Freeborn County Hunting

Albert Lea anchors Freeborn County, a county of 707 land square miles and 15 water square miles. About 30,314 residents call it home, after a 1.8% drop since 2020. DNR counts it in Region 4 (South), with regional headquarters in New Ulm. On the 2026 deer map the county falls inside DPA 254. State and federal land mapped inside the county totals some 7,379 acres.

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.

Freeborn County season dates, 2026-27

24 species and 49 dated windows touch Freeborn County; the last column compares each one with today.

DNR draws the waterfowl zone lines on MN 210/23/39 and US 212/I-494/I-94, and the furbearer line on I-94/US 10; check the DNR map near a line.

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.

Public land and WMAs in Freeborn County

The 25 Freeborn County listings break down as 13 wildlife management areas, 10 waterfowl production areas, 1 state parks with hunt and 1 wetland management district. Waterfowl production areas, open under federal rules, cover about 2,655 acres. State park acres count toward the total but hunt only by special hunt.

• Wetland management districts: 1Windom Wetland Management District (17,029 acres*)
• Wildlife management areas: 13Panicum Prairie Wildlife Management Area (1,048 acres), Wo Wacintanka Wildlife Management Area (558 acres), Carex Wildlife Management Area (332 acres), Magaksica Wildlife Management Area (169 acres), Halls Lake Wildlife Management Area (152 acres), Manchester Wildlife Management Area (113 acres), Ann & Leo Donahue Wildlife Management Area (112 acres), Upper Twin Lake Wildlife Management Area (99 acres), Geneva Wildlife Management Area (86 acres), Mansfield Wildlife Management Area (77 acres), Bear Wildlife Management Area (64 acres), Shell Rock Wildlife Management Area (48 acres), State Line Lake Wildlife Management Area (47 acres)
• Waterfowl production areas in Freeborn (10)Goose Creek Waterfowl Production Area (474 acres), Halls Lake Waterfowl Production Area (410 acres), Twin Lake Waterfowl Production Area (300 acres), Bhagyam Waterfowl Production Area (281 acres), Two Island Waterfowl Production Area (269 acres), Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Waterfowl Production Area (248 acres), Pickerel Lake Waterfowl Production Area (244 acres), Foster Creek Waterfowl Production Area (240 acres), Goose Lake Waterfowl Production Area (167 acres), Turtle Creek Waterfowl Production Area (155 acres)
• State parks with hunts: 1Myre-Big Island State Park (1,821 acres)

* Whole-property acreage, not just this county.

Nearest land outside Freeborn

• Teal Marsh Wildlife Management Area15 miles by map · 74 acres
• Straight River Wildlife Management Area16 miles by map · 198 acres
• Lost Lake Waterfowl Production Area16 miles by map · 100 acres
• Straight River Marsh Waterfowl Production Area16 miles by map · 380 acres
• Schrafel Wildlife Management Area16 miles by map · 33 acres

Minnesota public land · WMA list · Walk-In sites · WPA list

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.

Freeborn County legal hunting light

Pheasant hunting starts at 9 a.m. and runs to sunset, early teal runs sunrise to sunset, and big game gets the half hour on each end.

Raccoon and fox may be hunted day or night after 9 a.m. on opening day.

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.