Hart Creek Conservation Area: hunting and access
Hart Creek Conservation Area is 659 acres of MDC land in Boone County, next to Hartsburg. MDC lists deer hunting here (archery and firearms, antlerless permits allowed). Hunters checked 3,439 deer in Boone 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 areasState parks and historic sitesHart Creek Conservation AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 659 acres |
|---|---|
| County | Boone County |
| Deer harvest unit | Boone County |
| MDC lists for hunting | Deer, Turkey, Rabbit and Squirrel |
| MDC area number | 9732 |
| MDC region | Central |
| Camping (MDC) | open camping - walk-in/float-in/backpack and designated camping sites |
| Nearest towns | Hartsburg (next to it), Centertown (7 mi) and St. Martins (7 mi) |
What is Hart Creek Conservation Area like?
This area is 657-acres of managed forest, woodland, and bluff natural communities, with a few scattered oldfields. A multi-use hiking and bicycling trail runs through forested hills and limestone/dolomite cliffs. The area features a wooden over look, a two-acre fishing lake, and a primitive camping area accessible by the adjacent Katy Trail State Park. The area offers public hunting, fishing, wildlife watching opportunities.
Fishing regulations on all impoundments on the area are: Largemouth Bass: Daily Limit 6 ; Length Limit 12-15" protected slot length Channel Catfish: Daily Limit 4; Length Limit None Crappie: Daily Limit 30; Length Limit None All Other Fish Combined: Daily Limit 20; Length Limit None
In MDC's words, from the Hart Creek Conservation Area page.
What can you hunt on Hart Creek Conservation Area?
MDC's page for Hart Creek Conservation Area lists: Deer: archery and firearms, antlerless permits allowed; Turkey: archery and firearms; Rabbit; Squirrel.
What are the rules on Hart Creek 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 Hart Creek Conservation Area?
Hart Creek Conservation Area lies in Boone County. Hunters checked 3,439 deer in Boone County in 2025, against 3,174 in 2024.
| County | Hart Creek Conservation Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boone County | 659 | 3,439 | 3,174 | 3,644 |
Harvest for the whole county, not the conservation area alone: MDC deer harvest summaries (2021 to 2025 seasons).
How do you get to Hart Creek Conservation Area?
MDC's directions: From Hartsburg, take Hart Creek Road north 0.75 mile.
Nearest towns: Hartsburg (next to it), Centertown (7 miles), St. Martins (7 miles) and Ashland (8 miles). Highways within 5 miles: US 63 and MO 179.
What other public land is near Hart Creek Conservation Area?
MDC lands within 10 miles:
- Hartsburg Access: 36 acres, next to it
- Marion Bottoms Conservation Area: 2,943 acres, 0.5 miles away
- Church Farm Conservation Area: 1,254 acres, 2.5 miles away
- Plowboy Bend Conservation Area: 2,678 acres, 5.1 miles away
- Roger V. and Viola Wachal Smith Conservation Area: 484 acres, 5.6 miles away
- Binder Community Lake: 201 acres, 6.8 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Hart Creek Conservation Area
Counting Hart Creek Conservation Area itself, 3,682 of the 27,569 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (13.4%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries.
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| MDC conservation areas | 3,676 |
| State parks and historic sites | 6 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Hart Creek Conservation Area?
In Boone County, next to Hartsburg.
Can you deer hunt on Hart Creek Conservation Area?
Yes, by MDC's page: archery and firearms, antlerless permits allowed.
How much public land is around Hart Creek Conservation Area?
3,682 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Hart Creek Conservation Area included, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and MDC conservation area boundaries. The closest other MDC area is Hartsburg Access (next to it).
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, Hart Creek 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.