Alabama public land
Alabama public hunting land
All 107 public hunting places we cover: 29 wildlife management areas, Special Opportunity Areas, disabled hunting areas, Forever Wild tracts, national forests, refuges and more.
Photo: Alabama Extension (CC0 1.0)
Alabama public land by kind and acreage
ADCNR says Alabama has more than 1.3 million acres of public hunting land. Its Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division runs 35 wildlife management areas; the WMA page describes the system as management of over 750,000 acres of land for the Alabama hunter, of which 366,670 acres are owned by ADCNR and the Forever Wild Land Trust, 345,323 acres are federal land under cooperative agreements and roughly 38,000 acres are private land in lease agreements.
On top of the WMAs come limited-quota Special Opportunity Areas filled by random drawing, 17 Physically Disabled Hunting Areas plus an accessible waterfowl blind, Forever Wild nature preserve and recreation tracts, and federal ground: four national forests in six ranger districts, 8 national wildlife refuges, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Fort Novosel and five Corps of Engineers lake projects.
Deer zones in Alabama follow highways and rivers, and every managed area sets its own dates on a permit, so each page below gives the area rules first and the county zone rules second.
WMAs, units and community hunting areas
Special Opportunity Areas
Physically disabled hunting areas
Forever Wild tracts
Federal land
Corps of Engineers lakes
WMA dove fields
Hunting programs
ADCNR Wildlife Management Areas, ADCNR Where to Hunt, ADCNR seasons page. Checked November 1, 2026.
Forty biggest Alabama places to hunt, by acres
Together these 40 hold 1,567,247 acres. Forest figures are National Forest System acres, and many WMAs sit inside a national forest, so acres overlap.
| Place | County | Acres | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talladega National Forest | Cleburne, Clay… | 394,869 | National forest |
| Bankhead National Forest | Lawrence, Winston | 182,014 | National forest |
| Black Warrior WMA | Lawrence, Winston | 91,263 | WMA |
| Conecuh National Forest | Covington, Escambia | 85,366 | National forest |
| James D. Martin-Skyline WMA | Jackson | 60,732 | WMA |
| Fort Novosel | Dale, Coffee | 57,036 | Military land |
| Choccolocco WMA | Cleburne | 56,838 | WMA |
| Mobile-Tensaw Delta and W.L. Holland WMAs | Baldwin, Mobile | 51,040 | WMA |
| Oakmulgee WMA | Bibb, Hale… | 44,500 | WMA |
| Upper Delta WMA | Baldwin, Mobile | 42,451 | WMA |
| Cahaba River WMA | Bibb, Shelby | 35,559 | WMA |
| Mulberry Fork WMA | Tuscaloosa, Walker | 35,260 | WMA |
| Wheeler NWR | Limestone, Morgan… | 34,427 | Wildlife refuge |
| Freedom Hills WMA | Colbert | 33,539 | WMA |
| Hollins WMA | Clay, Talladega | 28,802 | WMA |
| Barbour WMA | Barbour, Bullock | 28,214 | WMA |
| Jackson County WMA | Jackson | 26,934 | WMA |
| Blue Spring WMA | Covington | 24,783 | WMA |
| Lauderdale WMA | Lauderdale | 20,344 | WMA |
| Coosa WMA | Coosa | 17,486 | WMA |
| Perdido River WMA | Baldwin | 17,337 | WMA |
| Sam R. Murphy WMA | Lamar, Marion | 16,372 | WMA |
| Geneva State Forest WMA | Geneva | 16,093 | WMA |
| Lowndes WMA | Lowndes | 15,920 | WMA |
| Little River Canyon National Preserve in DeKalb County | DeKalb, Cherokee | 15,641 | National preserve |
| Red Hills WMA | Monroe | 13,930 | WMA |
| Little River WMA | Cherokee, DeKalb | 13,100 | WMA |
| Tuskegee National Forest | Macon | 11,347 | National forest |
| Charles D. Kelley-Autauga WMA | Autauga | 10,463 | WMA |
| Portland Landing SOA | Dallas | 9,940 | SOA |
| Mountain Longleaf NWR | Calhoun | 9,070 | Wildlife refuge |
| Swan Creek WMA | Limestone | 8,870 | WMA |
| Raccoon Creek (Jackson Co. WMA) | Jackson | 8,507 | WMA unit |
| David K. Nelson WMA | Sumter, Hale… | 8,308 | WMA |
| Mud Creek (Jackson Co. WMA) | Jackson | 8,003 | WMA unit |
| Eufaula NWR (Alabama portion) | Barbour, Russell | 7,631 | Wildlife refuge |
| Cedar Creek SOA | Dallas | 7,357 | SOA |
| Boggy Hollow WMA | Covington | 7,000 | WMA |
| Yates Lake WMA | Elmore | 5,616 | WMA |
| Riverton CHA | Colbert | 5,285 | Community hunting area |
Alabama public land in pictures
11 closed Alabama places that look huntable
These 11 places turn up in searches for Alabama hunting land, but none is open to public hunting: 3 national wildlife refuges (Bon Secour is fishing only; Fern Cave and Watercress Darter are not listed in 50 CFR 32.20) and 8 National Park System units, which 36 CFR 2.2(b) closes unless a statute authorizes hunting.
| Place | Type | County | Why closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site | NPS (National Historic Sites) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization or hunting page found for this unit. |
| Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site | NPS (National Historic Sites) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization or hunting page found for this unit. |
| Horseshoe Bend National Military Park in Alabama County | NPS (National Military Parks) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization or hunting page found for this unit. |
| Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument | NPS (National Monuments) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization or hunting page found for this unit. |
| Freedom Riders National Monument | NPS (National Monuments) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization or hunting page found for this unit. |
| Russell Cave National Monument | NPS (National Monuments) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization or hunting page found for this unit. |
| Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail | NPS (National Trails System) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization or hunting page found for this unit. |
| Natchez Trace Parkway (Alabama portion) | NPS (Parkway) | – | 36 CFR 2.2(b): hunting is allowed in park areas only where authorized by federal statute; no hunting authorization for the parkway; compendium: "No motor vehicle shall be parked on the Natchez Trace… |
| Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge (closed to hunting) | National Wildlife Refuge | – | 50 CFR 32.20 lists this refuge for sport fishing only (hunting paragraphs reserved); the USFWS hunt-unit layer marks it "Station / No". |
| Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge | National Wildlife Refuge | – | Not listed in 50 CFR 32.20; USFWS hunt-unit layer "Station / No"; refuge page: "Fern Cave itself is not open to the public due to the potential for disturbance of the gray and Indiana bats, but… |
| Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge | National Wildlife Refuge | – | Not listed in 50 CFR 32.20; USFWS hunt-unit layer "Station / No" |
Not listed as closed but not covered either: 31 flagged places, among them 19 state parks with no hunting program found, Redstone Arsenal (hunting limited to military, DoD and NASA civilians, contractors and some veterans), 8 Defense sites not researched, 2 Corps projects with no Alabama hunting and one Forever Wild tract whose map link says no hunting.
From the agency sources in lands.json (eCFR 50 CFR 32.20 and 36 CFR 2.2, USFWS and NPS pages). Checked November 1, 2026.
Alabama land counts against the ADCNR totals
The WMA table has 35 rows (31 areas, 748,017 acres summed), matching the 35 WMAs ADCNR states; every row is a record here, Jackson County both as a parent and as its units. The SOA page says eleven SOAs offer deer hunts this year and lists 13 season sections; all 13 are records, plus the two state park SOAs. ADCNR states 20 Physically Disabled Hunting Areas, and 20 records match that count.
WMA page, SOA page, 2026-27 PDHA map packet. Checked November 1, 2026.
Alabama public land questions
How many acres of public hunting land are in Alabama?
ADCNR says more than 1.3 million acres. The WMA system alone is described as over 750,000 acres, and the national forests hold about 673,597 National Forest System acres, some of it inside WMAs.
What license do I need for a WMA?
A hunting license plus the $23.40 WMA license for deer, turkey or waterfowl, the free AREA Permit and a daily check-in by app or paper.
What does an Alabama SOA draw win give you?
A limited-quota area hunted only by drawn hunters: the winner and a guest get a 300-400 acre unit for two to four days.
Can I bait deer on public land?
No. Bait hunting is legal only on private or leased land with the Bait Privilege License, never on WMAs, SOAs or federal land.
Which Alabama state parks hold deer hunts?
Only Oak Mountain and Frank Jackson, through drawn archery deer hunts. No hunting program was found for the other parks.
Which national park units allow hunting?
Only Little River Canyon National Preserve, in its Backcountry Area, run as Little River WMA.
Do deer zones follow county lines?
No. Zones A to E and the CWD Management Zone follow roads and rivers; check the ADCNR zone map.
Why are some refuges closed?
Bon Secour is listed for fishing only, and Fern Cave and Watercress Darter have no hunting listing in 50 CFR 32.20.
Other photos on this page: Alabama Extension (CC0 1.0); Alabama Extension (CC0 1.0); Maria Brindle (CC BY-SA 4.0).