Portage County, Ohio: deer harvest and public hunting land
Portage County covers 504 square miles around Streetsboro. Hunters checked 3,498 deer here in the 2025-26 season, 1,776 of them by archers, by the Division of Wildlife's final report. That is up 14% from 2024, and the most in the 4 years shown. 8% of Portage County is public land open to the public, the largest share land on ODNR's hunting map (17,204 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 landPortage CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway
| Size | 322,582 acres (504 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Deer checked, 2025-26 | 3,498 (1,408 antlered, 2,090 antlerless) |
| Archery and gun, 2025-26 | 1,776 archery, 1,722 gun |
| Public land | 8% (25,845 acres) |
| ODNR hunting areas | 8 (17,202 acres inside Portage County) |
| Towns in and near it | Streetsboro, Aurora, Kent, Reminderville, Mogadore and Craig Beach |
How many deer are harvested in Portage County?
Hunters checked 3,498 deer in Portage County in 2025-26: 1,408 antlered and 2,090 antlerless. Archers took 1,776 and gun hunters 1,722.
| Season | Deer checked | Antlered | Antlerless | Archery | Gun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 3,498 | 1,408 | 2,090 | 1,776 | 1,722 |
| 2024-25 | 3,059 | 1,194 | 1,865 | 1,574 | 1,485 |
| 2023-24 | 2,932 | 1,241 | 1,691 | 1,648 | |
| 2021-22 | 2,660 |
Source: the Division of Wildlife's 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24 final deer harvest reports and Publication 5304 (2021-22), Portage County. 2022-23 is not shown. For 2021-22 Publication 5304 gives 1,170 bucks, 1,182 does and 308 button bucks; the final reports of later seasons count bucks with shed or very short antlers as antlerless.
How much public land is in Portage County?
25,845 of Portage County's 322,582 acres are public land open to the public (8%). The biggest share is land on ODNR's hunting map: 17,204 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Portage County |
|---|---|---|
| Land on ODNR's hunting map | 17,204 | 5.3% |
| Metro parks, county and city land | 4,313 | 1.3% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 3,671 | 1.1% |
| Other state land | 657 | 0.2% |
| All public land open to the public | 25,845 | 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 Portage County
ODNR areas open to hunting in Portage County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- West Branch State Park: 5,488 acres
- Berlin Lake Wildlife Area: 4,465 acres
- West Branch Wildlife Area: 2,911 acres
- Mogadore Reservoir: 2,465 acres
- Wingfoot Lake Wildlife Area: 613 acres
- Walborn Reservoir Public Access: 612 acres
- Ladue Hunting Area: 496 acres
- Marsh Wetlands State Nature Preserve: 152 acres
How do you get to Portage County?
Highways through it: I-76 (about 42 miles inside), I-80 (about 40 miles inside), OH 14 (about 31 miles inside), OH 44 (about 29 miles inside) and OH 43 (about 27 miles inside). Towns inside: Streetsboro, Aurora, Kent, Ravenna, Garrettsville and Windham. Nearby: Reminderville (on the line), Mogadore (on the line), Craig Beach (on the line) and Lakemore (2 miles).
Which counties border Portage County?
Portage County touches 6 other counties. Their latest ODNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| County | Deer harvested | Year | Public land |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stark County | 4,466 | 2025 | 4.3% |
| Geauga County | 3,215 | 2025 | 10.1% |
| Summit County | 1,922 | 2025 | 14.3% |
| Cuyahoga County | 822 | 2025 | 9.6% |
| Mahoning County | 2,768 | 2025 | 5.4% |
| Trumbull County | 5,324 | 2025 | 9% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in Portage County in 2025-26?
3,498: 1,408 antlered and 2,090 antlerless (Division of Wildlife). In 2024-25: 3,059.
Is there public hunting land in Portage County?
25,845 acres, 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 (17,204 acres). ODNR's layer shows 8 areas open to hunting here.
How many deer do archers take in Portage County?
1,776 of the 3,498 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 Stark County Geauga County Summit County Cuyahoga County Mahoning County Trumbull County