Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area: hunting and access
Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area is 282 acres of land managed by the Wisconsin DNR in Racine and Kenosha counties, next to Bohners Lake. The DNR's page for it names deer, wild turkey 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 landKarcher Marsh Wildlife AreaCounty lineLakeHighway
| Size | 282 acres |
|---|---|
| Counties | Racine County and Kenosha County |
| Deer Management Unit | Racine County, Kenosha County |
| DNR lists for hunting | deer, wild turkey and small game |
| Public access (DNR) | Open to Hiking, Fishing, Hunting and Trapping |
| DNR property page | Karcher Wildlife Area |
| Nearest towns | Bohners Lake (next to it), New Munster (2 mi) and Lily Lake (3 mi) |
What is Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area like?
The property is mostly wet, dominated by wetland habitat- wet meadow, lowland shrub, lowland woods, emergent marsh, a calcareous fen, and cattail marsh. Upland habitat cover includes a mixture of oak and central hardwood woodland, prairie, and agriculture fields. Karcher Creek, a cold-water stream, flows through the southern part of the property adjacent to the parking lot. Despite being one of the smaller wildlife areas in Racine County, the property offers opportunities for small game and turkey hunting in the upland areas and good deer hunting opportunities. The majority of the upland hunting areas are easily accessible from the parking area. For the adventurous deer hunter, the property’s heavy brush areas and dense wetland vegetation provide good foraging areas and cover for deer during the fall and winter. Potentially good deer hunting opportunities on the edges of wetland areas.
The Karcher Wildlife Area features a geological feature: a 770-foot wooded esker is in the southwest corner of the property. The esker is lined with mature Bur Oaks with a shrubby understory, that borders a calcareous fen area. The esker and fen are part of the embedded 31-acre state natural area, Karcher Springs. Community types in the state's natural area also include a complex of springs, a stream, and a brushy sedge meadow. In 2017 the fisheries program began management efforts in Karcher Creek and the creek corridor. They started with in-stream habitat work installing bio-logs to narrow the stream and to increase flow. Corridor work involved forestry mowing in the wetlands along the stream clearing out invasive shrubs to open up the corridor and restore the emergent wetland habitat.
In the DNR's words, from its page for the property.
What can you hunt on Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area?
The DNR's page for Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area names deer, wild turkey 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 Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area?
The DNR's property map lists Karcher Marsh 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 Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area: Birding, Fishing, Hiking (no designated trail), Hunting (noted for: deer, turkey, dove and small game), Trapping and Wildlife viewing.
How many deer are taken around Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area?
Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area lies in 2 deer management units. The DNR registered 768 deer in Racine County in 2025, against 670 in 2024.
| DMU | Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Deer, 2024 | Deer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racine County | 280 | 768 | 670 | 659 |
| Kenosha County | 2 | 510 | 419 | 481 |
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 Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area?
Nearest towns: Bohners Lake (next to it), New Munster (2 miles), Lily Lake (3 miles) and Burlington (4 miles). Highways within 5 miles: WI 83, WI 50, WI 11, WI 36 and WI 142.
What other public land is near Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area?
DNR properties within 10 miles:
- Burlington State Habitat Area: 437 acres, 0.8 miles away
- New Munster Wildlife Area: 1,502 acres, 1.8 miles away
- Richard Bong State Recreation Area: 4,694 acres, 2.6 miles away
- White River State Trail: 379 acres, 3.5 miles away
- Bloomfield State Habitat Area: 1,265 acres, 4.6 miles away
- Honey Creek Wildlife Area: 1,345 acres, 5 miles away
Public land within 3 miles of Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area
Counting Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area itself, 1,041 of the 23,802 acres within 3 miles of its boundary are public land open to the public (4.4%), 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 | 1,038 |
| Other county, city and regional land | 2 |
| Land trusts and other open land | 1 |
Questions hunters ask
Where is Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area?
In Racine and Kenosha counties, next to Bohners Lake. The DNR's property page has its maps and parking.
Is Karcher Marsh 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 Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area in?
Racine County (280 acres) and Kenosha County (2 acres).
How much public land is around Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area?
1,041 acres within 3 miles of its boundary, Karcher Marsh Wildlife Area included, by PAD-US 4.1. The closest other DNR property is Burlington State Habitat Area (0.8 miles).
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Where these facts come from
- Area description, species, rules and directions: DNR, Karcher Marsh 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 Kenosha County Racine County Kenosha County