Where and When to Hunt Matthiessen State Park

What you can hunt, and when, at Matthiessen State Park

IDNR lists 11 open seasons among its 21 lines for Matthiessen State Park. That count splits into 4 deer, 2 turkey, 2 waterfowl, 2 upland and small game and 1 furbearers. Not offered here: late winter antlerless, youth firearm, fall shotgun, youth spring and snipe & rail and 5 more.

What changes from the Digest on each open line:

• Archery: Allowed in Zone A (lots 1-11) during all deer firearm seasons. Lots 3, 5, 6, and 22 are closed in October. Must check in at the site check station prior to hunting and report out/harvest immediately after hunting. Blaze orange required during all firearm seasons in Zone A.
• Firearm: A site-specific permit issued through the statewide lottery is required. Zone A has archery hunters during firearm season. Check station closes at 6:00pm and is manned during Firearm and Muzzleloader seasons only. Must check in at check station before 5:00am. Standby permits available by drawing at 5:30am and 12:00pm (noon) for $5 each.
• Muzzleloader: Site specific permit required Zone A has archery hunters during firearm season. Check station closes at 6:00pm and is manned during Firearm and Muzzleloader seasons only Must check in at check station before 5:00am Standby permits available by drawing at 5:30am and 12:00pm (noon) for $5 each.
• Special CWD: Must have a Starved Rock site specific permit to hunt Hunters are required to self-check in and out at site check station (at Matthiessen State Park). No stand-by permits
• Fall Archery: Turkeys may be hunted during the (archery deer season) from parking lots 1 – 5, 7 – 10, 32 & 34. All archery hunters must check in and check out at the Matthiessen SP station prior to entering the field and hunting. All turkeys harvested must also be checked- in/reported as outlined in the statewide rules & regulations.
• Spring: All turkey hunters must possess a site-specific permit. The permit is issued through the Springfield permit office as part of the regular permit lottery process. Spring turkey allowed from lots #10, 32 & 34 Hunters are required to register at the check station and must display a parking pass while hunting.
• Ducks, Coots, & Mergansers: Waterfowl hunting is limited to land based only Closed during all site firearm deer seasons No hunting allowed until IDNR stakes hunting locations, and hunt within 10′ of stake No more than 3 hunters per stake Portable blinds only and removed daily First-come, first-served Sign in/out and report of harvest required
• Goose: Waterfowl hunting is limited to land based only Closed during all site firearm deer seasons No hunting allowed until IDNR stakes hunting locations, and hunt within 10′ of stake No more than 3 hunters per stake Portable blinds only and removed daily First-come, first-served Sign in/out and report of harvest required
• Dove: Non-toxic shot only; #6 steel or #7 bismuth & tungsten or smaller Hunters must hunt within 10 feet of an IDNR marked stake and their firearm will remain at their chair, when leaving the stake is necessary (retrieving birds, etc.) Loaded guns must not be transported to or from the hunting area. All hunters must attend the safety talk before entering the field.

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

What hunters reported from Matthiessen State Park

The state's 2025-26 area report shows 623 hunter trips for Matthiessen State Park. That ranks it 73rd of 218 reported areas by trips. In all 414 head were reported; squirrel made up 222. The ratio is about 2 trips for every animal. Counting archery and firearm deer together gives 17, 109th of 218.

Dove accounted for 121 trips.

IDNR Public Hunting Areas Report 2025-26 (report PDF), row Matthiessen; ranks are counted across the 218 areas with a report. Checked November 13, 2026.

Nearest towns and an IDNR site for Matthiessen State Park

Oglesby, 2 miles off, is the closest town on this site. Ottawa (18,775 people in 2024) is the larger service town in the list. Within ten miles of North Utica and Oglesby you reach Matthiessen State Park. For IDNR business, Long Point CWD drop-off site (Long Point) is nearest at 22 miles.

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.

Public land with the same character as Matthiessen State Park

Before the truck leaves for Matthiessen State Park

Plan with this page, then reread the source page for Matthiessen State Park in the week before you go.

Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4; statewide seasons from the 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest. Checked November 13, 2026.