Home › Georgia › Public land › Balls Ferry State Park
Public land · State park
Balls Ferry State Park for Hunters
Everything we could verify about Balls Ferry State Park: acreage, rules, dates, harvest and the ground nearby.
Photo: David Dugan (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Getting to Balls Ferry State Park
Parking, trailheads and gates near Balls Ferry State Park
- Parking areaParking · 0.4 mi from the centreDirections
- Boat rampBoat ramp · 0.6 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 0.6 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Boat rampBoat ramp · 3.6 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
Balls Ferry State Park in brief
Sitting in Wilkinson County, Balls Ferry State Park is a state park that opens for scheduled WRD hunts. Region 3 staff in Thomson cover it for WRD. The managing agency is the Georgia DNR State Parks & Historic Sites Division (hunts administered with WRD). By area (525 acres) it comes 12th of the 13 state parks. Roughly 12 miles separates it from Irwinton, the closest town page on this site.
County context for Balls Ferry State Park
| County | County seat | Population | Either-sex zone | Bear | Alligator | Game Check deer 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkinson County | Irwinton | 8,667 | Green | None | Zone 5 | 1,501 |
From the source page (WRD property page); counties and zones from the WRD county zone tables; county deer counts from WRD Game Check; population from the Census 2024 estimates. Checked October 13, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Balls Ferry State Park
The 2026-27 Balls Ferry State Park hunt calendar
Game with dates here this year: deer, turkey, small game and waterfowl (4 lines in all).
| Game | Hunt | Dates | Symbols | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | Archery | Sept. 12-Jan. 10 | — | |
| Turkey | — | Apr. 3-May 15 | — | Archery |
| Small game | — | State Seasons | — | |
| Waterfowl | — | — | — | Waterfowl allowed during state season dates that overlap with small game dates. Shooting hours end at noon. |
Dates and symbols from the 2026-27 Georgia regulations listing, wording as printed by the source. Checked October 13, 2026.
Balls Ferry State Park: rules before the first hunt
Area rules first, then licenses, orange and bait.
Getting in at Balls Ferry State Park
Hunting only during the listed state park hunts (mostly quota hunts); follow park check-in rules.
- No camping allowed on the area
- No camping
- No May 16-31 coyote season
License costs for Balls Ferry State Park
Residents can skip the separate licenses with a Sportsman's License. Deer, bear and turkey hunters of any age carry the free Harvest Record.
Statewide rules at Balls Ferry State Park
Georgia accepts blaze pink as well as orange: 500 square inches, worn above the waist, in gun and muzzleloader deer and bear hunts. Baiting is banned for any game or feral hog on state and federal land, WMAs and national forests included. Game Check reporting is due within 24 hours of harvest.
Finding Balls Ferry State Park
From Toomsboro: Take Hwy 57 east 7.5 miles. Park on the left before the Oconee River Bridge.
What hunters report from Balls Ferry State Park
The 2025-26 Game Check total for Balls Ferry State Park was 1 (1 antlered, 0 antlerless). High mark: 5 (2018-19). Low mark: 1 (2017-18). Only reported animals appear here; WRD adjusts for non-reporting at county level, not per area.
Balls Ferry State Park deer table
| Season | Bucks checked | Does checked | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024-25 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2022-23 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021-22 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2020-21 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2019-20 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018-19 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 2017-18 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016-17 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Deer from WRD deer harvest reports, turkeys from WRD turkey harvest layer; as of 2026-10-13. Checked October 13, 2026.
Game at Balls Ferry State Park, with limits
The listing and the manager name whitetails, gobblers, squirrels and rabbits and ducks and geese for Balls Ferry State Park.
Ducks and geese
Species from the area record; bag limits from the WRD bag limit table. Checked October 13, 2026.
About the land at Balls Ferry State Park
From the agency page, word for word.
In the agency's own words
The Ball's Ferry property is located in Toomsboro and is 525 acres. This property offers hunting opportunities for deer, turkey, small game and waterfowl. There is a boat ramp that can be used for fishing access.
Text and lists from the source page, Georgia regulations, WRD GIS, WRD GIS; retrieved 2026-10-13, checked October 13, 2026.
Balls Ferry State Park plotted with nearby areas
Balls Ferry State Park sits at the orange pin, with 5 public neighbours inside 30 miles. Published acres across them: 11,412.
| Neighbour | Type | Acres | Miles off | Direction | Deer, last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaverdam WMA | WMA | 5,500 | 7 mi | south | 37 |
| Bartram Forest WMA | WMA | 1,343 | 21 mi | northwest | 17 |
| Hugh M. Gillis PFA | Public fishing area | 700 | 21 mi | southeast | 5 |
| River Bend WMA | WMA | 3,670 | 24 mi | south | 17 |
| Scotland Road VPA | VPA property | 199 | 28 mi | south | — |
Points from WRD, USFS, USFWS, NPS, DoD and Recreation.gov layers (WRD WMA Boundary GIS (polygon centroid)). Distances are straight-line. Statewide public land map.
Balls Ferry State Park: nearest towns and businesses
Closest towns first; businesses by county and distance.
| Town | County | Distance | People | Public acres, 10 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irwinton | Wilkinson | 12 mi | 538 | — |
| Wrightsville | Johnson | 15 mi | 3,543 | 8 |
| Sandersville | Washington | 16 mi | 5,500 | — |
| Dublin | Laurens | 18 mi | 16,233 | 3,959 |
County guides: Wilkinson County.
Services close to Balls Ferry State Park
Agency offices by Balls Ferry State Park
Towns and populations from the Census 2024 estimates; public acres within 10 miles from WRD, USFS, USFWS and DoD layers; businesses from WRD lists, store locators and listings; offices from WRD, DNR Law Enforcement and USFS pages. Checked October 13, 2026. Call ahead.
Balls Ferry State Park: nearest ranges
For a public range, drive about 6 miles to Beaverdam Shooting Range. Closer private options sit beside it.
Facilities: 100-yard Range
Lines for rifle, handgun, smallbore, muzzleloader, action pistol, archery, silhouette and 3-gun
Lines for skeet, sporting clays and 5-stand
From the WRD range list and the GA DNR range layer, checked October 13, 2026.
First and last light at Balls Ferry State Park
Deer, turkey and small game hunters get 30 minutes of light on each side of the day; dove and waterfowl hunters quit at sundown.
Worked out for Balls Ferry State Park in Eastern time from the rule in the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division guide (hunting hours). Hogs, coyotes, raccoons and some furbearers may be hunted at night on private land; check the guide. Shooting hours for every county.
Balls Ferry State Park: what hunters ask
Is Balls Ferry State Park big enough for a full day?
Published acreage: 525.
Which agency is in charge of Balls Ferry State Park?
The Georgia DNR State Parks & Historic Sites Division (hunts administered with WRD) is the manager; the ground is a state park that opens for scheduled WRD hunts.
What does Balls Ferry State Park require before a hunt?
Hunting only during the listed state park hunts (mostly quota hunts); follow park check-in rules.
Which town makes a good base for Balls Ferry State Park?
In Wilkinson County, about 12 miles from Irwinton.
What turkey dates does Balls Ferry State Park list?
The listing gives Apr. 3-May 15. The WMA bag is 1 gobbler per area per hunter.
What deer dates does Balls Ferry State Park list?
The listing opens with archery: Sept. 12-Jan. 10. Later hunts are listed above.
Is hunting at Balls Ferry State Park first come?
No quota lines are listed; hunt the dates shown under the area rules.
Which species can I hunt on Balls Ferry State Park?
The record lists whitetails, gobblers, squirrels and rabbits and ducks and geese.
How many deer are taken on Balls Ferry State Park?
1 deer, 1 of them bucks, in Game Check for 2025-26.
Can I camp on Balls Ferry State Park?
No, camping is not allowed.
What areas neighbour Balls Ferry State Park?
Close by: Beaverdam WMA (7 miles), Bartram Forest WMA (21 miles) and Hugh M. Gillis PFA (21 miles), straight-line.
Which quota zone holds Balls Ferry State Park?
Zone 5, quota permit holders only.
Balls Ferry State Park, the last word
Double-check Balls Ferry State Park with its manager: open areas, gates, sign-in and any drawn hunts.
Sources for this page: WRD: balls ferry · Georgia regulations: state park hunting opportunities · WRD GIS · WRD GIS · WRD GIS; regulations from the 2026-27 Georgia hunting regulations. Checked October 13, 2026.
Other photos on this page: DaPuglet (CC BY-SA 2.0); colmmcsky (CC BY-SA 2.0).