Illinois › Species › Youth Waterfowl Days
Waterfowl and snipe
Youth Waterfowl Days Seasons in Illinois, 2026-27
IDNR dates for youth waterfowl days, the bag, licenses and public sites that list it.
Photo: USFWS/Southeast (Public domain)
Youth Waterfowl Days hunting by the numbers
Across 3 rows of the Digest, youth waterfowl days are open at some point between Oct 17, 2026 and Jan 30, 2027. The posted limit for youth waterfowl days is same as regular seasons (scaup 2 per day).
Youth days fall October 17 to 18 in the North, October 24 to 25 in the Central and November 7, 2026 and January 30, 2027 in the South zone, for hunters 17 or younger who go with an adult 18 or older who may not hunt waterfowl. IDNR site records name youth waterfowl days at 121 public hunting areas, with 121 covered on separate pages.
From 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
Youth Waterfowl Days season dates in the Digest
Each line is one IDNR row for youth waterfowl days, earliest first, with the area it covers and the permit it needs.
| Season | Zone or counties | Permit kind | Date range | Bag | Open? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth waterfowl | North Zone | Waterfowl stamps |
| Same as regular seasons | |
| Youth waterfowl | Central Zone | Waterfowl stamps |
| Same as regular seasons | |
| Youth waterfowl | South Zone | Waterfowl stamps |
| Same as regular seasons |
From 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
Zone lines that set the youth waterfowl days dates
The zone boundaries below are copied from the Digest as road descriptions; no county is placed in a zone here because the sources do not do so.
| Zone | Legal wording |
|---|---|
| North Zone | That portion of the state north of a line extending west from the Indiana border along Peotone-Beecher Road to Illinois Route 50, south along Illinois Route 50 to Wilmington-Peotone Road, west along Wilmington-Peotone Road to Illinois Route 53, north along Illinois Route 53 to New River Road, northwest along New River Road to Interstate Highway 55, south along I-55 to Pine Bluff-Lorenzo Road, west along Pine Bluff-Lorenzo Road to Illinois Route 47, north along Illinois Route 47 to I-80, west along I-80 to I-39, south along I-39 to Illinois Route 18, west along Illinois Route 18 to Illinois Route 29, south along Illinois Route 29 to Illinois Route 17, west along Illinois Route 17 to the Mississippi River, and due south across the Mississippi River to the Iowa border. |
| Central Zone | That portion of the state south of the North Duck Zone line to a line extending west from the Indiana border along I-70 to Illinois Route 4, south along Illinois Route 4 to Illinois Route 161, west along Illinois Route 161 to Illinois Route 158, south and west along Illinois Route 158 to Illinois Route 159, south along Illinois Route 159 to Illinois Route 3, south along Illinois Route 3 to State Leo’s Road, south along State Leo’s road to Modoc Road, west along Modoc Road to Modoc Ferry Road, southwest along Modoc Ferry Road to Levee Road, southeast along Levee Road to County Route 12 (Modoc Ferry entrance Road), south along County Route 12 to the Modoc Ferry route and southwest on the Modoc Ferry route across the Mississippi River to the Missouri border. |
| South Zone | The remainder of the state. |
From Digest waterfowl zones and IDNR 2026-2030 waterfowl seasons and zones (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
What you may take and how, for youth waterfowl days
| Row | What the Digest allows |
|---|---|
| migratory waterfowl | Same as regular seasons (scaup 2/day) |
Legal means for youth waterfowl days, as summarized in the data: shotgun, non-toxic shot.
From Digest season tables and Digest equipment pages (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
License, stamps and permits for youth waterfowl days in Illinois
| License or permit | Who | Digest price | IDNR fee table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Hunting | Resident | $12.00 | $12.50 |
| Nonresident Hunting | Nonresident | $57.00 | $57.75 |
| State Habitat Stamp | Either | $5.00 | $5.50 |
| State Migratory Waterfowl Stamp | Either | $15.00 | $15.50 |
| Federal waterfowl stamp | Either | $25.00 | $25.50 |
| HIP Certification | Either | Free | $0.00 |
| Free site, upland and dove permits | Either | Free | $0.00 |
Both prices are shown, base and with fees; the license year starts March 1 and ends March 31 of the following year.
From Digest license pages (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
Before you go after youth waterfowl days: the rules
| Rule | In the Digest |
|---|---|
| Waterfowl devices | Shotguns may hold no more than three shells; nets, rifles, pistols, swivel, punt, battery and machine guns, hooks, poison, drugs, explosives are illegal; no hunting by driving or chasing with motorized conveyance. |
| Possession limits and bags | May not possess game or furbearers over the daily or possession limit; each hunter must keep a separate bag; wildlife of another person must be tagged with name, address, species count and date unless in a home. |
| Hunting hours | Hunting only during the hours specified for each species relative to official sunrise-sunset times; some IDNR sites are more restrictive. |
Statewide rules apply everywhere, and individual IDNR sites may tighten them for youth waterfowl days; site pages list the changes.
From Digest general rules and Digest hunter orange page (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
Public hunting areas for youth waterfowl days
IDNR land records name youth waterfowl days at 121 sites, mostly 51 state fish and wildlife areas, 15 state parks and 10 state wildlife management areas; the largest with their own page are below.
| Site | Type | County | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee National Forest | National Forest | Pope and Jackson | 286,498 |
| Hidden Springs Ranger District | Ranger district | Pope and Hardin | 169,222 |
| Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District | Ranger district | Jackson and Union | 117,276 |
| Crab Orchard | Wildlife refuge | Williamson and Union | 44,415 |
| Upper Mississippi River National | Wildlife refuge | Carroll and Jo Daviess | 32,868 |
| Illinois Recreational Access Program | Hunting Access Program | Bond and Christian | 27,000 |
| Cypress Creek | Wildlife refuge | Pulaski and Union | 16,758 |
| Jim Edgar Panther Creek | Fish and wildlife area | Cass | 16,400 |
Permit lotteries and check-in steps are on the site pages; the acreage shown is from the fact sheets.
From IDNR site records (Illinois Department of Natural Resources), checked November 13, 2026.
Legal hours and youth waterfowl days season points
Look up the clock: one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset is the Digest rule, and each row works it out for Springfield with the NOAA solar formula.
| Date | Marker | Sunrise | Sunset | Legal hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 2026 | North youth days | 7:10 a.m. | 6:18 p.m. | 6:40 a.m. to 6:48 p.m. |
| Oct 24, 2026 | Central youth days | 7:17 a.m. | 6:08 p.m. | 6:47 a.m. to 6:38 p.m. |
| Nov 7, 2026 | South youth day | 6:33 a.m. | 4:52 p.m. | 6:03 a.m. to 5:22 p.m. |
| Jan 30, 2027 | South second day | 7:09 a.m. | 5:14 p.m. | 6:39 a.m. to 5:44 p.m. |
Springfield times are close to central Illinois; northern and southern counties differ by minutes, which the legal hours page works out.
Hours rules from the 2026-27 Illinois Hunting and Trapping Digest (Illinois Department of Natural Resources); sunrise and sunset worked out with the NOAA solar formula on Central Time; checked November 13, 2026. Central Time with daylight time from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November; times worked out with the NOAA solar formula.
What to pack for Youth waterfowl
Chosen to match the game on this page.
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Wood duck drake on still waterPhoto: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain)
Snow geese in flightPhoto: Birding for Climate (Public domain)
Northern pintails in flightPhoto: USFWS Headquarters (CC BY 2.0)
Youth Waterfowl Days, answered
How long is the youth waterfowl days season in Illinois?
You can hunt on these windows: Youth waterfowl in the North Zone: October 17 to 18; Youth waterfowl in the Central Zone: October 24 to 25; Youth waterfowl in the South Zone: November 7, 2026 and January 30, 2027.
How much youth waterfowl days can one hunter keep?
The Digest says Same as regular seasons (scaup 2 per day).
Which Illinois licenses apply to youth waterfowl days?
You need a hunting license ($12.00 resident, $57.00 nonresident, Digest base prices before vendor fees) and the State Habitat Stamp ($5.00), plus the State Migratory Waterfowl Stamp ($15.00) and Federal stamp for hunters 16 and older, and HIP certification.
How may youth waterfowl days be taken in Illinois?
Legal means include shotgun, non-toxic shot.
How do I know which zone applies to youth waterfowl days?
The Digest draws the North, Central and South zones along named roads and the Mississippi River, with no county list, so this site never assigns a county to a zone; read the road description on the waterfowl zones page and compare it with a map.
Is HIP certification required for youth waterfowl days?
Non-toxic shot and a three-shell shotgun are mandatory, along with the state stamp, federal stamp, HIP certification and a hunting license.
Do I need a permit for a public goose area?
Yes. IDNR allocates public waterfowl sites through internet lotteries (residents only August 16 to 31, then September 1 to 15 and September 16 to 28) and sells what remains first come, first served; see the site pages.
What do the rules say about Sunday hunting for youth waterfowl days?
The documents we checked are silent on Sunday hunting, which means no rule can be quoted here.
What hunter education rule applies to youth waterfowl days?
The cutoff is a birthday: January 1, 1980. Hunters born on or after it need the certificate (or proof of a hunting license bought in an earlier year in any state). An apprentice license, with a supervisor 21 or older, is the way around the course.
Can I find youth waterfowl days hunting on state land?
Start at the public land hub: 121 IDNR sites list youth waterfowl days, and 121 of them have a page with permits, rules and seasons.
Other photos on this page: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); Birding for Climate (Public domain); USFWS Headquarters (CC BY 2.0).