Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area: hunting, map and deer in WMU F1
Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area is 3,507 acres of Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department land in Addison County, inside WMU F1. VFWD's sheet says it is open to regulated hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. A legal buck here needs at least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer, and hunters took 628 deer in WMU F1 in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Boundary: ANR. Description: VFWD's Dead Creek WMA sheet, last edited 9/30/22. Seasons: VFWD 2026 Vermont White-tailed Deer Seasons.
Fish and Wildlife landState parkDead Creek WMAWMU lineHighway
| Size | 3,507 acres (ANR) |
|---|---|
| County | Addison |
| Wildlife Management Unit | WMU F1 |
| VFWD region | Northwest |
| Open to (VFWD) | regulated hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing |
| Game named on VFWD's sheet | white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, woodcock and waterfowl |
| Legal buck, 2026 | At least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer |
| Deer taken in WMU F1, 2025 | 628 (331 bucks) |
| Nearest villages | Vergennes (3 mi), Middlebury (8 mi) and New Haven (9 mi) |
What is Dead Creek WMA like?
VFWD describes where it is: "A public viewing area is located along the south side of Route 17, one mile west of Route 22A, that provides excellent viewing of the huge fall concentrations of Canada and snow geese." Of the land: "Dead Creek originally flowed north sluggishly to Otter Creek through a fairly flat valley." On its past: "Before European-American settlement, the Champlain Valley was covered with forests." On its animals: "Game species occurring on the WMA are white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbit, gray squirrel, bobcat, beaver, mink, muskrat, otter, red and gray fox, coyote and raccoon." The sheet names white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, woodcock and waterfowl among its wildlife.
Quoted from VFWD's Dead Creek WMA sheet. VFWD notes its WMA maps are a general guide, not survey boundaries.
When can you hunt Dead Creek WMA in 2026?
Seasons follow WMU F1: archery October 1 to December 15, youth and novice weekend November 7 to 8, regular season November 14 to 29 and December muzzleloader November 30 to December 13. A legal buck needs at least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer. Fall turkey: bow and arrow October 1 to November 13; shotgun or bow October 24 to November 8.
| WMU | WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Bucks, 2025 | Bears, 2025 | Legal buck |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMU F1 | 3,507 | 628 | 331 | 3 | two points on one antler |
Seasons: VFWD 2026 Vermont White-tailed Deer Seasons; VFWD 2026 Vermont Hunting and Trapping Seasons. Harvest: VFWD 2025 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report; VFWD 2025 Black Bear Harvest Report.
How do you get to Dead Creek WMA?
Highways within five miles: VT 22A, VT 17, VT 125, US 7 and VT 23. Nearest villages: Vergennes (3 miles), Middlebury (8 miles), New Haven (9 miles) and West Charlotte (10 miles). Other WMAs nearby: Whitney/Hospital Creek (3 miles), Snake Mountain (4 miles), Lemon Fair (7 miles).
Questions hunters ask
Can you hunt on Dead Creek WMA?
Yes. VFWD's sheet says Dead Creek WMA is open to regulated hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. Seasons and the legal buck rule follow WMU F1: a buck needs at least one antler with two or more points 1 inch or longer, and the 2026 regular deer season runs November 14 to 29.
What WMU is Dead Creek WMA in?
WMU F1. Hunters took 628 deer in WMU F1 in 2025, 331 of them bucks, and 3 bears (VFWD).
Where is Dead Creek WMA?
VFWD: "A public viewing area is located along the south side of Route 17, one mile west of Route 22A, that provides excellent viewing of the huge fall concentrations of Canada and snow geese." The nearest villages are Vergennes (3 miles), Middlebury (8 miles) and New Haven (9 miles).
What game lives on Dead Creek WMA?
VFWD's sheet for the area names white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, woodcock and waterfowl. It does not count them; the WMU figures on this page are the nearest harvest numbers.
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Where these facts come from
- Boundary and acres: Vermont ANR land units (Wildlife Management Areas). Description: VFWD's WMA sheets, linked from its regional WMA pages.
- Seasons: VFWD 2026 Vermont White-tailed Deer Seasons; VFWD 2026 Vermont Hunting and Trapping Seasons. WMU harvest: VFWD 2025 White-tailed Deer Harvest Report; VFWD 2025 Black Bear Harvest Report.
- Public land around it: Vermont ANR land units (state forests, parks and Fish and Wildlife land) for state land; USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1) for federal land. Highways and villages: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.