La Crosse County, Wisconsin: deer harvest and public hunting land
La Crosse County is its own deer management unit, 480 square miles around La Crosse. Hunters registered 4,515 deer here in 2025, 1,911 of them bucks, by the DNR's Deer Metrics. That is up 12% from 2024. 8.1% of La Crosse County is public land open to the public, the largest share national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas (13,467 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
Data updated October 2026. Harvest: DNR Deer Metrics. Land: PAD-US 4.1, the DNR's managed lands and VPA layers.
State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR landCounty forestNational wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areasOther county, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landLa Crosse CountyNeighboring deer management unitsLakeHighway
| Counties | La Crosse County |
|---|---|
| Size | 307,158 acres (480 square miles) |
| Deer registered, 2025 | 4,515 (1,911 bucks, 2,604 antlerless) |
| Yearly average, 2016 to 2025 | 3,870 deer |
| Public land | 8.1% (24,756 acres) |
| Properties | 9 (7,815 acres inside La Crosse County) |
| Voluntary Public Access land | None mapped this year |
| Towns in and near it | La Crosse, Onalaska, Holmen, Trempealeau, Coon Valley and Galesville |
How many deer are harvested in La Crosse County?
The DNR registered 4,515 deer in La Crosse County in 2025: 1,911 bucks and 2,604 antlerless deer, 58% of the harvest antlerless. Over the 10 years shown, the harvest averaged 3,870 deer a year; the most bucks were registered in 2025 (1,911).
| Year | Deer registered | Bucks | Antlerless | Antlerless share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,515 | 1,911 | 2,604 | 58% |
| 2024 | 4,039 | 1,757 | 2,282 | 56% |
| 2023 | 4,086 | 1,848 | 2,238 | 55% |
| 2022 | 3,926 | 1,812 | 2,114 | 54% |
| 2021 | 3,544 | 1,669 | 1,875 | 53% |
| 2020 | 3,845 | 1,812 | 2,033 | 53% |
| 2019 | 3,531 | 1,644 | 1,887 | 53% |
| 2018 | 3,913 | 1,785 | 2,128 | 54% |
| 2017 | 3,396 | 1,558 | 1,838 | 54% |
| 2016 | 3,902 | 1,726 | 2,176 | 56% |
Source: Wisconsin DNR Deer Metrics, harvest history for La Crosse County. Deer registered is the DNR's buck and antlerless harvest added together. The DNR's Deer Metrics shows every year back to 1960 for most counties.
How much public land is in La Crosse County?
24,756 of La Crosse County's 307,158 acres are public land open to the public (8.1%). The biggest share is national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas: 13,467 acres.
| Manager | Acres | Share of La Crosse County |
|---|---|---|
| National wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas | 13,467 | 4.4% |
| State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR land | 8,046 | 2.6% |
| Other county, city and regional land | 2,862 | 0.9% |
| Land trusts and other open land | 361 | 0.1% |
| State parks | 20 | under 0.1% |
| All public land open to the public | 24,756 | 8.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside the DNR's boundary from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). Hunting rules differ by manager: DNR wildlife areas and state forests are open to hunting unless posted; county forests are open to hunting in most cases (check the county forest's rules); national forest land is open in season; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; state parks allow hunting only in listed seasons and areas; national park land is closed to hunting.
DNR properties in La Crosse County
DNR properties in La Crosse County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:
- Van Loon Wildlife Area: 3,748 acres
- Coulee Experimental State Forest: 2,964 acres
- La Crosse Area Comprehensive Fishery Area: 375 acres
- La Crosse River State Trail: 193 acres
- Great River State Trail: 158 acres
- Coon Creek Fishery Area: 151 acres
- La Crosse Marsh Natural Resource Area: 135 acres
- Mississippi Islands Wildlife Area: 59 acres
- North Bend Bottoms Wildlife Area: 32 acres
Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife And Fish Refuge (13,484 acres), Goose Island Park (770 acres), Hixon Forest (727 acres), New Amsterdam Grasslands (314 acres), Veterans Memorial Park (170 acres) and Upper Hixon Forest (121 acres).
How do you get to La Crosse County?
Highways through it: I-90 (about 41 miles inside), WI 35 (about 36 miles inside), WI 16 (about 35 miles inside), US 53 (about 33 miles inside) and WI 162 (about 30 miles inside). Towns inside: La Crosse, Onalaska, Holmen, West Salem, Bangor and Rockland. Nearby: Trempealeau (on the line), Coon Valley (2 miles), Galesville (3 miles) and Melrose (4 miles).
Which deer management units border La Crosse County?
La Crosse County touches 4 other deer management units. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:
| DMU | Deer harvested | Year | Public land | Voluntary Public Access land sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMU Monroe | 8,137 | 2025 | 2.2% | |
| Vernon County | 9,561 | 2025 | 2.8% | 3 |
| DMU Jackson | 4,911 | 2025 | 3.4% | 7 |
| Trempealeau County | 7,151 | 2025 | 2.7% |
Questions hunters ask
How many deer were harvested in La Crosse County in 2025?
4,515 deer were registered: 1,911 bucks and 2,604 antlerless deer (DNR Deer Metrics). In 2024: 4,039.
Is there public hunting land in La Crosse County?
Yes. 24,756 acres, 8.1% of the unit, are public land open to the public by PAD-US 4.1, the largest share national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas (13,467 acres). The DNR's map shows 9 DNR properties open to hunting here.
Does La Crosse County have VPA land?
Not on the DNR's 2026 lease map.
Get a Wisconsin hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Wisconsin 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, Wisconsin included.
Where these numbers come from
- Deer harvest: Wisconsin DNR Deer Metrics (registered harvest by deer management unit).
- Public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public). DNR properties: Wisconsin DNR managed lands open to hunting. Voluntary Public Access land: Wisconsin DNR Voluntary Public Access and Turkey Hunting Program lands.
- Boundaries: Wisconsin DNR deer management units. 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 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.