Goodhue County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Goodhue County has 16,541 acres of public land open to the public, 3.3% of the county, the largest share state forest and other DNR land (7,426 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 11 wildlife management areas here covering 5,194 acres, the largest Gores Pool #3 WMA (3,691 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 341 (3,312 deer in 2025), DPA 293 (775 deer in 2025), DPA 605 (3,115 deer in 2025) and DPA 643 (3,469 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 landOther federal landState parksCounty, city and regional landGoodhue CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 498,913 acres (780 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 3.3% (16,541 acres) |
| WMAs | 11 (5,194 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 341, DPA 293, DPA 605, DPA 643 |
| Towns | Red Wing, Pine Island, Cannon Falls, Zumbrota, Mazeppa and Lake City |
How much public hunting land is in Goodhue County?
16,541 of the county's 498,913 acres are public land open to the public (3.3%). 12,940 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Goodhue County |
|---|---|---|
| State forest and other DNR land | 7,426 | 1.5% |
| State wildlife management areas | 5,514 | 1.1% |
| State parks | 2,363 | 0.5% |
| County, city and regional land | 1,238 | 0.2% |
| All public land open to the public | 16,541 | 3.3% |
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 Goodhue County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (6,581 acres), Memorial Park (311 acres) and Hok-Si-La Park And Campground (257 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Goodhue County?
11, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Gores Pool #3 WMA | 3,691 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| John Peter Hoffman Spring Brook Valley WMA | 395 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Perched Valley WMA | 247 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese and small game |
| Warsaw WMA | 244 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, mourning doves and small game |
| Buck Family Memorial WMA | 159 | deer, pheasants and small game |
| Tiedemann WMA | 136 | deer, pheasants, mourning doves and small game |
| John Murtaugh Memorial WMA | 120 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants and small game |
| Woodbury WMA | 114 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Roscoe WMA | 49 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Tangential WMA | 26 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Espen Island WMA | 13 | ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
How many deer are taken in Goodhue County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Goodhue County lies in 4 permit areas; the largest share is in DPA 341 (63.1% 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 341 | 63.1% | 3,312 | 2025 |
| DPA 293 | 19.1% | 775 | 2025 |
| DPA 605 | 17.6% | 3,115 | 2025 |
| DPA 643 | 0.1% | 3,469 | 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 Goodhue County?
Highways: US 52 (about 59 miles in the county), US 61 (about 46 miles in the county), MN 60 (about 29 miles in the county), MN 19 (about 25 miles in the county) and MN 56 (about 24 miles in the county). Towns: Red Wing, Pine Island, Cannon Falls, Zumbrota, Kenyon, Wanamingo, Dennison and Goodhue.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Goodhue County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (6,581 acres in the county), Memorial Park (311 acres in the county) and Hok-Si-La Park And Campground (257 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is state forest and other DNR land, 7,426 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Goodhue County?
Gores Pool #3 WMA, with 3,691 acres inside the county. The county has 11 WMAs in all.
Does Goodhue 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 Goodhue County in?
DPA 341 (63.1%), DPA 293 (19.1%), DPA 605 (17.6%) and DPA 643 (0.1%). 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 341 DPA 293 DPA 605 DPA 643 Rice County Dodge County Dakota County Olmsted County Wabasha County