Beadle County, South Dakota: Walk-In Areas, GPAs and public hunting land
Beadle County has 8,613 acres of private land open to public hunting through GFP's Walk-In Area and CREP programs inside its line (51 tracts centered in the county), 11 game production areas covering 3,144 acres, and 7,573 acres of other public land, by the maps GFP publishes. That is 2.4% of the county's 809,476 acres.
Data updated October 2026. Walk-In Areas, CREP, school and public land, federal land and GPAs: GFP map layers. Units: GFP 2026 applications and harvest projections.
Game production area (GFP)Waterfowl production areaState park or recreation area (rules vary)Other GFP land (access sites, lakes)Walk-In Area or CREP (private land open to hunting)Beadle CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 809,476 acres (1,265 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Walk-In and CREP land inside the county line | 8,613 acres |
| Walk-In Area tracts centered in the county | 10 (2,594 acres in all) |
| CREP tracts centered in the county | 41 (6,020 acres in all) |
| Game production areas | 11, 3,144 acres |
| School and public land | 0 acres |
| Other public land | 7,573 acres |
| Deer units | Deer unit 04A |
| Towns | Huron, Wolsey, Broadland, Virgil and Cavour |
How much Walk-In Area land is in Beadle County?
8,613 acres inside the county line, 1.1% of the county. 10 Walk-In Area tracts are centered in the county (2,594 acres in all), and 41 CREP tracts (6,020 acres). Walk-In Areas and CREP land are private ground GFP leases for public hunting. GFP's public hunting atlas shows each tract.
Which game production areas are in Beadle County?
11 GPAs, 3,144 acres in all, largest first:
- Norwegian/Borden Slough GPA: 966 acres
- Cavour Lake GPA: 667 acres
- Bob Roe Memorial GPA: 316 acres
- Brecken Slough GPA: 300 acres
- Lake Byron Hogsback GPA: 195 acres
- Mud Lake - Beadle GPA: 183 acres
- Pheasant Country GPA: 161 acres
- Sand Creek - Beadle GPA: 160 acres
- Upper Cain Creek GPA: 153 acres
- James River School GPA: 30 acres
- James River South GPA: 13 acres
How much public land is in Beadle County?
1.3% of the county is public land: 10,717 acres, counting the GPAs. The largest share is waterfowl production area, 7,573 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-In Area or CREP (private land open to hunting) | 8,613 | 1.1% |
| Waterfowl production area | 7,573 | 0.9% |
| Game production area (GFP) | 3,144 | 0.4% |
| Other GFP land (access sites, lakes) | 164 | under 0.1% |
| State park or recreation area (rules vary) | 135 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the Census county line from GFP public hunting atlas layers (Walk-In Areas, CREP, school and public land, federal land) and GFP Managed Lands; overlapping maps are counted once.
Which hunting units are in Beadle County?
The units GFP names for Beadle County, with their 2026 licenses and latest harvest projection, for the whole unit:
| Unit | GFP's description | Licenses, 2026 | Taken (GFP projection) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 04A | Beadle | 450 | 220 (2025) |
Sources: GFP 2026 draw applications; GFP harvest projections.
How do you get around Beadle County?
Highways: US 14 (about 59 miles in the county), SD 37 (about 40 miles in the county), US 281 (about 31 miles in the county) and SD 28 (about 6 miles in the county). Towns: Huron, Wolsey, Broadland, Virgil, Cavour, Wessington, Hitchcock, Yale and 1 more.
How do the counties around Beadle compare?
| County | Walk-In and CREP acres | Tracts | GPA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark | 4,970 | 31 | 10,870 | 6,575 |
| Hand | 4,335 | 12 | 4,947 | 12,135 |
| Jerauld | 1,025 | 5 | 1,746 | 2,422 |
| Kingsbury | 1,238 | 10 | 8,597 | 7,331 |
| Sanborn | 4,998 | 32 | 3,165 | 94 |
| Spink | 9,611 | 69 | 3,261 | 4,844 |
Questions hunters ask
How much Walk-In Area land is in Beadle County?
GFP's public hunting atlas shows 8,613 acres of Walk-In Area and CREP land inside Beadle County's line, from 51 tracts centered in the county. No permission is needed to hunt a Walk-In Area; travel there is on foot except on signed trails, by GFP's handbook.
Are there game production areas in Beadle County?
Yes, 11: Norwegian/Borden Slough (966 acres), Cavour Lake (667 acres), Bob Roe Memorial (316 acres), Brecken Slough (300 acres), Lake Byron Hogsback (195 acres) and Mud Lake - Beadle (183 acres), and 5 more.
What hunting units are in Beadle County?
GFP names deer unit 04A for Beadle County in its 2026 applications.
How much public land is in Beadle County?
1.3% of the county, 10,717 acres, is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules; the largest share is waterfowl production area at 7,573 acres.
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Where these numbers come from
- Walk-In Areas, CREP, school and public land, federal land and GPAs: GFP public hunting atlas layers (Walk-In Areas, CREP, school and public land, federal land) and GFP Managed Lands.
- Units: GFP 2026 draw applications and harvest projections.
- County line, highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 boundaries, TIGER/Line and Gazetteer.
FilledTag is not part of South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. Walk-In Areas change each year; check GFP's current atlas before you go.
South Dakota hunting Clark County Hand County Jerauld County Kingsbury County Sanborn County Spink County