83 Counties · 336 Public Areas · 324 Towns · 507 RangesMichigan hunting records
States
AlabamaArizonaArkansasColoradoGeorgiaLouisianaMichiganMinnesotaMissouriNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaTennesseeTexasWisconsin
MichiganState Hunting Spots

Home › Michigan › Public land › Federal Hunting Land

Forest Service, refuge and Park Service land

Michigan Federal Hunting Land

The Hiawatha (899,499 acres), Huron-Manistee (979,067) and Ottawa (1,000,750) national forests and their 18 ranger districts, the refuges, the Kirtland's Warbler WMA, the Michigan Wetland Management District with its WPAs, and Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks.

Jump to the listStatewide pin map
34Records
5,951,967Acres on file
31Mapped

Photo: LandBetweentheLakesKYTN (Public Domain Mark 1.0)

Michigan Federal Hunting Land in numbers

Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Park Service ground.

34Records
5,951,967Acres on file
33With species list
31Mapped
Ottawa National ForestBiggest record

50 CFR 32.41 opens Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge, Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Management Area, Michigan Wetland Management District, Seney National Wildlife Refuge and Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge to hunting. Closed: Michigan Islands NWR, Huron NWR, Green Bay NWR (St. Martin, Rocky units) and Sullivan Creek NFH, and Isle Royale.

National forests are hunted under Michigan seasons with Motor Vehicle Use Map rules; refuges add their own units, dates and blind limits; the lakeshores close developed areas and bar trapping.

Counted by DNR region, the federal units split Upper Peninsula 14, Northern Lower Peninsula 8, Southeast Lower Peninsula 6, Statewide 3 and Southwest Lower Peninsula 3. Biggest federal units by acreage: Ottawa National Forest (1,000,750 acres), Huron-Manistee National Forest (979,067 acres), Hiawatha National Forest (899,499 acres), Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District (Hiawatha National Forest) (243,502 acres) and Kenton Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest) (211,314 acres).

The Upper Peninsula: 14 federal units, the largest Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District (Hiawatha National Forest) at 243,502 acres. The northern Lower Peninsula: 8 federal units, the largest Harrisville Ranger District (Huron-Manistee National Forest) at 165,234 acres. Southwest Michigan: 3 federal units, the largest White Cloud Ranger District (Huron-Manistee National Forest) at 130,570 acres. Southeast Michigan: 6 federal units, the largest Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge at 10,000 acres, most often in Jackson County.

Every federal unit on this list, 34 in all

PropertyTypeCountyAcresZoneDMUBear unitManager
Hiawatha National ForestNational forestAlger, Chippewa…899,499–––USDA Forest Service
Huron-Manistee National ForestNational forestAlcona, Crawford…979,067–––USDA Forest Service
Ottawa National ForestNational forestBaraga, Gogebic…1,000,750–––USDA Forest Service
BaldwinRanger districtLake, Newaygo…155,6512043, 361BaldwinUSDA Forest Service
BerglandRanger districtOntonagon, Gogebic147,6401066, 027BerglandUSDA Forest Service
BessemerRanger districtGogebic158,9091027, 066BerglandUSDA Forest Service
CadillacRanger districtWexford, Lake…128,7552/3083, 043Baldwin, DansvilleUSDA Forest Service
HarrisvilleRanger districtAlcona, Oscoda165,2342487, 001Red OakUSDA Forest Service
Iron RiverRanger districtIron143,2121027, 022AmasaUSDA Forest Service
KentonRanger districtHoughton, Iron…211,3141027, 031Baraga, AmasaUSDA Forest Service
ManisteeRanger districtManistee, Mason…123,9312051, 053BaldwinUSDA Forest Service
ManistiqueRanger districtDelta, Schoolcraft151,8621021, 121NewberryUSDA Forest Service
MioRanger districtOscoda, Crawford…148,7112487, 068Red OakUSDA Forest Service
MunisingRanger districtAlger, Schoolcraft…193,4101021, 007Gwinn, NewberryUSDA Forest Service
OntonagonRanger districtOntonagon, Houghton…144,5871031, 066Baraga, BerglandUSDA Forest Service
Rapid RiverRanger districtDelta157,7991021, 121Gwinn, NewberryUSDA Forest Service
Sault Ste. MarieRanger districtChippewa243,5021249, 048NewberryUSDA Forest Service
St. IgnaceRanger districtMackinac152,9251249, 017NewberryUSDA Forest Service
TawasRanger districtIosco, Ogemaw126,2142487, 035Red OakUSDA Forest Service
WatersmeetRanger districtGogebic, Ontonagon195,0881027Bergland, AmasaUSDA Forest Service
White CloudRanger districtNewaygo, Oceana…130,5702/3361, 062Baldwin, DansvilleUSDA Forest Service
Detroit River International
Wildlife Refuge
Wildlife refugeWayne, Monroe6,2003499, 082DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Harbor IslandWildlife refugeChippewa7201117NewberryU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
SeneyWildlife refugeSchoolcraft95,2381021NewberryU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
ShiawasseeWildlife refugeSaginaw10,0003486, 073DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Kirtland's WarblerFederal WMAOgemaw, Clare…6,6842065, 487Red Oak, GladwinU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Michigan Wetland Management DistrictWetland districtJackson, Barry…6293486, 038DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
EdgarWPABarry1583008, 486DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
KinneyWPAVan Buren783486, 311DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
MalanWPAJackson1413486, 038DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
SchleeWPAJackson1593486, 038DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
SchoonoverWPALenawee953486, 046DansvilleU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Pictured Rocks National LakeshoreNational lakeshoreAlger73,2351048NewberryNational Park Service
Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore
National lakeshoreLeelanau, Benzie–2045, 145BaldwinNational Park Service

Acres, zones and units from lands.json (DNR, USFWS, USFS and NPS layers and pages, retrieved 2026-10-22); unit rules from the 2026 regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.

Black oil sunflowers planted on a dove field
Black oil sunflowers planted on a dove fieldPhoto: greenebriar (Public domain)
Coyote walking
Coyote walkingPhoto: ZionNPS (CC BY 2.0)
Eastern gray squirrel on the ground
Eastern gray squirrel on the groundPhoto: PierreSelim (CC BY 3.0)

Michigan Federal Hunting Land, asked and answered

Are Michigan national forests open to hunting?

Yes, with Michigan licenses and seasons; motor vehicles follow the Motor Vehicle Use Map.

Which refuges allow hunting?

Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge, Kirtland's Warbler Wildlife Management Area, Michigan Wetland Management District, Seney National Wildlife Refuge and Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.

Can I hunt the national lakeshores?

Yes, Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks open most land under Michigan and federal rules; trapping is not allowed and developed areas are closed.

Is Isle Royale open?

No. The national park is closed to hunting.

Next step: open one of the 34 federal units

Federal units layer their own rules on top of Michigan seasons: read the forest, refuge or lakeshore page before you go.

Every Michigan recordPin mapSeason datesDMU pages