Whitley County Hunting, 2026-27

Whitley County chronic wasting disease rules

Whitley County deer fall under the CWD Surveillance Zone rules, a 23-county area this season. The zone expanded following a positive deer in Pulaski County during the 2025-26 season. Whitley County sits in Zone 4, which kept firearms out of the CWD antlerless days.

Before driving home, debone the deer: only meat, antlers, clean skull caps, teeth, hides and finished taxidermy may leave the zone. Feed and bait rules in the zone need care this year; both the agency statement and the regulation wording follow.

Carcass rule: No whole carcasses or high-risk parts (head, skull/skull cap with brain, spine) may leave the zone or enter Kentucky from other states/provinces; deboned meat, antlers, clean skull caps/skulls/teeth, hides and finished taxidermy allowed.

KDFWR statement on baiting: Allowed in the zone for 2026-27 except through contact feeders (troughs, funnel or gravity feeders); never on WMAs or public land. The regulation text (301 KAR 2:015 and 2:172) still prohibits baiting in the zone; this is the KDFWR 2026-27 statement. Guide p. 10

Elk zone rule on baiting: Illegal inside the 16-county elk zone (bait present or within 30 days of removal) and on public land; legal outside the elk zone. Guide p. 10

Testing is free statewide at drop-off sites open around the clock or by mail-in kit.

From the 2026-27 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide, the KDFWR CWD Surveillance Zone page and baiting rules. Checked November 10, 2026.

Whitley County hunting dates by zone

Whitley County readers can open the cited guide page on any line; each row links the page it came from.

Goose zones are read from a map. Goose zones marked (map) are read from the KDFWR zone map.

Dates from the 2026-27 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide and the Kentucky Hunting Guide for Migratory Birds and Waterfowl, checked against the KDFWR Season Dates app; zone county lists from 301 KAR and KDFWR zone layers; quota hunts from the KDFWR Quota Hunts page (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources); checked November 10, 2026.

Whitley County land open to hunters

Whitley County has 5 open hunting areas on record; the largest is Daniel Boone National Forest. The public hunting footprint is about 53,556 GIS acres, 19% of all land here.

Map layers give these acreages; nature preserves and other Park Service land are closed to hunting.

Daniel Boone National Forest runs to about 710,298 acres and is managed by the Forest Service. Roughly 95% of Daniel Boone National Forest is forest. Game listed for it includes white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail. At roughly 54,137 acres, Cumberland Forest WMA is a WMA looked after by KDFWR. Expect mainly forest there (93%). KDFWR lists it as open to all species on statewide dates. At roughly 10,275 acres, University of the Cumberlands WMA is a WMA looked after by KDFWR. The habitat breakdown puts forest first at 97%. Game listed for it includes white-tailed deer, wild turkey, squirrel, rabbit.

• Daniel Boone National Forest – Stearns Ranger DistrictRanger district · 170,938 ac · Zones 3, 4

Closed ground here includes Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.

Public areas near Whitley County:

• Kentucky Ridge State ForestState forest · 0 miles from the line
• Cane Creek WMAWMA · 2 miles from the line
• Beaver Creek WMAWMA · 3 miles from the line
• Kentucky Ridge Forest WMAWMA · 4 miles from the line
• Fortner-Davis WMAWMA · 8 miles from the line
• Rockcastle River WMAWMA · 8 miles from the line

Land records from KDFWR, the Kentucky Division of Forestry, Kentucky State Parks and federal managers; GIS acres from the KDFWR Public Hunting Areas layer and PAD-US (map measures, not official acreages); closures under 301 KAR 2:178 and 400 KAR 2:090. Checked November 10, 2026.

Hunting dates and winners in Whitley County

UKC nite hunt held in the county posted 2 results, listed below.

Published winners

Spotted a flyer for a local hunt night? Tell us

Listings and results from the KDFWR calendar, the DU and NWTF feeds, UKC and American Field, read November 9, 2026.

Whitley County legal light on key dates

Whitley County hunters can be afield from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset for deer, elk, bear, turkey and small game, and the times below are worked out for Whitley County itself.

Rounded to the minute. Times are on local clock time: Central Time in the western 41 counties, Eastern Time elsewhere.

Hours rules from the 2026-27 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide; sunrise and sunset from the NOAA solar formula at this point on Eastern Time; checked November 10, 2026. Legal hours across Kentucky.

More guides around Whitley County

Close counties first, then statewide guides worth a look.