Freeborn County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Freeborn County has 7,600 acres of public land open to the public, 1.6% of the county, the largest share state wildlife management areas (2,919 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 13 wildlife management areas here covering 2,907 acres, the largest Panicum Prairie WMA (1,049 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 254 (1,373 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 areasNational wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areasState parksCounty, city and regional landFreeborn CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 462,347 acres (722 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 1.6% (7,600 acres) |
| WMAs | 13 (2,907 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 254 |
| Towns | Albert Lea, Glenville, Alden, Emmons, Walters and Blooming Prairie |
How much public hunting land is in Freeborn County?
7,600 of the county's 462,347 acres are public land open to the public (1.6%). 5,630 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Freeborn County |
|---|---|---|
| State wildlife management areas | 2,919 | 0.6% |
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 2,711 | 0.6% |
| State parks | 1,618 | 0.3% |
| County, city and regional land | 352 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 7,600 | 1.6% |
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 Freeborn County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: Freeborn County Waterfowl Production Area (2,711 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Freeborn County?
13, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Panicum Prairie WMA | 1,049 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Wo Wacintanka WMA | 558 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Carex WMA | 332 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Magaksica WMA | 169 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Halls Lake WMA | 152 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Manchester WMA | 113 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Ann & Leo Donahue WMA | 112 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Upper Twin Lake WMA | 99 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Geneva WMA | 86 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Mansfield WMA | 77 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, mourning doves and small game |
| Bear WMA | 64 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Shell Rock WMA | 49 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
| State Line Lake WMA | 47 | deer, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
How many deer are taken in Freeborn County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Freeborn County lies in 1 permit area; the largest share is in DPA 254 (100% 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 254 | 100% | 1,373 | 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 Freeborn County?
Highways: I-90 (about 62 miles in the county), I-35 (about 50 miles in the county), US 65 (about 46 miles in the county), MN 13 (about 21 miles in the county) and US 69 (about 13 miles in the county). Towns: Albert Lea, Glenville, Alden, Emmons, Hayward, Clarks Grove, Twin Lakes and Geneva.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Freeborn County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: Freeborn County Waterfowl Production Area (2,711 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is state wildlife management areas, 2,919 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Freeborn County?
Panicum Prairie WMA, with 1,049 acres inside the county. The county has 13 WMAs in all.
Does Freeborn 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 Freeborn County in?
All of it that matters is DPA 254.
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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 254 Mower County Steele County Waseca County Faribault County