Belmont County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Belmont County covers 541 square miles around St. Clairsville. Hunters checked 3,725 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 1,375 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is down 7% from 2024. 7.8% of Belmont County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (25,932 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries.
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the Division of Wildlife's harvest reports, 2021-22 to 2025-26. Land: PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land layer.
Land on ODNR's hunting mapOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landBelmont CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 346,476 acres (541 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 3,725 (1,732 antlered, 1,993 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 1,375 archery, 2,350 gun |
| Public land | 7.8% (26,972 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 8 (25,932 acres inside Belmont County) |
| Towns in and near it | St. Clairsville, Martins Ferry, Barnesville, Wilson, Fairview and Jerusalem |
How many deer are harvested in Belmont County?
Hunters checked 3,725 deer in Belmont County in 2025-26: 1,732 antlered and 1,993 antlerless. Archers took 1,375 and gun hunters 2,350.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 3,725 | 1,732 | 1,993 | 1,375 | 2,350 |
| 2024-25 | 4,023 | 1,837 | 2,186 | 1,527 | 2,496 |
| 2023-24 | 3,607 | 1,776 | 1,831 | 1,429 | |
| 2021-22 | 2,836 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Belmont County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 1,500 bucks, 1,149 does and 187 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Belmont County?
26,972 of Belmont County's 346,476 acres are public land open to the public (7.8%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 25,932 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Belmont County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 25,932 | 7.5% |
| Other state land | 529 | 0.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 346 | 0.1% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 165 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 26,972 | 7.8% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and ODNR's land boundaries with hunting status. Hunting rules differ by manager: ODNR wildlife areas, hunting areas and forests marked open follow Ohio's statewide seasons, and those marked restricted limit hunting by place, season or permit; national forest is open; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; Corps of Engineers lake land is open in many places under each project's own rules; metro parks and city land are closed to most hunting.
ODNR areas open to hunting in Belmont County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Belmont County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Egypt Valley Wildlife Area: 17,474 acres
- Piedmont Lake Hunt Area: 5,913 acres
- Barkcamp State Park: 1,139 acres
- Barnesville Slope Creek Reservoir #3 Wildlife Area: 735 acres
- Willow Grove State Forest: 350 acres
- Jockey Hollow Wildlife Area: 168 acres
- Barnesville Reservoir #1 Wildlife Area: 102 acres
- Barnesville Reservoir #2 Wildlife Area: 51 acres
How do you get to Belmont County?
Highways through it: I-70 (about 54 miles inside), OH 7 (about 47 miles inside), OH 147 (about 36 miles inside), OH 149 (about 35 miles inside) and US 40 (about 34 miles inside). Towns inside: St. Clairsville, Martins Ferry, Barnesville, Bellaire, Powhatan Point and Bridgeport. Nearby: Wilson (on the line), Fairview (on the line), Jerusalem (on the line) and Beallsville (on the line).
Which counties border Belmont County?
Belmont County touches 5 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noble County | 2,260 | 2025 | 12.5% |
| Monroe County | 2,195 | 2025 | 10.6% |
| Guernsey County | 4,804 | 2025 | 7.9% |
| Harrison County | 4,959 | 2025 | 8.9% |
| Jefferson County | 3,691 | 2025 | 4.1% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Belmont County in 2025-26?
3,725: 1,732 antlered and 1,993 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 4,023.
Is there public hunting land in Belmont County?
26,972 acres, 7.8% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (25,932 acres). ODNR's layer shows 8 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Belmont County?
1,375 of the 3,725 deer checked in 2025-26 were taken with a crossbow or longbow (Division of Wildlife).
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Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and ODNR's land boundaries with hunting status. ODNR areas open to hunting: ODNR lands hunting status.
- Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 cartographic county boundaries. Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. Numbers are copied from ODNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
Ohio hunting Noble County Monroe County Guernsey County Harrison County Jefferson County