Golden Valley County, North Dakota: PLOTS, WMAs and public hunting land
Golden Valley County has 40,689 acres of PLOTS, private land open to walk-in hunting, inside its line (88 tracts centered in the county), 1 wildlife management area with 127 acres, and 127,207 acres of other public land, by the 2026 maps NDGF publishes. Together that is 26.2% of the county's 641,743 acres.
Data updated October 2026. PLOTS, WMAs, trust land and federal land: NDGF map layers, 2026. Lottery: NDGF 2026.
NDGF wildlife management areaNational grasslandBLMState trust landPLOTS (private land open to hunting)Golden Valley CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 641,743 acres (1,003 square miles) |
|---|---|
| PLOTS land inside the county line | 40,689 acres |
| PLOTS tracts centered in the county | 88 |
| Wildlife management areas | 1, 127 acres |
| Other public land | 127,207 acres |
| State trust land open to walk-in hunting | 26,780 acres (Trust Lands) |
| Deer units | Deer unit 4D, Deer unit 4B |
| Pronghorn units | Pronghorn unit 01A, Pronghorn unit 02A, Pronghorn unit 03A |
| Towns | Beach, Sentinel Butte and Golva |
How much PLOTS walk-in land is in Golden Valley County?
40,689 acres inside the county line, 6.3% of the county; 88 PLOTS tracts are centered in the county. PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen) is private land the owner has opened to walk-in hunting through NDGF. The NDGF PLOTS Guide map (2026) shows each tract.
Which wildlife management areas are in Golden Valley County?
One WMA:
- Camels Hump Lake WMA: 127 acres
How much public land is in Golden Valley County?
19.8% of the county is public land: 127,334 acres, counting the WMAs. The largest share is national grassland, 96,011 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| National grassland | 96,011 | 15% |
| PLOTS (private land open to hunting) | 40,689 | 6.3% |
| State trust land | 28,851 | 4.5% |
| BLM | 2,345 | 0.4% |
| NDGF wildlife management area | 127 | under 0.1% |
State trust land by the access status the Department of Trust Lands gives each tract (the department's own acres): 26,780 acres open and 2,203 acres where the lessee must be told first.
Measured by FilledTag inside the Census county line from NDGF PLOTS Guide map layers (WMAs, PLOTS, trust land, federal land); overlapping maps are counted once.
Which hunting units are in Golden Valley County?
Each unit's 2026 lottery, for the whole unit:
| Unit | Acres in the county | Share of the county | Licenses, 2026 | Applicants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 4D | 331,470 | 51.7% | 500 | 2,888 |
| Deer unit 4B | 309,643 | 48.3% | 550 | 3,588 |
| Pronghorn unit 01A | 309,617 | 48.2% | 130 | 3,044 |
| Pronghorn unit 02A | 286,132 | 44.6% | 70 | 675 |
| Pronghorn unit 03A | 45,530 | 7.1% | 20 | 286 |
| Elk unit E3 | 629,874 | 98.2% | 319 | 9,532 |
| Elk unit E4 | 11,584 | 1.8% | 10 | 1,147 |
Lottery: NDGF deer lottery statistics; NDGF pronghorn lottery statistics; NDGF elk lottery statistics.
How do you get around Golden Valley County?
Highways: ND 16 (about 47 miles in the county) and I-94 (about 43 miles in the county). Towns: Beach, Sentinel Butte and Golva.
How do the counties around Golden Valley compare?
| County | PLOTS acres | PLOTS tracts | WMA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billings | 12,570 | 27 | 154 | 322,046 |
| McKenzie | 9,525 | 21 | 18,092 | 621,251 |
| Slope | 55,441 | 71 | 964 | 165,081 |
Questions hunters ask
How much PLOTS land is in Golden Valley County?
NDGF's 2026 PLOTS map shows 88 tracts centered in Golden Valley County, covering 40,689 acres inside the county line. PLOTS is private land the owner has opened to walk-in hunting; NDGF's PLOTS Guide shows each tract and its rules.
Are there wildlife management areas in Golden Valley County?
Yes, 1: Camels Hump Lake (127 acres).
Which deer units are in Golden Valley County?
Unit 4D (51.7% of the county) and unit 4B (48.3% of the county), by NDGF's unit map.
Can you hunt state trust land in Golden Valley County?
Yes, where it is open. The Department of Trust Lands lists 26,780 acres as open and 2,203 acres where the lessee must be told first in Golden Valley County. Its map shows each tract's status.
Get a North Dakota hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for North Dakota 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, North Dakota included.
Where these numbers come from
- PLOTS, WMAs, trust land and federal land: NDGF PLOTS Guide map layers (WMAs, PLOTS, trust land, federal land); NDGF PLOTS Guide map (2026).
- Units and lottery: NDGF hunting unit maps; NDGF deer lottery statistics.
- County line, highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 boundaries, TIGER/Line and Gazetteer.
FilledTag is not part of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. PLOTS tracts change each year; check NDGF's current PLOTS Guide before you go.
North Dakota hunting Billings County McKenzie County Slope County