Olmsted County, Minnesota: public hunting land
Olmsted County has 7,441 acres of public land open to the public, 1.8% of the county, the largest share state wildlife management areas (4,861 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). The DNR's map shows 15 wildlife management areas here covering 4,640 acres, the largest Whitewater WMA (1,807 acres in the county). Deer here are counted by deer permit area: DPA 643 (3,469 deer in 2025), DPA 655 (451 deer in 2025), DPA 644 (1,086 deer in 2025) and DPA 647 (1,444 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 landState parksCounty, city and regional landOlmsted CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 418,990 acres (655 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Public land | 1.8% (7,441 acres) |
| WMAs | 15 (4,640 acres) |
| Walk-In Access | None mapped this year |
| Deer permit areas | DPA 643, DPA 655, DPA 644, DPA 647, DPA 341, DPA 642, DPA 645, DPA 648 |
| Towns | Rochester, Stewartville, Byron, Oronoco, Chatfield and Pine Island |
How much public hunting land is in Olmsted County?
7,441 of the county's 418,990 acres are public land open to the public (1.8%). 5,748 acres of that are state wildlife, state forest or federal land, where hunting is the rule rather than the exception.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Olmsted County |
|---|---|---|
| State wildlife management areas | 4,861 | 1.2% |
| County, city and regional land | 1,691 | 0.4% |
| State forest and other DNR land | 887 | 0.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 2 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 7,441 | 1.8% |
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 Olmsted County by PAD-US, besides the WMAs: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (809 acres), Bear Cave Park (181 acres), Zumbro Park (112 acres) and Woodside Park (104 acres).
Which wildlife management areas are in Olmsted County?
15, largest first.
| WMA | Acres in the county | DNR lists for hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Whitewater WMA | 1,807 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Rock Dell WMA | 490 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Gordon W. Yeager WMA | 490 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Moon Valley WMA | 429 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Haverhill WMA | 398 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Vermilya WMA | 198 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| Keller WMA | 197 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and small game |
| LLEIF's Land WMA | 147 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Eastside WMA | 119 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds and mourning doves |
| Schumann WMA | 92 | deer, pheasants and small game |
| Nelson Fen WMA | 79 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants and small game |
| High Forest WMA | 69 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants and small game |
| Marian Marshall WMA | 59 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants and small game |
| Suess WMA | 54 | deer, wild turkey, pheasants and small game |
| South Fork Zumbro River WMA | 12 | deer, wild turkey and ducks and geese |
How many deer are taken in Olmsted County?
The DNR counts deer by permit area, not by county. Olmsted County lies in 8 permit areas; the largest share is in DPA 643 (84.8% 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 643 | 84.8% | 3,469 | 2025 |
| DPA 655 | 5.9% | 451 | 2025 |
| DPA 644 | 3.2% | 1,086 | 2025 |
| DPA 647 | 2.2% | 1,444 | 2025 |
| DPA 341 | 2.1% | 3,312 | 2025 |
| DPA 642 | 1.5% | 2,077 | 2025 |
| DPA 645 | 0.2% | 1,722 | 2025 |
| DPA 648 | 0.2% | 1,763 | 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 Olmsted County?
Highways: US 52 (about 59 miles in the county), I-90 (about 54 miles in the county), US 14 (about 45 miles in the county), US 63 (about 38 miles in the county) and MN 30 (about 34 miles in the county). Towns: Rochester, Stewartville, Byron, Oronoco, Eyota, Dover, Marion and High Forest.
Questions hunters ask
What is the largest public land in Olmsted County besides the WMAs?
By PAD-US 4.1: R J D Memorial Hardwood State Forest (809 acres in the county), Bear Cave Park (181 acres in the county) and Zumbro Park (112 acres in the county). The largest kind of public land here is state wildlife management areas, 4,861 acres.
What is the largest WMA in Olmsted County?
Whitewater WMA, with 1,807 acres inside the county. The county has 15 WMAs in all.
Does Olmsted 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 Olmsted County in?
DPA 643 (84.8%), DPA 655 (5.9%), DPA 644 (3.2%), DPA 647 (2.2%), DPA 341 (2.1%), DPA 642 (1.5%), DPA 645 (0.2%) and DPA 648 (0.2%). 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 643 DPA 655 DPA 644 DPA 647 DPA 341 DPA 645 DPA 648 Dodge County Mower County Winona County Goodhue County Wabasha County Fillmore County