Hubbard County Hunting

Measured on Census maps, Hubbard County holds 926 square miles; Park Rapids serves as the county seat. Its 2024 population estimate is 22,050 (+3.3% against 2020). For wildlife business it falls in the DNR Northwest Region, run from Bemidji. The DNR sets deer designations by permit area, and 259, 684, 241, 258 and 246 reach into the county. Public ownership by GIS measure runs near 93,664 acres, overlaps counted once.

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.

Hubbard County dates from September to May

Deer dates in Hubbard County follow its deer permit areas (259, 684, 241, 258 and 246), not the county line. The 50 rows below come from the 2026-2027 DNR booklet.

Youth, special hunts and lottery permits are on their own 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.

Where the public may hunt around Hubbard County

30 public hunting units on our Minnesota list reach into Hubbard County; Paul Bunyan State Forest is the largest at 60,840 acres. Forest land is a big share here: 67,929 acres of state forest units and 45 acres of national forest. Park land is open to hunting only through special hunts.

• State forests in Hubbard (4)Paul Bunyan State Forest (60,840 ac), Huntersville State Forest (14,994 ac*), Mississippi Headwaters State Forest (8,535 ac*), Badoura State Forest (4,566 ac)
• State parks with hunts, 1Itasca State Park (29,325 ac*)
• Wildlife management areas, 6Crow Wing Chain Wildlife Management Area (3,332 ac*), Kabekona Wildlife Management Area (381 ac), Lowe Wildlife Management Area (154 ac), Rockwood Wildlife Management Area (81 ac), Birch Creek Wildlife Management Area (52 ac), Wolf Lake Wildlife Management Area (50 ac)
• Ruffed grouse areas and walking trails, 1Paul Bunyan State Forest Ruffed Grouse Management Area (2,526 ac)
• Scientific and natural areas, 3Badoura Jack Pine Woodland Scientific and Natural Area (915 ac), Lester Lake Scientific and Natural Area (321 ac), La Salle Lake Scientific and Natural Area (263 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 14Straight River Aquatic Management Area (305 ac*), First Crow Wing Aquatic Management Area (275 ac), Lester Lake Aquatic Management Area (120 ac), Plantagenet Lake Aquatic Management Area (108 ac), Spider Lake Aquatic Management Area (108 ac), Fifth Crow Wing Aquatic Management Area (73 ac), Bottle Lake Aquatic Management Area (60 ac), Big Stony Lake Aquatic Management Area (57 ac), Kabekona Lake Aquatic Management Area (40 ac), Fourth Crow Wing Aquatic Management Area (17 ac), Grace Lake Aquatic Management Area (13 ac), Kabekona River Aquatic Management Area (7 ac), Sixth Crow Wing Aquatic Management Area (6 ac), Pickerel Lake Aquatic Management Area (4 ac)
• State recreation areas, 1 listedLa Salle Lake State Recreation Area (988 ac)

* Multi-county property, total acreage shown.

Special hunt list

Units in bordering counties

• Howard Lake Aquatic Management Area13 miles distant · 20 ac
• Dinner Creek Scientific and Natural Area14 miles distant · 243 ac
• Ah Gwah Ching Aquatic Management Area16 miles distant · 41 ac
• Two Inlets State Forest17 miles distant · 13,833 ac
• Allen's Point Aquatic Management Area17 miles distant · 1 ac

Within the county, Bungoshine Creek Aquatic Management Area, Hennepin Creek Aquatic Management Area, La Salle Creek Aquatic Management Area, Necktie River Aquatic Management Area, Pokety Creek Aquatic Management Area, Schoolcraft River Aquatic Management Area and Stall Creek Aquatic Management Area stay shut to hunting.

Land by type · Wildlife management areas · Walk-In Access · Forest index

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.

Hubbard County shooting time on key dates

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.

Pheasant hours start at 9 a.m. whatever the sunrise.

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.