Granny's Acres Conservation Area: hunting and access
Granny's Acres Conservation Area is 349 acres of MDC land in Benton County, 6 miles from White Branch. MDC lists deer hunting here (archery and firearms, antlerless permits allowed). Hunters checked 4,228 deer in Benton County in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: MDC's conservation area data, read 2026-10. Harvest: MDC deer harvest summaries, 2021 to 2025.
MDC conservation areasFederal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakesCounty, city and regional landGranny's Acres Conservation AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 349 acres |
|---|---|
| County | Benton County |
| Deer harvest unit | Benton County |
| MDC lists for hunting | Deer, Bear, Turkey and Squirrel |
| MDC area number | 6520 |
| MDC region | Kansas City |
| Nearest towns | White Branch (6 mi), Warsaw (8 mi) and Cross Timbers (9 mi) |
What is Granny's Acres Conservation Area like?
A highlight at this 351-acre area is a well-marked hiking trail system through a hilly forest and woodland ecosystem. The area offers squirrel, turkey and deer hunting in season, and its hardwood forest will be graced with dogwood, gum bumelia, and serviceberry blossoms and returning songbirds.
This formerly inaccessible area has a history of frequent wildfires before the Department acquired it in the 1960s. Those fires destroyed the area's timber potential but created a diverse plant community, including trees with cavities that provide habitat for birds and small wildlife. Today, managers are using prescribed fire and other techniques to restore the area's dolomite glades (a rocky, desertlike type of habitat), maintain the limestone oak/hickory woodland plant community and restore the riparian forest along Whig Creek. These management practices maintain the area's diverse wildlife habitat. In 2008, the Department acquired an additional 31-acre tract, and it added a small, three-car parking lot in 2009. Thanks to these improvements, visitors can now park at the area and hike in for hunting and nature viewing. Spring turkey hunting is always challenging and can be very...
In MDC's words, from the Granny's Acres Conservation Area page.
What can you hunt on Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
MDC's page for Granny's Acres Conservation Area lists: Deer: archery and firearms, antlerless permits allowed; Bear: archery and firearms; Turkey: archery and firearms; Squirrel.
What are the rules on Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
MDC's standard conservation area rules (Chapter 11 of the Wildlife Code) apply; the area's rules on MDC's site list any it adds.
How many deer are taken around Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
Granny's Acres Conservation Area lies in Benton County. Hunters checked 4,228 deer in Benton County in 2025, against 3,915 in 2024.
| County | Granny's Acres Conservation Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County | 349 | 4,228 | 3,915 | 4,692 |
Harvest for the whole county, not the conservation area alone: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons).
How do you get to Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
MDC's directions: From Warsaw, take Highway 65 south 7.10 miles, then Day Road west (Day Road curves immediately to the south, then west again), go 1.90 miles to Granny's Acres Conservation Area.
Nearest towns: White Branch (6 miles), Warsaw (8 miles), Cross Timbers (9 miles) and Bent Tree Harbor (11 miles). Highways within 5 miles: US 65 and MO 83.
What other public land is near Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
MDC lands within 10 miles:
- Truman Reservoir Management Lands (Little Pomme de Terre): 2,240 acres, 3.7 miles away
- Truman Reservoir Management Lands (Cross Timbers): 5,189 acres, 6.7 miles away
- Warsaw (Drake Harbor): 47 acres, 6.8 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Granny's Acres Conservation Area
Counting Granny's Acres Conservation Area itself, 5,065 of the 24,647 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (20.6%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries.
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| Federal land, mostly Corps of Engineers lakes | 4,716 |
| MDC conservation areas | 349 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
In Benton County, 6 miles from White Branch.
Can you deer hunt on Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
Yes, by MDC's page: archery and firearms, antlerless permits allowed.
How much public land is around Granny's Acres Conservation Area?
5,065 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Granny's Acres Conservation Area included, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries. The closest other MDC area is Truman Reservoir Management Lands (Little Pomme de Terre) (3.7 miles).
Get a Missouri hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Missouri are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Missouri included.
Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: MDC, Granny's Acres Conservation Area; MDC conservation area boundaries.
- Boundary and acres: MDC's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and MDC conservation area boundaries.
- Deer harvest: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons).
FilledTag is not part of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Check MDC's rules and posted signs before you go.