Erie County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Erie County covers 257 square miles around Sandusky. Hunters checked 1,161 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 550 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is down 1% from 2024. 5.3% of Erie County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (5,054 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 mapNational wildlife refugesNational park landOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landErie CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 164,536 acres (257 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,161 (494 antlered, 667 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 550 archery, 611 gun |
| Public land | 5.3% (8,640 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 9 (5,055 acres inside Erie County) |
| Towns in and near it | Sandusky, Huron, Kelleys Island, Bellevue, Vermilion and Wakeman |
How many deer are harvested in Erie County?
Hunters checked 1,161 deer in Erie County in 2025-26: 494 antlered and 667 antlerless. Archers took 550 and gun hunters 611.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,161 | 494 | 667 | 550 | 611 |
| 2024-25 | 1,178 | 491 | 687 | 593 | 585 |
| 2023-24 | 1,015 | 434 | 581 | 548 | |
| 2021-22 | 955 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Erie County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 426 bucks, 420 does and 109 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Erie County?
8,640 of Erie County's 164,536 acres are public land open to the public (5.3%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 5,054 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Erie County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 5,054 | 3.1% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 2,001 | 1.2% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 1,426 | 0.9% |
| Other state land | 159 | 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 8,640 | 5.3% |
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 Erie County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Erie County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Resthaven Wildlife Area: 2,150 acres
- Putnam Marsh Hunting Area: 975 acres
- Kelleys Island State Park: 635 acres
- Moxley Wildlife Area: 381 acres
- Milan Wildlife Area: 295 acres
- Willow Point Wildlife Area: 261 acres
- Joseph Steinen Wildlife Area: 157 acres
- Pipe Creek Wildlife Area: 111 acres
- Castalia Fish Hatchery: 90 acres
How do you get to Erie County?
Highways through it: OH 2 (about 58 miles inside), I-90 (about 52 miles inside), I-80 (about 52 miles inside), OH 113 (about 22 miles inside) and OH 269 (about 14 miles inside). Towns inside: Sandusky, Huron, Kelleys Island, Berlin Heights, Milan and Castalia. Nearby: Bellevue (on the line), Vermilion (2 miles), Wakeman (2 miles) and Kipton (2 miles).
Which counties border Erie County?
Erie County touches 3 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huron County | 3,520 | 2025 | 0.9% |
| Lorain County | 2,799 | 2025 | 5.1% |
| Sandusky County | 1,485 | 2025 | 3.4% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Erie County in 2025-26?
1,161: 494 antlered and 667 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,178.
Is there public hunting land in Erie County?
8,640 acres, 5.3% 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 (5,054 acres). ODNR's layer shows 9 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Erie County?
550 of the 1,161 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.