Miner County, South Dakota: Walk-In Areas, GPAs and public hunting land
Miner County has 633 acres of private land open to public hunting through GFP's Walk-In Area and CREP programs inside its line (4 tracts centered in the county), 13 game production areas covering 4,680 acres, and 1,593 acres of other public land, by the maps GFP publishes. That is 1.9% of the county's 366,000 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)Walk-In Area or CREP (private land open to hunting)Miner CountyNeighboring countiesLake or riverHighway
| Size | 366,000 acres (572 square miles) |
|---|---|
| Walk-In and CREP land inside the county line | 633 acres |
| Walk-In Area tracts centered in the county | 2 (361 acres in all) |
| CREP tracts centered in the county | 2 (271 acres in all) |
| Game production areas | 13, 4,680 acres |
| School and public land | 0 acres |
| Other public land | 1,593 acres |
| Deer units | Deer unit 51A |
| Towns | Vilas, Carthage, Howard, Canova and Fedora |
How much Walk-In Area land is in Miner County?
633 acres inside the county line, 0.2% of the county. 2 Walk-In Area tracts are centered in the county (361 acres in all), and 2 CREP tracts (271 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 Miner County?
13 GPAs, 4,680 acres in all, largest first:
- Chip Allen - Miner GPA: 1,891 acres
- Burke Slough GPA: 625 acres
- Morris Lake GPA: 366 acres
- Lake Carthage - Miner GPA: 359 acres
- Twin Lakes - Miner GPA: 310 acres
- Bitter Lake - Miner GPA: 209 acres
- Hageman Slough GPA: 182 acres
- Lake Thompson (Pester Tract) GPA: 180 acres
- Lake Thompson (Longville Tract) GPA: 169 acres
- St. Anthony GPA: 161 acres
- Eimers GPA: 85 acres
- Fischer GPA: 81 acres
- Lewis Lake GPA: 61 acres
How much public land is in Miner County?
1.7% of the county is public land: 6,273 acres, counting the GPAs. The largest share is game production area, 4,680 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of the county |
|---|---|---|
| Game production area (GFP) | 4,680 | 1.3% |
| Waterfowl production area | 1,593 | 0.4% |
| Walk-In Area or CREP (private land open to hunting) | 633 | 0.2% |
| State park or recreation area (rules vary) | 79 | 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 Miner County?
The units GFP names for Miner County, with their 2026 licenses and latest harvest projection, for the whole unit:
| Unit | GFP's description | Licenses, 2026 | Taken (GFP projection) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer unit 51A | Miner | 750 | 301 (2025) |
Sources: GFP 2026 draw applications; GFP harvest projections.
How do you get around Miner County?
Highways: SD 25 (about 30 miles in the county), SD 34 (about 24 miles in the county) and US 81 (about 11 miles in the county). Towns: Vilas, Carthage, Howard, Canova, Fedora and Roswell.
How do the counties around Miner compare?
| County | Walk-In and CREP acres | Tracts | GPA acres | Other public acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanson | 4,268 | 41 | 588 | 1,063 |
| Kingsbury | 1,238 | 10 | 8,597 | 7,331 |
| Lake | 430 | 4 | 3,760 | 6,089 |
| McCook | 2,745 | 29 | 2,931 | 3,491 |
| Sanborn | 4,998 | 32 | 3,165 | 94 |
Questions hunters ask
How much Walk-In Area land is in Miner County?
GFP's public hunting atlas shows 633 acres of Walk-In Area and CREP land inside Miner County's line, from 4 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 Miner County?
Yes, 13: Chip Allen - Miner (1,891 acres), Burke Slough (625 acres), Morris Lake (366 acres), Lake Carthage - Miner (359 acres), Twin Lakes - Miner (310 acres) and Bitter Lake - Miner (209 acres), and 7 more.
What hunting units are in Miner County?
GFP names deer unit 51A for Miner County in its 2026 applications.
How much public land is in Miner County?
1.7% of the county, 6,273 acres, is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules; the largest share is game production area at 4,680 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.
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