,627 acres of Minnesota, 16.6% of the state, are public land open to the public, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public): state forest and other DNR land 3,600,678 acres, national forest 2,807,036 acres, state wildlife management areas 1,427,213 acres, national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas 521,602 acres, state parks 188,633 acres and national park land 136,027 acres.

Minnesota's biggest public hunting blocks are in the north: state forest land and the Chippewa and Superior national forests. Farther south, public land is mostly wildlife management areas and federal waterfowl production areas, set among farm fields.

Wildlife management areas are the backbone of public hunting in the farm country. DNR WMAs are open to hunting and trapping in the regular seasons unless posted otherwise.

Every county with its own page: Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carlton, Carver, Cass, Chippewa, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cook, Cottonwood, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Grant, Hennepin, Houston, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Kittson, Koochiching, Lac qui Parle, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Mahnomen, Marshall, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Norman, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Pennington, Pine, Pipestone, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Red Lake, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Roseau, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, St. Louis, Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wabasha, Wadena, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Wilkin, Winona, Wright, Yellow Medicine.

Which wildlife management areas are the largest?

The DNR's map shows 1,496 publicly accessible wildlife management areas. The largest with a page of their own:

• Red Lake WMA: 322,335 acres
• Roseau River WMA: 75,170 acres
• Thief Lake WMA: 54,632 acres
• Mille Lacs WMA: 38,708 acres
• Lac qui Parle WMA: 33,602 acres
• Wapiti WMA: 31,755 acres
• Beaches Lake WMA: 30,601 acres
• Whitewater WMA: 27,469 acres
• Carlos Avery WMA: 24,618 acres
• Moose River WMA: 21,275 acres
• Mud Goose WMA: 17,021 acres
• Moose Willow WMA: 16,957 acres
• Elm Lake WMA: 15,736 acres
• Carp Swamp WMA: 15,272 acres
• Palmville WMA: 14,885 acres
• Caribou WMA: 14,128 acres
• Graceton WMA: 10,713 acres
• Kimberly Marsh WMA: 10,564 acres
• East Park WMA: 10,420 acres
• Grayling Marsh WMA: 9,960 acres
• Nereson WMA: 9,861 acres
• Twin Lakes WMA: 8,867 acres
• Roseau Lake WMA: 8,023 acres
• Wolf Trail WMA: 7,792 acres
• Skull Lake WMA: 7,444 acres

769 wildlife management areas have a page of their own; each county page lists the rest.

What is Minnesota's Walk-In Access program?

Walk-In Access pays landowners, mostly in the west and south, to open private land to hunting. The DNR's 2026 layer shows 221 sites and about 21,287 acres. A Walk-In Access validation is required, and sites are open September 1 to May 31. Walk-In Access by county.

Questions hunters ask

When does Minnesota firearms deer season open in 2026?

Saturday, November 7, 2026. In 100 series permit areas the A season runs to November 22; in 200 and 300 series areas it runs to November 15, and 300 series areas add a B season November 21 to 29 (DNR season calendar).

How many deer were harvested in Minnesota last year?

The DNR registered 186,368 deer in 2025: 146,679 in the firearms seasons, 30,043 by archers and 9,646 by muzzleloader hunters (2025 Deer Harvest Report, Table 1).

Can you hunt on Minnesota wildlife management areas?

Yes. Hunting and trapping are allowed on state-owned WMAs during the regular seasons, under the DNR's WMA rules. Some WMAs have special restrictions or posted sanctuaries; each WMA page here lists the ones the DNR records.

Do you need anything extra to hunt Walk-In Access land?

Yes: a Walk-In Access validation on your license. With it you may use the sites from September 1 to May 31, half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, without contacting the landowner (DNR Walk-In Access program).

What is a deer permit area?

The unit the DNR uses to set deer bag limits and antlerless permits. Each of Minnesota's permit areas has a number; the first digit is its firearms series, which sets its firearms season dates.

Where these numbers come from

• Seasons: DNR hunting season dates; each permit area's dates from Minnesota DNR deer permit areas, 2026 seasons.
• Deer harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
• Wildlife management areas: Minnesota DNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, publicly accessible. Walk-In Access: Minnesota DNR Walk-In Access sites.
• Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).

FilledTag is not part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The DNR's hunting pages are the final word on every rule.

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