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Hunt Wood County Wildlife Area 1 this 2026-27 season
Hunting ground of 38 acres, run as a state wildlife area in Wood County.
Photo: Nyttend (Public domain)
Getting to Wood County Wildlife Area 1
Wood County Wildlife Area 1 by the numbers ODNR keeps
The ODNR Division of Wildlife manages Wood County Wildlife Area 1, 38 acres of state wildlife area ground in Wood County. For wildlife work it falls under District 2, run from Findlay. By tenure the ground is owned outright by the state. It appears in OAC 1501:31-15-04(A)(1) as "Wood county wildlife area 1", the legal list of public hunting land.
Layers give between 38 and 39 acres, so the table shows each one.
| Measure | Acres |
|---|---|
| Area map PDF | 38 |
| Hunting-status layer | 38 |
| GIS parcel area | 39 |
From the agency page, ODNR hunting-status layer, OAC; retrieved 2026-11-05, checked November 6, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Wood County Wildlife Area 1
Ground rules for hunting Wood County Wildlife Area 1
Wood County Wildlife Area 1 is open ground in the ODNR status map.
- No driving off the posted roads; park in the lots.
- Leave the tent at home: no camping here.
- Closed 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. from September through May 1 to anything but hunting, trapping and fishing.
- Guns may be fired only in lawful hunting, trapping or range use.
- Feed and bait are not allowed.
- Bring a portable stand; permanent stands are illegal.
- The public-area antlerless limit is two per license year.
From the agency page, public hunting area rules; checked November 6, 2026.
What ODNR plants and maintains on Wood County Wildlife Area 1
Wood County Wildlife Area 1 dove plots and crops
1 dove field cover about 5 acres here, planted in millet and wheat. All are non-controlled, open to any licensed hunter from the opener.
| Field | Acres | Status | Planting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood County 1 Dove | 5.4 | Non-Controlled | millet, wheat |
From the ODNR dove fields layer; checked November 6, 2026.
Dates and limits for hunting Wood County Wildlife Area 1
The record pairs Wood County Wildlife Area 1 with dove.
| Game | Window | From | To | Daily limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mourning dove | Dove | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 8, 2026 | 15 daily |
| Mourning dove | Dove | Dec 12, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | 15 daily |
Dates and limits from the 2026-27 hunting seasons list and the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations; species from the record (dove fields layer); checked November 6, 2026.
Wood County Wildlife Area 1: next-nearest open land, by miles
Closest neighbour on the ODNR map: Van Tassel Wildlife Area, 3 miles north. Neighbour mix: 4 wildlife areas, 1 state park and 1 public access area. Do not mistake these for open ground: Lanker Wildlife Area (no open parcels), Maumee Scenic River (scenic river land) and Lake Lepomis Wildlife Area (no open parcels).
| Nearby | Type | Acres | County | Miles | Heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Tassel Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 102 | Wood | 3 miles | north |
| Mary Jane Thurston SP | State park | 105 | Henry | 4 miles | northwest |
| Wood County WA 7 | Wildlife area | 39 | Wood | 5 miles | southwest |
| Maumee River Weir Rapids WA | Access area | 6 | Wood | 5 miles | northeast |
| Henry County WA 1 | Wildlife area | 60 | Henry | 6 miles | southwest |
| Missionary Island Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 297 | Lucas | 7 miles | northeast |
Point: ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 1 parcel (polygon centroid). Straight-line distances. Closed places from the lands.json closed list. Checked November 6, 2026. Statewide public land map.
Where Wood County Wildlife Area 1 sits in Ohio's rules
The Wood County deer limit is 3 this season, only one of them antlered statewide. ODNR counted 1,434 deer in Wood County for 2025-26, 747 of them antlerless. Through November 3, 2026: 301 deer checked.
| County | Bag | CWD area | Waterfowl | Turkey zone | Fall | Harvest 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood County | 3 deer | No | B | South | Closed | 1,434 |
From the deer bag limit map, DSA, waterfowl zones, turkey zones, 2025-26 deer harvest report, harvest to date (ODNR Division of Wildlife); checked November 6, 2026.
Resupply stops around Wood County Wildlife Area 1
Neapolis is the closest town on this site to Wood County Wildlife Area 1, 8 miles in a straight line. A bigger stop is Bowling Green, population 30,463. ODNR staff closest to Wood County Wildlife Area 1 work out of Findlay, 26 miles off.
| Town | County | Pop. 2024 | Miles off | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neapolis | Lucas | – | 8 miles | northwest |
| Bowling Green | Wood | 30,463 | 9 miles | east |
| Perrysburg | Wood | 25,313 | 14 miles | northeast |
| Napoleon | Henry | 8,724 | 16 miles | west |
| Wauseon | Fulton | 7,455 | 20 miles | northwest |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); ODNR offices and businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 6, 2026.
Wood County Wildlife Area 1 legal-hour chart by opener
Ohio deer hunters may shoot from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; ducks, geese, squirrels and fall turkeys stop at sunset; rabbits, pheasants, quail and doves wait for sunrise.
| When | Event | Rise | Set | Deer | Waterfowl | Small game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | Archery deer opens | 7:25 a.m. | 7:28 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 7:58 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 7:28 p.m. | 7:25 a.m. to 7:28 p.m. |
| Nov 6, 2026 | Rabbit and pheasant | 7:12 a.m. | 5:26 p.m. | 6:42 a.m. to 5:56 p.m. | 6:42 a.m. to 5:26 p.m. | 7:12 a.m. to 5:26 p.m. |
| Nov 21, 2026 | Second duck split | 7:30 a.m. | 5:13 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. to 5:43 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. to 5:13 p.m. | 7:30 a.m. to 5:13 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Deer gun week | 7:40 a.m. | 5:08 p.m. | 7:10 a.m. to 5:38 p.m. | 7:10 a.m. to 5:08 p.m. | 7:40 a.m. to 5:08 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:58 a.m. | 5:09 p.m. | 7:28 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. | 7:28 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. | 7:58 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. |
| Jan 2, 2027 | Muzzleloader | 8:01 a.m. | 5:16 p.m. | 7:31 a.m. to 5:46 p.m. | 7:31 a.m. to 5:16 p.m. | 8:01 a.m. to 5:16 p.m. |
Hours rules from the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations; sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Eastern Time); checked November 6, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Reaching Wood County Wildlife Area 1 and its managers
Your district office: 952 Lima Ave, Findlay, OH 45840, 419-424-5000. The officer assigned to Wood County is Eric VonAlmen, (419) 429-8397. Call 1-800-POACHER to report a violation anonymously.
- Area map PDF (published 5/17/2022) · legend: parking area, parking
- Open the point in Google Maps
Address and phone from the agency page and the ODNR Property Details layer; district offices from the ODNR Districts layer; officers from the officer list; point from ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 1 parcel (polygon centroid); checked November 6, 2026.
Images for sizing up a Wood County Wildlife Area 1 hunt
Wood County Wildlife Area 1 hunters: public range plus clubs
Wildlife District 2 Office Shooting Range is 26 miles from Wood County Wildlife Area 1 and is the nearest public range on ODNR’s list. Club and private ranges within 30 miles fill the other cards.
From ODNR’s public range list and range pages, ranges’ own pages and directory listings, checked November 6, 2026.
Common Wood County Wildlife Area 1 questions with sourced answers
Can I apply for a drawn hunt at Wood County Wildlife Area 1?
No controlled hunts are on file for it.
Which county deer limit applies to Wood County Wildlife Area 1?
3 deer, the Wood County limit. Remember the one-antlered rule and the two-antlerless public land cap.
May I camp while hunting Wood County Wildlife Area 1?
No overnight camping.
When can ducks be hunted on Wood County Wildlife Area 1 this year?
Ducks in Zone B open Oct 17 to Oct 25, 2026; Nov 21, 2026 to Jan 10, 2027.
Hunter orange rules for Wood County Wildlife Area 1 in deer season?
A hunter orange vest or coat during the gun deer seasons; no square-inch rule.
Stand and bait rules for Wood County Wildlife Area 1?
Portable stands only, with nothing driven into the tree, and no bait: deer baiting is illegal on public hunting areas.
What office handles Wood County Wildlife Area 1 for ODNR?
419-424-5000 reaches the managers.
What are deer hunting hours at Wood County Wildlife Area 1 on the gun opener?
Deer hours run 7:10 a.m. to 5:38 p.m. on November 30, 2026, worked out for this spot.
Can I hunt doves on planted fields at Wood County Wildlife Area 1?
The dove layer shows 1 field(s).
Where is Wood County Wildlife Area 1 relative to the nearest town?
Neapolis (8 miles).
How is a turkey or deer from Wood County Wildlife Area 1 checked?
Noon the next day is the deadline for the game check.
Is hunting restricted anywhere on Wood County Wildlife Area 1?
Open: no restricted parcels.
Which Ohio license and permits do I need for Wood County Wildlife Area 1?
A hunting license and species permits, as anywhere in Ohio; no separate area permit for general hunting.
Wood County Wildlife Area 1: the night-before checklist
Report your deer or turkey by noon the next day, and keep your license and permits on you while hunting Wood County Wildlife Area 1.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4; seasons from the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Checked November 6, 2026.
Other photos on this page: ImagePerson (CC BY 4.0); Cindy Sue Causey (CC BY 2.0); greenebriar (Public domain).