Clay County Hunting

Census mapping gives Clay County 1,045 square miles of dry ground and 7 under water; the courthouse is in Moorhead. The 2024 estimate of 66,848 people is +2.3% off the 2020 count. Administratively the county belongs to DNR Region 1, the Northwest Region based in Bemidji. Deer rules follow 4 deer permit areas rather than the county line: 269, 666, 262 and 239. Mapped public land (WMAs, forests, refuges, WPAs and the rest) comes to roughly 28,631 acres by GIS measure.

Land area from the Census 2024 Gazetteer, population from Census Vintage 2024 estimates, region from the DNR county region list, DPAs from the DNR deer permit area layer, public acres from DNR, USFS and USFWS GIS layers (not official acreages). Checked October 28, 2026.

Clay County hunting calendar, species by species

Waterfowl rows follow the North, Central and South zones and furbearer rows the North and South zones, so check which side of the line you hunt in Clay County.

Pheasant hunting opens at 9 a.m. each day; trapping seasons and falconry are on the species pages.

From the 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations booklet (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) and the DNR deer permit area map, checked October 28, 2026.

Ground open to hunters across Clay County

Clay County has 82 listed properties open to hunters, led by Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge (6,030 acres). GIS counts 13,804 acres of USFWS waterfowl production areas. Most state park ground is closed except during special hunts.

• Wetland management districts in Clay (1)Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District (51,280 acres*)
• Waterfowl production areas: 58 on fileFlickertail Prairie Waterfowl Production Area (978 acres), Anderson Waterfowl Production Area (790 acres*), Kenyon Waterfowl Production Area (779 acres), Korell Waterfowl Production Area (763 acres), Haugtvedt Waterfowl Production Area (731 acres), Rushfeldt Waterfowl Production Area (650 acres), Fuglie Waterfowl Production Area (632 acres), Anfinson Lake Waterfowl Production Area (504 acres), Noreen Waterfowl Production Area (494 acres), Hoykens Waterfowl Production Area (484 acres), Hay Creek Waterfowl Production Area (448 acres), Rustad Lake Waterfowl Production Area (414 acres), Julsrud Waterfowl Production Area (381 acres), Doran Lake Waterfowl Production Area (330 acres), Whiskey Lake Waterfowl Production Area (309 acres), Lofgren Waterfowl Production Area (263 acres), Downer Prairie Waterfowl Production Area (263 acres), Tatlie Lake Waterfowl Production Area (247 acres), Nelson Waterfowl Production Area (241 acres), Manitoba Junction Waterfowl Production Area (240 acres), Christianson Waterfowl Production Area (237 acres), Flora Lake Waterfowl Production Area (229 acres), Goose Lake Waterfowl Production Area (217 acres), Kasin Waterfowl Production Area (195 acres), N/A Waterfowl Production Area (181 acres*), Stangeland Waterfowl Production Area (170 acres*), Tatlie Exchange Waterfowl Production Area (169 acres), Hoe Lake Waterfowl Production Area (169 acres), Three/Jetvig Lakes Waterfowl Production Area (168 acres), Sieh Waterfowl Production Area (165 acres), all 58
• Wildlife management areas in Clay (19)Barnesville Wildlife Management Area (1,630 acres), Flowing Prairie Wildlife Management Area (1,556 acres), Felton Wildlife Management Area (1,017 acres), Clay County Wildlife Management Area (925 acres), Bjornson Wildlife Management Area (648 acres), Goose Prairie Wildlife Management Area (642 acres), Ulen Wildlife Management Area (480 acres), Gruhl Wildlife Management Area (465 acres), Janssen Wildlife Management Area (319 acres), Cromwell Wildlife Management Area (287 acres), Hitterdahl Wildlife Management Area (267 acres), Magnusson Wildlife Management Area (267 acres), Skree Wildlife Management Area (165 acres), Hawley Wildlife Management Area (163 acres), Interstate Highway 94 Borrow Pit Wildlife Management Area (93 acres), Highland Grove Wildlife Management Area (80 acres), Jeral Wildlife Management Area (75 acres), Hay Creek Wildlife Management Area (40 acres), Aspen Wildlife Management Area (40 acres)
• National wildlife refuges, 1Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge (6,030 acres*)
• Scientific and natural areas in Clay (1)Felton Prairie Scientific and Natural Area (1,350 acres)
• State parks with hunts in Clay (1)Buffalo River State Park (1,329 acres)
• Aquatic management areas in Clay (1)Silver Lake Aquatic Management Area (54 acres)

* Acres cover every county the property touches.

Park and city hunts

Our list marks Beva Paulson Memorial Hardwood Forest Scientific and Natural Area, Blanket Flower Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, Bluestem Prairie Scientific and Natural Area and Hitterdal Waterfowl Production Area as closed to hunting.

Land finder · All WMAs · Walk-In rules · All WPAs

Units from our Minnesota land list (DNR WMA, SNA, AMA, forest and park pages, USFWS and USFS records); acres by kind from the DNR management units layer, the USFS ownership layer and the USFWS interest layer (GIS measures); Walk-In Access from the DNR Walk-In Access program; special hunts from the booklet special hunt tables. Checked October 28, 2026.

Clay County shooting time on key dates

Sunrise in Moorhead comes well after sunrise in Grand Marais, so use the local times worked out for Clay County.

Spring turkey runs half an hour before sunrise to sunset, the same as the bird column.

Hours rule from the DNR booklet shooting hours page; sun times calculated for the county centre (NOAA method, Central Time), checked against U.S. Naval Observatory tables; checked October 28, 2026. Legal hours for every county.