Houston County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Houston County has 32,526 acres of public land open to the public, 8.9% of the county, the largest share state forest and other DNR land (14,392 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 7 wildlife management areas here covering 3,343 acres, the largest Root River WMA (949 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 649 (3,806 deer in 2025) and DPA 646 (2,832 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 landHouston CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 364,026 acres (569 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 8.9% (32,526 acres) |
| WMAs | 7 (3,343 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 649, DPA 646 |
| Towns | La Crescent, Caledonia, Brownsville, Houston, Rushford and Mabel |
How much public hunting land is in Houston County?
32,526 of the county's 364,026 acres are public land open to the public (8.9%). 31,710 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Houston County |
|---|---|---|
| State forest and other DNR land | 14,392 | 4% |
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 13,433 | 3.7% |
| State wildlife management areas | 3,885 | 1.1% |
| State parks | 744 | 0.2% |
| County, city and regional land | 72 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 32,526 | 8.9% |
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 Houston County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (14,217 acres) and Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish Refuge (13,446 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Houston County?
7, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Root River WMA | 949 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Yucatan WMA | 928 | |
| Ferndale Ridge WMA | 658 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Mound Prairie WMA | 437 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Winnebago Creek WMA | 174 | deer, wild turkey, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Rush Creek Woods WMA | 117 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Chisholm Valley WMA | 80 | deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
How many deer are taken in Houston County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Houston County lies in 2 permit areas; the largest share is in DPA 649 (79.6% 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 649 | 79.6% | 3,806 | 2025 |
| DPA 646 | 20.3% | 2,832 | 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 Houston County?
Highways: MN 76 (about 30 miles in the county), MN 16 (about 30 miles in the county), MN 44 (about 29 miles in the county), MN 26 (about 21 miles in the county) and US 14 (about 4 miles in the county). Towns: La Crescent, Caledonia, Brownsville, Houston, Spring Grove, Hokah and Eitzen.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Houston County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (14,217 acres in the county) and Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish Refuge (13,446 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is state forest and other DNR land, 14,392 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Houston County?
Root River WMA, with 949 acres inside the county. The county has 7 WMAs in all.
Does Houston 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 Houston County in?
DPA 649 (79.6%) and DPA 646 (20.3%). 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 649 DPA 646 Winona County Fillmore County