Waterloo Wildlife Area: hunting and access
Waterloo Wildlife Area is 2,660 acres on ODNR's hunting map in Athens and Vinton counties, 2 miles from New Marshfield, listed by ODNR as open to hunting. Hunters checked 917 deer in Athens County in 2025-26.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: ODNR's ODNR area open to hunting data, read 2026-10. Harvest: Division of Wildlife harvest reports, 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Land on ODNR's hunting mapNational forestOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landWaterloo Wildlife AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 2,660 acres |
|---|---|
| Counties | Athens County and Vinton County |
| Deer harvest unit | Athens County, Vinton County |
| Hunting (ODNR) | Open |
| Kind (ODNR) | wildlife area |
| Managed by | the Division of Wildlife |
| Held by ODNR as | owned land |
| Nearest towns | New Marshfield (2 mi), Zaleski (6 mi) and The Plains (6 mi) |
What are the rules on Waterloo Wildlife Area?
ODNR's land layer lists the area as open to hunting under Ohio's statewide seasons and rules.
ODNR's hunting map for the area shows the boundaries, parking and any no-hunting zones.
Deer bag limits in Ohio are set by county; the Division's 2026-27 season list points to the bag limit map.
How many deer are taken around Waterloo Wildlife Area?
Waterloo Wildlife Area lies in 2 counties. Hunters checked 917 deer in Athens County in 2025-26, against 3,663 in 2024-25.
| County | Waterloo Wildlife Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens County | 2,656 | 917 | 3,663 | 2,924 |
| Vinton County | 4 | 1,931 | 2,156 | 1,708 |
Harvest for the whole county, not the hunting area alone: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22).
How do you get to Waterloo Wildlife Area?
Nearest towns: New Marshfield (2 miles), Zaleski (6 miles), The Plains (6 miles) and Nelsonville (7 miles). Highways within 5 miles: OH 56, OH 278, OH 356, OH 691 and OH 681.
What other public land is near Waterloo Wildlife Area?
ODNR areas open to hunting within 10 miles:
- Zaleski State Forest: 28,637 acres, next to it
- Poston Plant Lands Hunting Area: 1,159 acres, 1.5 miles away
- Fox Lake Wildlife Area: 450 acres, 3.9 miles away
- Turkey Ridge Wildlife Area: 377 acres, 4.9 miles away
- Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest: 12,331 acres, 7.3 miles away
- Wallace H. O'Dowd Wildlife Area: 10,149 acres, 9.4 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Waterloo Wildlife Area
Counting Waterloo Wildlife Area itself, 16,998 of the 38,063 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (44.7%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries.
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 16,426 |
| National forest | 477 |
| Other state land | 71 |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 24 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Waterloo Wildlife Area?
In Athens and Vinton counties, 2 miles from New Marshfield.
Can you hunt on Waterloo Wildlife Area?
Yes. ODNR's layer lists it as open to hunting under Ohio's statewide seasons.
How much public land is around Waterloo Wildlife Area?
16,998 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Waterloo Wildlife Area included, by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries. The closest other ODNR area open to hunting is Zaleski State Forest (next to it).
Get a Ohio hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Ohio 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, Ohio included.
Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: ODNR, Waterloo Wildlife Area; ODNR lands hunting status.
- Boundary and acres: ODNR's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and ODNR's land boundaries with hunting status.
- Deer harvest: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22).
FilledTag is not part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. Check ODNR's rules and posted signs before you go.