Honey Creek Wildlife Area: hunting and access
Honey Creek Wildlife Area is 1,345 acres of land managed by the Wisconsin DNR in Racine and Walworth counties, next to Rochester. The DNR's page for it names deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, rabbits and squirrels and small game among the game here. Hunters registered 768 deer in Racine County 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 landState parksOther county, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landHoney Creek Wildlife AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 1,345 acres in 8 pieces |
|---|---|
| Counties | Racine County and Walworth County |
| Deer Management Unit | Racine County, Walworth County |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, rabbits and squirrels and small game |
| Public access (DNR) | Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping |
| DNR property page | Honey Creek Wildlife Area |
| Nearest towns | Rochester (next to it), Burlington (next to it) and Browns Lake (next to it) |
What is Honey Creek Wildlife Area like?
Honey Creek Wildlife Area is a 1,275-acre property in the Village of Rochester, Town of Burlington, and Town of Spring Prairie in western Racine County and eastern Walworth County. Parking lots are located off HWY W, HWY FF (Academy Road), Oak Knoll Road, and Kildeer Ct. The property is the second-largest wildlife area in Racine County and has four separate blocks. The property is dominated by woodland habitat along with lowland woodland, grasslands, upland and lowland shrubs, deep marsh, emergent marsh, and agricultural fields. Waterways associated with the wildlife area include Long Lake, Honey Creek, and Sugar Creek. Wildlife using the property include deer, turkey, waterfowl and other small game. Pheasants are stocked and there is no noon closure for this property.
The woodland areas in the wildlife area are dominated by oak, making up a little over half of the forested acreage. The high prevalence of oak woodlands offers property users several recreational opportunities. The oak woodland areas provide a good source of mast (i.e., acorns, hickory nuts, etc.) a valued food for a variety of wildlife including game species (i.e., White-tailed deer, Wood Ducks, turkeys, and squirrels) and offer potentially good hunting opportunities. In addition, the large canopy oaks serve as important feeding areas for migrating insectivorous songbirds (i.e., warblers, vireos, etc.) providing good bird-watching opportunities in the spring. Oak woodlands can be found by the parking lots on Oak Knoll and Hwy W. In 2016 in partnership with WE Energies, an Osprey platform was installed on the Honey Creek Wildlife Area off Hwy FF, west of Maple Road.
In the DNR's words, from its page for the property.
What can you hunt on Honey Creek Wildlife Area?
The DNR's page for Honey Creek Wildlife Area names deer, wild turkey, pheasants, ducks and geese, rabbits and squirrels and small game. Each follows Wisconsin's statewide season and, for deer, the tags and rules of the deer management unit.
What are the rules on Honey Creek Wildlife Area?
The DNR's property map lists Honey Creek 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 Honey Creek Wildlife Area: Birding, Boating (non-motorized), Canoeing, Cross-country skiing (no designated trail), Fishing, Hiking (no designated trail), Hunting (noted for: deer, waterfowl, turkey, dove, pheasant and small game), Kayaking, Snowmobiling trail, Trapping, Wild edibles/gathering and Wildlife viewing.
How many deer are taken around Honey Creek Wildlife Area?
Honey Creek Wildlife Area lies in 2 deer management units. The DNR registered 768 deer in Racine County in 2025, against 670 in 2024.
| DMU | Honey Creek Wildlife Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racine County | 1,087 | 768 | 670 | 659 |
| Walworth County | 258 | 2,132 | 2,059 | 1,881 |
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 Honey Creek Wildlife Area?
Nearest towns: Rochester (next to it), Burlington (next to it), Browns Lake (next to it) and Waterford (2 miles). Highways within 5 miles: WI 36, WI 11, WI 83, WI 20 and WI 120.
What other public land is near Honey Creek Wildlife Area?
DNR properties within 10 miles:
- White River State Trail: 379 acres, 1.5 miles away
- Burlington State Habitat Area: 437 acres, 1.6 miles away
- Honey Creek Streambank Protection Area: 506 acres, 3.1 miles away
- Tichigan Wildlife Area: 1,602 acres, 3.2 miles away
- Eagle Lake Fishery Area: 98 acres, 4.8 miles away
- Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area: 282 acres, 5 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Honey Creek Wildlife Area
Counting Honey Creek Wildlife Area itself, 2,422 of the 49,175 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (4.9%), 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 | 1,683 |
| Other county, city and regional land | 698 |
| Land trusts and other open land | 40 |
| State parks | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Honey Creek Wildlife Area?
In Racine and Walworth counties, next to Rochester. The DNR's property page has its maps and parking.
Is Honey Creek 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 Honey Creek Wildlife Area in?
Racine County (1,087 acres) and Walworth County (258 acres).
How much public land is around Honey Creek Wildlife Area?
2,422 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Honey Creek Wildlife Area included, by PAD-US 4.1. The closest other DNR property is White River State Trail (1.5 miles).
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Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Honey Creek 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.
Wisconsin hunting Racine County Walworth County Racine County Walworth County