Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area Hunting Guide

Seasons open at Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area

Of 21 possible season lines, Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area offers 18. Grouped, the open seasons are 5 upland and small game, 4 turkey, 4 waterfowl, 3 deer and 2 furbearers. Closed lines include late winter antlerless, muzzleloader and special cwd.

Exceptions printed for Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area:

• Archery: Hunters must park in designated areas only.
• Firearm: Firearm deer hunting requires a site-specific permit issued through the statewide lottery. Note: Jasper County permits are not valid. Hunters will be mailed site maps and a harvest card.
• Youth Firearm: Youth hunters must possess a valid Jasper County permit. Youth hunters must check in at the site office by 5 am for a drawing, which will allocate hunting areas. Youth hunters must be accompanied by a non-hunting parent, guardian, or responsible adult who has in his or her possession a valid firearm owner's identification (FOID) card.
• Fall Shotgun: A site-specific permit, issued through the statewide lottery, is required.
• Spring: A site-specific permit, issued through the statewide lottery, is required.
• Youth Spring: Hunters must possess a valid Jasper County permit Hunters must check in at the site office by 5 am for a drawing, which will allocate hunting areas open for youth hunting. Youth hunters must be accompanied by a non-hunting parent, guardian, or responsible adult who has in his or her possession a valid Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card.
• Dove: Dove hunters are required to use size 7 1/2, 8, or 9 bismuth shot, or #6 or smaller steel shot. Hunting hours are 12 noon to 5 pm on September 1 – 5; thereafter, statewide hunting hours apply. Dove hunters must check in and check out and report harvest.
• Rabbits: Blaze orange is required while upland game hunting.
• Squirrels: Squirrel hunting is closed during the site's deer hunting seasons. Hunting with shotguns and bow and arrow only.

Availability and exceptions from the IDNR Hunt Illinois fact sheet (record source); statewide dates in the Digest; checked November 13, 2026.

Permit and lottery basis for Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area

The source describes the permit route for Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area like this:

• Deer – Firearm: Statewide regulations apply, except : Firearm deer hunting requires a site-specific permit issued through the statewide lottery.
• Deer – Youth Firearm: Youth hunters must check in at the site office by 5 am for a drawing, which will allocate hunting areas.
• Turkey – Fall Shotgun: Statewide regulations apply, except that a site-specific permit, issued through the statewide lottery, is required.
• Turkey – Spring: Statewide regulations apply, except that a site-specific permit, issued through the statewide lottery, is required.

Statewide deer permits and the lottery rounds are explained on the permit lottery page; site permits are separate and come from the managers. How the lottery works.

Quota basis from the record source; lottery rounds from the IDNR lottery page; checked November 13, 2026.

The Jasper County row for Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area

Jasper County decides the permit, CWD and turkey zone terms behind Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area. We found Jasper County absent from the confirmed CWD counties.

Open the county page for harvest history, towns and more land: Jasper County.

County rules from the Digest, IDNR CWD counties and the leftover permit list (IDNR permit page); checked November 13, 2026.

Nearest towns and an IDNR site for Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area

Newton is the nearest town with a page here, 8 miles from Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area in a straight line. Effingham is the largest of the five, with 12,434 residents in 2024. Newton list Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area within ten miles. The shortest trip to an IDNR location is Altamont, 25 miles, at Ballard Nature Center.

Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); IDNR sites from the CWD sampling list and the IDNR contact page; businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 13, 2026.

Legal hunting hours at Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area through the season

The Digest sets deer hours at half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset, so the window around Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area below comes from the NOAA solar formula for this spot.

Site rules can shorten hours.

Hours rules from the 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest (Illinois Department of Natural Resources); sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula on Central Time; checked November 13, 2026. Legal hours for every county.

Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area hunting questions, answered from the sources