Somerset Wildlife Management Area: hunting and access
Somerset Wildlife Management Area is 440 acres of state land managed by the Minnesota DNR in Steele County, near Owatonna, inside Deer Permit Area 232. The DNR's WMA data lists deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, 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 areasCounty, city and regional landSomerset WMACounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 440 acres in 3 pieces |
|---|---|
| County | Steele County |
| Deer Permit Area | DPA 232 |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game |
| Nearest town (DNR) | Owatonna |
| DNR area office | Owatonna |
| Nearest towns | Owatonna (3 mi), Medford (8 mi) and Ellendale (11 mi) |
What is Somerset WMA like?
This area conserves a diversity of habitats along the Straight River near the mouth of Turtle Creek. The natural floodplain area has lowland hardwoods and numerous oxbow wetlands flanked by oaks, grasslands and lowland brush.
The oldest section of this WMA protects a stand of old growth lowland hardwoods with oxbow ponds and the river running through it. Through the years conservation groups including the Steele County Chapter of Minnesota Pheasants, Inc., Owatonna Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, Pheasants Forever, Inc., Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and The Trust for Public Land are responsible for additions to the area through various partnerships including the Reinvest in Minnesota Critical Habitat Match program, Conservation Legacy grants and Outdoor Heritage Fund.
In the DNR's words, from its wildlife management area data.
What can you hunt on Somerset WMA?
The DNR's WMA data lists deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, ruffed grouse and other forest upland birds, mourning doves and small game for Somerset WMA. Each follows the statewide season and, for deer, the bag limit of the permit area.
What are the rules on Somerset WMA?
Open to hunting and trapping in the regular seasons under the DNR's statewide WMA rules.
How many deer are taken around Somerset WMA?
Somerset WMA lies in Deer Permit Area 232. The DNR registered 745 deer in DPA 232 in 2025, against 773 in 2024.
| DPA | Somerset WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPA 232 | 440 | 745 | 773 | 805 |
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 Somerset WMA?
From Owatonna, go 1 mile S. on CSAH 45 then 1.25 miles W. on CSAH 18 then 0.5 mile S. on a trail to a parking area on the west side of the trail.
Access is via a frontage road along I35. There is no public road access to the state land that lies west of the river. No motorized vehicles are allowed beyond the parking lot.
Nearest towns: Owatonna (3 miles), Medford (8 miles), Ellendale (11 miles) and Waseca (12 miles). Highways within 5 miles: I-35, US 14 and US 218.
What other public land is near Somerset WMA?
DNR WMAs within 10 miles:
- Little Fawn WMA: 20 acres, 4.9 miles away
- Aurora WMA: 897 acres, 5.7 miles away
- Prairie Rose WMA: 118 acres, 5.7 miles away
- Swan WMA: 238 acres, 6.1 miles away
- Waseca WMA: 303 acres, 7.6 miles away
- Moonan WMA: 995 acres, 8.7 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Somerset WMA
Counting Somerset WMA itself, 744 of the 26,044 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (2.9%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| State wildlife management areas | 442 |
| County, city and regional land | 302 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Somerset WMA?
In Steele County, near Owatonna. The DNR's directions: From Owatonna, go 1 mile S. on CSAH 45 then 1.25 miles W. on CSAH 18 then 0.5 mile S. on a trail to a parking area on the west side of the trail.
Which deer permit area is Somerset WMA in?
Deer Permit Area 232. Its bag limit and firearms dates apply.
How much public land is around Somerset WMA?
744 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Somerset WMA included, by PAD-US 4.1. 6 other WMAs are within 10 miles, the closest Little Fawn WMA (4.9 miles).
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Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Somerset 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).
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