Aurora Wildlife Management Area: hunting and access
Aurora Wildlife Management Area is 897 acres of state land managed by the Minnesota DNR in Steele County, near Bixby, inside Deer Permit Areas 232 and 233. The DNR's WMA data lists deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game for it. Hunters registered 745 deer in DPA 232 in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: the DNR's wildlife management area data, 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 areasAurora WMACounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 897 acres |
|---|---|
| County | Steele County |
| Deer Permit Area | DPA 232, DPA 233 |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game |
| Nearest town (DNR) | Bixby |
| DNR area office | Owatonna |
| Nearest towns | Blooming Prairie (7 mi), Claremont (8 mi) and Owatonna (9 mi) |
What is Aurora WMA like?
Wetland habitats, especially cattail marshes, canary grass and sedge meadows, and willow swamps dominate this WMA. The wetlands are affected by drainage and little open water habitat is found here. Upland habitats are grasslands and small woodlots.
Management aims are to maintain and restore wetland, prairie and savannah habitats. A part of this unit is managed to provide native prairie seed for habitat plantings on other WMAs in the vicinity. Wildlife viewing opportunities are best for wildlife associated with wetlands and savannah habitats. Most commonly sought game species include pheasants, cottontail rabbits, furbearers and deer. The large marshes can offer good rail hunting.
In the DNR's words, from its wildlife management area data.
What can you hunt on Aurora WMA?
The DNR's WMA data lists deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, mourning doves and small game for Aurora WMA. Each follows the statewide season and, for deer, the bag limit of the permit area.
What are the rules on Aurora WMA?
Open to hunting and trapping in the regular seasons under the DNR's statewide WMA rules.
How many deer are taken around Aurora WMA?
Aurora WMA lies in 2 deer permit areas. The DNR registered 745 deer in DPA 232 in 2025, against 773 in 2024.
Harvest for the whole deer permit area, not the WMA alone: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
How do you get to Aurora WMA?
From Bixby, go 1.25 m. NW on US Hwy 218.
Nearest towns: Blooming Prairie (7 miles), Claremont (8 miles), Owatonna (9 miles) and Ellendale (10 miles). Highways within 5 miles: US 218 and I-35.
What other public land is near Aurora WMA?
DNR WMAs within 10 miles:
- Oak Glen WMA: 87 acres, 1.7 miles away
- Marsh Wren WMA: 40 acres, 2.5 miles away
- Pogones Marsh WMA: 113 acres, 3.7 miles away
- Somerset WMA: 440 acres, 5.7 miles away
- Straight River WMA: 198 acres, 5.9 miles away
- McMartin WMA: 38 acres, 7.3 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Aurora WMA
Counting Aurora WMA itself, 1,177 of the 33,697 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (3.5%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| State wildlife management areas | 1,038 |
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 139 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Aurora WMA?
In Steele County, near Bixby. The DNR's directions: From Bixby, go 1.25 m. NW on US Hwy 218.
Which deer permit area is Aurora WMA in?
DPA 232 (855 acres) and DPA 233 (41 acres). Each part follows its own permit area's bag limit.
How much public land is around Aurora WMA?
1,177 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Aurora WMA included, by PAD-US 4.1. 6 other WMAs are within 10 miles, the closest Oak Glen WMA (1.7 miles).
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Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Aurora WMA; Minnesota DNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, publicly accessible.
- Boundary and acres: the DNR's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
- Deer harvest: Minnesota DNR Deer Harvest Reports (2021 to 2025, 2025 report).
FilledTag is not part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Check the DNR's rules and posted signs before you go.