Lake County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Lake County covers 231 square miles around Mentor. Hunters checked 1,245 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 878 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 11% from 2024, and the most in the 4 years shown. 8.5% of Lake County is public land open to the public, the largest share metro parks, county and city land (6,547 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 park landOther state landMetro parks, county and city landLand trusts and other open landLake CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 147,541 acres (231 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 1,245 (479 antlered, 766 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 878 archery, 367 gun |
| Public land | 8.5% (12,483 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | None mapped |
| Towns in and near it | Mentor, Kirtland, Willoughby Hills, Richmond Heights, Highland Heights and Mayfield |
How many deer are harvested in Lake County?
Hunters checked 1,245 deer in Lake County in 2025-26: 479 antlered and 766 antlerless. Archers took 878 and gun hunters 367.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1,245 | 479 | 766 | 878 | 367 |
| 2024-25 | 1,123 | 414 | 709 | 823 | 300 |
| 2023-24 | 1,163 | 459 | 704 | 896 | |
| 2021-22 | 962 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Lake County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 377 bucks, 474 does and 111 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Lake County?
12,483 of Lake County's 147,541 acres are public land open to the public (8.5%). The biggest share is metro parks, county and city land: 6,547 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Lake County |
|---|---|---|
| Metro parks, county and city land | 6,547 | 4.4% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 5,354 | 3.6% |
| Other state land | 574 | 0.4% |
| National park land | 8 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 12,483 | 8.5% |
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.
How do you get to Lake County?
Highways through it: I-90 (about 58 miles inside), OH 2 (about 38 miles inside), OH 84 (about 32 miles inside), US 20 (about 30 miles inside) and OH 44 (about 19 miles inside). Towns inside: Mentor, Kirtland, Willoughby Hills, Willoughby, Painesville and Eastlake. Nearby: Richmond Heights (on the line), Highland Heights (on the line), Mayfield (2 miles) and Euclid (2 miles).
Which counties border Lake County?
Lake County touches 3 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geauga County | 3,215 | 2025 | 10.1% |
| Cuyahoga County | 822 | 2025 | 9.6% |
| Ashtabula County | 7,161 | 2025 | 2.5% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Lake County in 2025-26?
1,245: 479 antlered and 766 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 1,123.
Is there public hunting land in Lake County?
12,483 acres, 8.5% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and ODNR's land boundaries, the largest share metro parks, county and city land (6,547 acres).
How many deer do archers take in Lake County?
878 of the 1,245 deer checked in 2025-26 were taken with a crossbow or longbow (Division of Wildlife).
Get a Ohio hunt plan when they open
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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.