Bear Garden Wildlife Management Area: hunting, parking and access
Bear Garden Wildlife Management Area is 759 acres of Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources land in the City of Chesapeake. DWR's maps show 1 parking area.
Data updated October 2026. Boundary, parking, gates and roads: DWR's WMA maps. Seasons: DWR Deer Hunting Regulations and Seasons.
DWR land (WMAs)National wildlife refugeBear Garden WMADWR parkingCounty lineHighway
| Size | 759 acres (DWR) |
|---|---|
| County | City of Chesapeake |
| DWR region | Region 1 |
| Parking areas | 1 |
| Other facilities DWR maps | 1 kiosk |
| Firearms deer season, 2026-27 | Follows the county's private land season |
| Nearest towns | Chesapeake (3 mi), Portsmouth (12 mi) and Suffolk (15 mi) |
Where do you park on Bear Garden WMA?
DWR maps 1 parking area on Bear Garden WMA, listed north to south.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Kind (DWR) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36.68927, -76.35882 | Parking |
Source: DWR WMA facilities (parking, gates, boat ramps, ranges).
What roads and trails does Bear Garden WMA have?
DWR's road layer shows no roads or trails for this WMA.
Other facilities on DWR's map: 1 kiosk.
Sources: DWR WMA roads and trails; DWR WMA facilities (parking, gates, boat ramps, ranges). Miles measured by FilledTag from DWR's lines.
When can you hunt deer on Bear Garden WMA in 2026-27?
Bear Garden WMA is not in DWR's public lands table, so the firearms deer season follows the private land season of the county it is in. Early archery runs October 3 to November 13 statewide.
| County | WMA acres in it | Private land firearms season | Deer killed (whole county) | Bears (whole county) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Chesapeake | 756 | October 1 to November 30 | 470 (2025) | 15 (2025) |
Seasons: DWR Deer Hunting Regulations and Seasons. Harvest: DWR Deer Kill Data; DWR Black Bear Harvest by County.
How do you get to Bear Garden WMA?
Highways within five miles: US 17, VA 165 and I-64. Nearest towns: Chesapeake (3 miles), Portsmouth (12 miles), Suffolk (15 miles) and Norfolk (17 miles).
DWR's page for the area: DWR, Bear Garden WMA.
Questions hunters ask
When is deer season on Bear Garden WMA?
DWR's public lands table does not list Bear Garden WMA, so its firearms deer season follows the private land season for the City of Chesapeake: October 1 to November 30.
Where do you park on Bear Garden WMA?
DWR maps 1 parking area on Bear Garden WMA. The coordinates of each are in the table on this page; the first is at 36.6893, -76.3588.
How big is Bear Garden WMA?
759 acres by DWR's records, in City of Chesapeake.
How many deer are killed in City of Chesapeake, where Bear Garden WMA is?
DWR counted 470 deer in City of Chesapeake in 2025-26: 258 antlered bucks and 180 does. DWR does not publish a separate count for the WMA.
Get a Virginia hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Virginia are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Virginia included.
Where these facts come from
- Boundary and acres: DWR Wildlife Management Areas. Parking, gates and facilities: DWR WMA facilities (parking, gates, boat ramps, ranges). Roads: DWR WMA roads and trails.
- Seasons: DWR Deer Hunting Regulations and Seasons. County harvest: DWR Deer Kill Data; DWR Black Bear Harvest by County.
- Public land around it: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1). 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 Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.