Clay County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Clay County has 28,423 acres of public land open to the public, 4.2% of the county, the largest share national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas (14,314 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 19 wildlife management areas here covering 9,153 acres, the largest Barnesville WMA (1,629 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 269 (464 deer in 2025), DPA 666 (686 deer in 2025), DPA 262 (426 deer in 2025) and DPA 239 (3,595 deer in 2025).
Data updated October 2026. Land: PAD-US 4.1. Wildlife Management Areas and Walk-In Access: the DNR's map layers, read 2026-10. Harvest: DNR Deer Harvest Reports, 2021 to 2025.
State wildlife management areasState forest and other DNR landNational wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areasState parksCounty, city and regional landClay CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 673,765 acres (1,053 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 4.2% (28,423 acres) |
| WMAs | 19 (9,153 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 269, DPA 666, DPA 262, DPA 239 |
| Towns | Moorhead, Dilworth, Hawley, Barnesville, Perley and Borup |
How much public hunting land is in Clay County?
28,423 of the county's 673,765 acres are public land open to the public (4.2%). 26,597 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Clay County |
|---|---|---|
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 14,314 | 2.1% |
| State wildlife management areas | 9,240 | 1.4% |
| State forest and other DNR land | 3,043 | 0.5% |
| State parks | 1,103 | 0.2% |
| County, city and regional land | 723 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 28,423 | 4.2% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). State wildlife management areas, state forest land and national forests are open to hunting in season; refuges and waterfowl production areas follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; state parks allow hunting only in special hunts; national park land is closed to hunting; city and county parks set their own rules. PAD-US 4.1 leaves out most of the tax-forfeited land Minnesota counties manage, much of it open to hunting, so the public land here may be more than shown; the county land department has the maps.
The largest public areas in Clay County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: Clay County Waterfowl Production Area Of Mn (13,488 acres), Clay County Waterfowl Production Area Of Minnesota (12,818 acres) and Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge (767 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Clay County?
19, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Barnesville WMA | 1,629 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Flowing Prairie WMA | 1,556 | deer, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Felton WMA | 1,016 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
| Clay County WMA | 924 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Bjornson WMA | 647 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Goose Prairie WMA | 641 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Ulen WMA | 480 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Gruhl WMA | 464 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Janssen WMA | 319 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
| Cromwell WMA | 287 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
| Magnusson WMA | 267 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and bear |
| Hitterdahl WMA | 267 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Skree WMA | 165 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Hawley WMA | 163 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Interstate Highway 94 Borrow Pit WMA | 93 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
| Highland Grove WMA | 80 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
| Jeral WMA | 75 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Hay Creek WMA | 40 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Aspen WMA | 40 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
How many deer are taken in Clay County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Clay County lies in 4 permit areas; the largest share is in DPA 269 (40.1% of the county). Each figure below is for the whole permit area.
| DPA | Share of the county | Deer harvested in the whole DPA | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| DPA 269 | 40.1% | 464 | 2025 |
| DPA 666 | 26.8% | 686 | 2025 |
| DPA 262 | 26.1% | 426 | 2025 |
| DPA 239 | 6.9% | 3,595 | 2025 |
Harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report). Share of the county measured by FilledTag from the DNR's deer permit areas and the Census county line.
How do you get around Clay County?
Highways: US 10 (about 56 miles in the county), I-94 (about 54 miles in the county), US 52 (about 54 miles in the county), MN 32 (about 51 miles in the county) and US 75 (about 39 miles in the county). Towns: Moorhead, Dilworth, Hawley, Barnesville, Glyndon, Ulen, Georgetown and Felton.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Clay County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: Clay County Waterfowl Production Area Of Mn (13,488 acres in the county), Clay County Waterfowl Production Area Of Minnesota (12,818 acres in the county) and Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge (767 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas, 14,314 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Clay County?
Barnesville WMA, with 1,629 acres inside the county. The county has 19 WMAs in all.
Does Clay County have Walk-In Access land?
Not on the DNR's 2026 Walk-In Access map. The program is mostly in western and southern Minnesota.
Which deer permit area is Clay County in?
DPA 269 (40.1%), DPA 666 (26.8%), DPA 262 (26.1%) and DPA 239 (6.9%). Bag limits and firearms dates follow the permit area.
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Where these numbers come from
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). Wildlife Management Areas: Minnesota DNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, publicly accessible. Walk-In Access: Minnesota DNR Walk-In Access sites.
- Deer harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
- County line: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads.
FilledTag is not part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps.
Minnesota hunting DPA 269 DPA 262 DPA 239 Becker County Norman County Wilkin County Otter Tail County