Dakota County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Dakota County has 24,536 acres of public land open to the public, 6.5% of the county, the largest share county, city and regional land (10,736 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 8 wildlife management areas here covering 9,126 acres, the largest Gores Pool #3 WMA (3,417 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 605 (3,115 deer in 2025) and DPA 601 (2,588 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 areasU.S. Army Corps of Engineers landOther federal landState parksNational park landCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landDakota CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 375,573 acres (587 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 6.5% (24,536 acres) |
| WMAs | 8 (9,126 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 605, DPA 601 |
| Towns | Lakeville, Rosemount, Eagan, Empire, Newport and St. Paul Park |
How much public hunting land is in Dakota County?
24,536 of the county's 375,573 acres are public land open to the public (6.5%). 11,681 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Dakota County |
|---|---|---|
| County, city and regional land | 10,736 | 2.9% |
| State wildlife management areas | 9,424 | 2.5% |
| State parks | 1,910 | 0.5% |
| State forest and other DNR land | 1,656 | 0.4% |
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 402 | 0.1% |
| Other federal land | 199 | 0.1% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 198 | 0.1% |
| National park land | 11 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 24,536 | 6.5% |
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 Dakota County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: Lebanon Hills Regional Park (1,963 acres), Cowling - Lower Arboretum (459 acres), Minnesota Zoological Gardens (447 acres), Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge (328 acres), Ritter Farm Park (318 acres), Alimagnet Park (286 acres), Spring Lake Park (Dakota County) (252 acres), Lilydale Regional Park (219 acres), Terrace Oaks West (217 acres) and Lake Rebecca Park (199 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Dakota County?
8, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Gores Pool #3 WMA | 3,417 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Vermillion Highlands Research Recreation and WMA | 2,841 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants and ducks and geese |
| Vermillion River WMA | 1,494 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Spring Lake Islands WMA | 766 | deer, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Hampton Woods WMA | 208 | deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Chub Lake WMA | 203 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Mud Creek WMA | 157 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Hastings WMA | 40 | deer, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
How many deer are taken in Dakota County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Dakota County lies in 2 permit areas; the largest share is in DPA 605 (83.9% 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 605 | 83.9% | 3,115 | 2025 |
| DPA 601 | 16.1% | 2,588 | 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 Dakota County?
Highways: US 52 (about 59 miles in the county), I-35 (about 53 miles in the county), MN 55 (about 52 miles in the county), MN 13 (about 40 miles in the county) and MN 3 (about 36 miles in the county). Towns: Lakeville, Rosemount, Eagan, Empire, Inver Grove Heights, Burnsville, Apple Valley and Farmington.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Dakota County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: Lebanon Hills Regional Park (1,963 acres in the county), Cowling - Lower Arboretum (459 acres in the county) and Minnesota Zoological Gardens (447 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is county, city and regional land, 10,736 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Dakota County?
Gores Pool #3 WMA, with 3,417 acres inside the county. The county has 8 WMAs in all.
Does Dakota 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 Dakota County in?
DPA 605 (83.9%) and DPA 601 (16.1%). Bag limits and firearms dates follow the permit area.
Get a Minnesota hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Minnesota 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, Minnesota included.
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 605 Rice County Scott County Ramsey County Goodhue County Hennepin County Washington County