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Iron County, Michigan
Hunting on Iron River Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest): units and rules
DMU 027 and 022, bear and turkey units, closures, licenses and the nearest towns and services.
Photo: USDA Forest Service Eastern Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Getting to Iron River Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest)
Parking, trailheads and gates near Iron River Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest)
- James Lake Boat LaunchBoat ramp · 4.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 4.5 mi from the centreDirections
- Golden Lake Boat LaunchBoat ramp · 4.6 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
Iron River Ranger District, the essentials
Iron River Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest) is a national forest ranger district in Iron County. Wildlife Division region: Upper Peninsula Region. The rules on site come from the USDA Forest Service. Size ranking: 14th of 18 ranger districts, with 143,212 acres. From Iron River it is about 12 miles northwest. It is managed within Ottawa National Forest.
From the source page (USFS EDW Lands Area Statistics: National Forest System land in the district (GIS acres)); region from the DNR wildlife region layer. Checked October 22, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Iron River Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest)
Iron River Ranger District pinned among its neighbors
The bold pin marks Iron River Ranger District, ringed by 10 other public tracts. Neighboring public acres on the map: 181,908.
| Area | Category | Acreage | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Mine | GEMS | 893 | 4.1 mi | east |
| Net River Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 298 | 21 mi | northeast |
| Deer River Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 53 | 24 mi | east |
| Baraga Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | 142,356 | 27 mi | north |
| Baraga Plains | Flooding or WMA | 13,361 | 32 mi | north |
| Blue Bill Creek | GEMS | 9,491 | 36 mi | west |
| Nestoria Creek Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 124 | 36 mi | northeast |
| Norwich | GEMS | 4,400 | 40 mi | northwest |
| Craig Lake | State park | 10,802 | 42 mi | northeast |
| Pike Lake Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 130 | 43 mi | north |
Points from the DNR wildlife, GEMS, parks, forest, USFS, USFWS and NPS layers (USFS EDW Ranger Districts (district boundary centroid) (polygon centroid)). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Access, rules and licenses for Iron River Ranger District
Iron River Ranger District: open to whom
Hunt Iron River Ranger District under Michigan seasons and licenses. Drive only the roads and trails the Motor Vehicle Use Map shows open; portable stands and blinds only, and abandoned blinds are removed.
Stands, orange and reporting at Iron River Ranger District
- On public ground a tree stand must be portable and labelled, may stand from Sept. 1 to March 1, and may not penetrate the bark.
- Ground blinds: Sept. 1 through the deer seasons, no cutting of plants, and no constructed blinds on Zone 3 game areas, parks or recreation areas.
- Hunter orange is required from Aug. 15 to April 30 while taking game in daylight hours; archery deer and bear hunters, turkey hunters and migratory bird hunters other than woodcock are exempt.
- Mandatory harvest reporting: 72 hours for deer and turkey, by app or online.
- No firearm hunting within 150 yards (450 feet) of an occupied building without the occupant's written permission.
- No food plots or artificial gardens on public land.
- Bait for deer is allowed in the Upper Peninsula Sept. 15-Jan. 1, capped at 2 gallons.
- Bear bait here must be placed on the ground without containers.
- ORV and snowmobile limits, Nov. 15-30: 7-11 a.m. and 2-5 p.m.
The license bill for Iron River Ranger District
Licenses sell through DNR eLicense, license agents and the Hunt Fish app; the base license comes first. Universal antlerless licenses are capped at 10 a year and limited by county or UP DMU.
Access from the source page; public-land stand, blind, safety-zone and food-plot rules from the DNR deer regulations summary; hunter orange from MCL 324.40116; prices from the 2026 license fee tables. Checked October 22, 2026.
Which animals Iron River Ranger District offers
Game listed for Iron River Ranger District: white-tailed deer, black bear, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, woodcock, snowshoe hare, ducks and geese, squirrels and rabbits and furbearers.
White-tailed deer
Black bear
Wild turkey
Ruffed grouse
Woodcock
Snowshoe hare
Ducks and geese
Small game
Furbearers
Other Iron County seasons apply too, under the same rules.
Species from the source (Forest-wide; species follow Michigan seasons and units.); bag limits from the DNR regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Iron River Ranger District by zone and unit
For hunting and trapping it lies in Zone 1 (Upper Peninsula). DMU 352 appears on the layer but was rescinded for 2026. Universal antlerless licenses cannot be used in DMU 027 and DMU 036. In the Amasa BMU, 120 licenses go out for hunt 0007; residents needed 5–6 points in 2025. The DNR turkey layer gives spring unit M and fall unit M; no spring 2027 dates are out. For ducks use the North Zone splits, Sep 26-Nov 22 and Nov 28-Nov 29.
DMU details for Iron River Ranger District
| DMU | Name | Status | Use limit | Restriction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMU 027 | Watersmeet unit | Open | Closed | No |
| DMU 022 | Crystal Falls unit | Open | 1 | No |
| DMU 036 | Amasa-Michigamme unit | Open | Closed | No |
Bear hunting units at Iron River Ranger District
| Unit | Hunts | License quota | Points 2025 | Registered 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amasa | 3 hunts | 510 | 5–6 | 205 |
Iron River Ranger District: spring and fall turkey units
| Unit | Birds | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spring M | 1,254 | Whole unit, spring 2026 |
| Fall M | 124 | Fall 2026, unit |
Zones from the DNR 2026 zone layers as recorded in lands.json; DMU status and APR from the Wildlife Conservation Order; use limits from the 2026 deer summary; BMU hunts and quotas from the 2026 bear summary and bear registration data; turkey from the DNR turkey harvest report; CWD lists from the DNR CWD rules. Checked October 22, 2026.
What is open in Iron River Ranger District this season
Archery and the Nov. 15 rifle opener are statewide, but bear units, fall turkey units, waterfowl zones and bobcat units decide the rest for Iron River Ranger District.
| Species | Season | Applies | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Liberty Hunt | Statewide | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Archery, early | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Independence Hunt | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Regular firearm | Statewide | Nov 15, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Archery, late | Statewide | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| White-tailed deer | Muzzleloader | Upper Peninsula | Dec 4, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Amasa BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Amasa BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Amasa BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Fall unit M | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Ruffed grouse | Fall first part | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Ruffed grouse | Fall second part | Statewide | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Woodcock | Fall | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Oct 29, 2026 | |
| Pheasant | Fall | Pheasant Zone 1 unit | Oct 10, 2026 | Oct 31, 2026 | |
| Fox and gray squirrel | Private-land season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | |
| Fox and gray squirrel | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Cottontail | Private-land season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | |
| Cottontail | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Snowshoe hare | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Crow | Summer | Statewide | Aug 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Crow | Late winter | Statewide | Feb 1, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Teal | Early teal | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 9, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 1 | North Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 2 | North Zone | Nov 28, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| Waterfowl | Veterans days | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Waterfowl | Youth weekend | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 1 | North Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 1 | North Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Raccoon | Management season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Raccoon | Hunting | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Red and gray fox | Hunting | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Mar 1, 2027 | |
| Coyote | Management season | Statewide | Mar 2, 2026 | Oct 14, 2026 | |
| Coyote | Regular hunting | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Mar 1, 2027 | |
| Bobcat | Hunting | Bobcat Unit A | Jan 1, 2027 | Mar 1, 2027 | |
| Feral swine | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Opossum | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Skunk | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Woodchuck | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
From the Michigan Department of Natural Resources 2026 hunting regulation summaries (deer, bear, elk, turkey, small game, waterfowl and furbearer editions), checked October 22, 2026.
Iron River Ranger District: the full breakdown
County split of Iron River Ranger District:
| County | NFS land |
|---|---|
| Iron | 143,212 |
From the source, USFS EDW, USFS. Checked October 22, 2026.
Iron River Ranger District: parent and sister units
Ottawa National Forest is the parent; 5 more units share it.
Ottawa National Forest: the remaining units
| Name | Kind | Counties | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenton | Ranger district | Houghton, Iron | 211,314 |
| Watersmeet | Ranger district | Gogebic, Ontonagon | 195,088 |
| Bessemer | Ranger district | Gogebic | 158,909 |
| Bergland | Ranger district | Ontonagon, Gogebic | 147,640 |
| Ontonagon | Ranger district | Ontonagon, Houghton | 144,587 |
Iron River Ranger District: reported deer, turkeys and CWD tests nearby
Hunters reported 1,605 deer in Iron County in 2025: 1,028 antlered and 577 antlerless. High year: 2022 at 2,314; low year: 2023 at 1,440. 2026 so far: 216 deer reported, season in progress. Iron County hunters reported 130 spring turkeys in 2026, the first year of mandatory turkey reporting. Harvest and CWD figures describe the county as a whole.
Deer reported near Iron River Ranger District
| Year | Bucks | Antlerless | Deer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026* | 137 | 79 | 216 |
| 2025 | 1,028 | 577 | 1,605 |
| 2024 | 1,136 | 585 | 1,721 |
| 2023 | 946 | 494 | 1,440 |
| 2022 | 1,401 | 913 | 2,314 |
DMU harvest around Iron River Ranger District
Turkey numbers near Iron River Ranger District
| Measure | Turkeys |
|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | 130 |
| Fall 2026, partial | 11 |
| 2025 fall survey | 37 |
| Hunters (2025) | 128 |
Deer from the DNR Harvest Report Summary (mandatory reporting; 2026 season to date); CWD from the DNR CWD testing data; turkeys from the turkey harvest report and the 2025 fall survey. Checked October 22, 2026.
Where to stay and shop on an Iron River Ranger District hunt
Start with a town, then line up a cooler, a processor and a mount.
| Town | County | Miles off | People | Public acres, 10 mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron River | Iron | 12 mi | 3,017 | 33,224 |
| Caspian | Iron | 14 mi | 818 | 22,215 |
| Amasa | Iron | 17 mi | – | 37,321 |
| Watersmeet | Gogebic | 20 mi | – | 148,756 |
County-level pages to read next: Iron County.
Where Iron River Ranger District hunters get a deer cut or mounted
Iron River Ranger District: the nearest agency desks
For Iron County, the DNR points to DNR Baraga Customer Service Center.
Towns and populations from Census 2024 estimates; public acres within 10 miles from the land layers; businesses from store locators and listings (license-only agents left out); offices from DNR, USFS and USFWS pages. Checked October 22, 2026. Call ahead.
Range time before hunting Iron River Ranger District (Ottawa National Forest)
Skoglund-Erickson Shooting Range (Marquette County) is the closest DNR range, 65 miles away. Two closer club ranges follow.
Shoots: handgun, rifle, shotgun, archery
Shoots: sporting clays, 5-stand, shotgun
From the DNR shooting page and its range pages, checked October 22, 2026.
Opening and closing minutes for Iron River Ranger District by zone
The DNR hunting-time map splits the state into Zones A to D from east to west. Each step west adds 6 minutes to the Zone A times below. These are Central Time figures for Iron River Ranger District.
| Date | Season point | Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | Archery opener | 5:59 a.m. to 6:46 p.m. | 6:05 a.m. to 6:52 p.m. | 6:11 a.m. to 6:58 p.m. | 6:17 a.m. to 7:04 p.m. |
| Oct 15, 2026 | Independence Hunt | 6:15 a.m. to 6:24 p.m. | 6:21 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. | 6:27 a.m. to 6:36 p.m. | 6:33 a.m. to 6:42 p.m. |
| Nov 15, 2026 | Firearm opener | 5:53 a.m. to 4:48 p.m. | 5:59 a.m. to 4:54 p.m. | 6:05 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. | 6:11 a.m. to 5:06 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Firearm close | 6:11 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. | 6:17 a.m. to 4:46 p.m. | 6:23 a.m. to 4:52 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 4:58 p.m. |
| Dec 5, 2026 | December hunts | 6:16 a.m. to 4:39 p.m. | 6:22 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. | 6:28 a.m. to 4:51 p.m. | 6:34 a.m. to 4:57 p.m. |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Late archery close | 6:31 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. | 6:37 a.m. to 4:46 p.m. | 6:43 a.m. to 4:52 p.m. | 6:49 a.m. to 4:58 p.m. |
Zone A times from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer hunting hours table, zone offsets from the DNR hunting hours map legend, checked October 22, 2026. Hunting hours for every zone.
Iron River Ranger District FAQ for 2026-27
Is there a second spot near Iron River Ranger District?
Try Gold Mine Grouse Enhanced Management Site (GEMS) (4 miles), Net River Flooding Wildlife Management Area (21 miles) and Deer River Flooding State Wildlife Management Area (24 miles), measured in a straight line.
Which bigger area wraps around Iron River Ranger District?
The records file it under Ottawa National Forest.
What kind of public ground is Iron River Ranger District on paper?
It is a national forest ranger district, run by the USDA Forest Service.
Is Iron River Ranger District large enough for a full day afield?
About 143,212 acres.
Which covered town is closest to Iron River Ranger District?
Base in Iron River, 12 miles away; it lies in Iron County.
What species does the agency name for Iron River Ranger District?
The record lists white-tailed deer, black bear, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, woodcock, snowshoe hare, ducks and geese, squirrels and rabbits and furbearers.
How many antlerless licenses can I use at Iron River Ranger District?
Units: 027, 022 and 036.
Which BMU do I apply for to hunt Iron River Ranger District?
The bear unit is Amasa. The bear drawing uses preference points; Amasa hunt 0007 has a quota of 120.
Is there a fall turkey season at Iron River Ranger District?
Spring unit M, fall unit none.
What duck dates apply at Iron River Ranger District?
The North Zone. Lead shot is not legal for waterfowl.
Can I scatter bait for deer on Iron River Ranger District?
Yes within the 2-gallon UP limit. This county has no positive wild deer on the DNR list.
Does the Aug. 15 to April 30 orange rule cover Iron River Ranger District?
Yes from Aug. 15 to April 30 while taking game, with exceptions for archery deer and bear, turkey and most migratory birds.
When must I report a turkey from Iron River Ranger District?
Turkeys: within 72 hours, online or app (mandatory from 2026).
Heading to Iron River Ranger District? Read this first
Print the Iron River Ranger District map, carry your licenses, and check the agency page the week you go.
Sources for this page: USFS EDW · USFS EDW · USFS: hunting shooting · USFS: offices; regulations from the 2026 Michigan hunting regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Other photos on this page: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); seabamirum (CC BY 2.0).