Buckhorn Wildlife Area: hunting and access
Buckhorn Wildlife Area is 1,677 acres of land managed by the Wisconsin DNR in Juneau County, 2 miles from Dellwood. The DNR's page for it names deer and wild turkey among the game here. Hunters registered 4,295 deer in DMU Juneau in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: the DNR's DNR property data, read 2026-10. Harvest: DNR Deer Metrics.
State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR landCounty forestState parksOther county, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landBuckhorn Wildlife AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 1,677 acres |
|---|---|
| County | Juneau County |
| Deer Management Unit | DMU Juneau |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer and wild turkey |
| Public access (DNR) | Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping |
| DNR property page | Buckhorn Wildlife Area |
| Nearest towns | Dellwood (2 mi), Necedah (7 mi) and Arkdale (8 mi) |
What is Buckhorn Wildlife Area like?
Buckhorn Wildlife Area is a 1,643-acre property contiguous to Buckhorn State Park and Yellow River Wildlife Area. It is located on Castle Rock Lake in east-central Juneau County off of Highway G. Buckhorn Wildlife Area is located to the south of the state park boundary between the park and Castle Rock Lake. The property lies within the transition zone of northern conifer-hardwood forests and southern hardwood forests. Prior to logging in 1900, the original vegetation was pine and oak savanna. Currently, efforts are being made to restore the property to the original pine, oak barrens habitat.
The area is a diverse habitat consisting of open oak barrens, scrub oak, small jack pine stands, mature white pine and flooded wetlands with shrub-carr and second-growth forest along the castle rock flowage. The barrens contain dense patches of jack pine and oak with scattered openings of characteristic prairie grasses and forbs. Species include little bluestem, flowering spurge, puccoon, lead-plant and lupine. Lupine growing along one of the trails offers a spectacular view in June. The maintained trails throughout this wildlife are a unique opportunity to explore one of Wisconsin’s wildlife areas, with greater ease. Buckhorn Wildlife Area is managed to provide quality public hunting, wildlife viewing and other compatible recreational opportunities for a variety of upland, wetland and aquatic habitat types.
In the DNR's words, from its page for the property.
What can you hunt on Buckhorn Wildlife Area?
The DNR's page for Buckhorn Wildlife Area names deer and wild turkey. Each follows Wisconsin's statewide season and, for deer, the tags and rules of the deer management unit.
What are the rules on Buckhorn Wildlife Area?
The DNR's property map lists Buckhorn Wildlife Area as "Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping". Hunting follows Wisconsin's statewide seasons and the rules posted on the property.
Activities the DNR lists for Buckhorn Wildlife Area: Birding, Canoeing, Cross-country skiing (designated trails), Fishing, Hiking (designated trails), Hunting (bow hunting early and late season for white-tailed deer and spring turkey *see parks maps for specific areas*), Kayaking, Spring turkey hunting open for a two-day Youth Hunt and during the first three time periods of the regular season, Trapping, Wild edibles/gathering and Wildlife viewing.
How many deer are taken around Buckhorn Wildlife Area?
Buckhorn Wildlife Area lies in DMU Juneau. The DNR registered 4,295 deer in DMU Juneau in 2025.
| DMU | Buckhorn Wildlife Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| DMU Juneau | 1,677 | 4,295 |
Harvest for the whole deer management unit, not the property alone: Wisconsin DNR Deer Metrics (registered harvest by deer management unit).
How do you get to Buckhorn Wildlife Area?
Nearest towns: Dellwood (2 miles), Necedah (7 miles), Arkdale (8 miles) and New Lisbon (8 miles). Highways within 5 miles: WI 58 and WI 80.
What other public land is near Buckhorn Wildlife Area?
DNR properties within 10 miles:
- Buckhorn State Park: 4,000 acres, next to it
- Yellow River Wildlife Area: 2,197 acres, 1 mile away
- Central Sands Pines Forest Legacy Easement: 9,122 acres, 3.4 miles away
- Sohlberg Silver Lake State Natural Area: 315 acres, 3.5 miles away
- Quincy Bluff and Wetlands State Natural Area: 6,591 acres, 3.9 miles away
- Town of Marion SHA: 40 acres, 5.2 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Buckhorn Wildlife Area
Counting Buckhorn Wildlife Area itself, 7,359 of the 34,088 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (21.6%), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
| Manager | Acres within 3 miles |
|---|---|
| State wildlife areas, forests and other DNR land | 7,110 |
| County forest | 223 |
| Other county, city and regional land | 23 |
| State parks | 3 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Buckhorn Wildlife Area?
In Juneau County, 2 miles from Dellwood. The DNR's property page has its maps and parking.
Is Buckhorn Wildlife Area open to hunting?
Yes. The DNR's property map lists it as "Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping". Posted refuges or closed areas, where there are any, are marked on site.
Which deer management unit is Buckhorn Wildlife Area in?
DMU Juneau.
How much public land is around Buckhorn Wildlife Area?
7,359 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Buckhorn Wildlife Area included, by PAD-US 4.1. The closest other DNR property is Buckhorn State Park (next to it).
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Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Buckhorn Wildlife Area; Wisconsin DNR managed lands open to hunting.
- Boundary and acres: the DNR's map layer above. Surrounding public land: USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public).
- Deer harvest: Wisconsin DNR Deer Metrics (registered harvest by deer management unit).
FilledTag is not part of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Check the DNR's rules and posted signs before you go.