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Presque Isle County · State park
P.H. Hoeft State Park: where, what and how to hunt
P.H. Hoeft State Park, 200 acres in Presque Isle County: deer units and zones, area rules, county harvest and the land nearby.
Photo: Tony Faiola (CC BY 2.0)
Getting to P.H. Hoeft State Park
Parking, trailheads and gates near P.H. Hoeft State Park
- Parking areaParking · 1.0 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Trail HeadTrailhead · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.6 mi from the centreDirections
- North Trail HeadTrailhead · 2.6 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.8 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.9 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.0 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.
P.H. Hoeft State Park: the record card
P.H. Hoeft State Park counts as a state park with land open to hunting, and it lies in Presque Isle County. Its home region at the DNR is the Northern Lower Peninsula Region. The DNR Parks and Recreation Division sets the rules on site. By acreage (200) it ranks 34th in a group of 37 state parks. Roughly 5 miles northwest of Rogers City.
- By hunting status the park reads 200 open and 144 closed acres.
From the source page (MI DNR Parks Hunting Land Boundary GIS Acres, polygons marked Open or Open-Restricted); region from the DNR wildlife region layer. Checked October 22, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around P.H. Hoeft State Park
Who can hunt P.H. Hoeft State Park, and on what terms
Entry terms, P.H. Hoeft State Park
Hunting and trapping are allowed only in the parts shown open on the DNR park hunting map. A Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry, and 450-foot safety zones surround occupied buildings. State parks start closed under DNR rules; only designated land opens.
- Standard 450' Safety Zones apply around occupied buildings (not shown).
- The park layer marks early goose hunting open (Day After Labor Day – 9/15) in part.
Michigan rules that follow you to P.H. Hoeft State Park
- The DNR stand rule for public land: portable, ID affixed, Sept. 1 to March 1, no nails, screws or bolts.
- From Sept. 1 to the end of deer season blinds are allowed; constructed blinds need ID and are prohibited on game areas, parks and recreation areas in Zone 3.
- From mid-August to the end of April, a hunter orange outer layer is the law in daylight; camouflage counts if half of it is orange. Turkey and waterfowl hunters are exempt.
- Harvest reporting is required for deer and turkey inside 72 hours; failing to report is a civil infraction.
- Firearm hunters keep 150 yards from occupied dwellings, cabins and farm buildings.
- Planting a food plot on public land is not legal.
- This is Lower Peninsula ground, where deer baiting and feeding are banned.
- On public land, bear bait goes on the ground, never in a container.
P.H. Hoeft State Park: licenses to carry
Buy in the Hunt Fish app, at an agent or on eLicense. Every hunter needs the base license; antlerless licenses (up to 10) obey the county or DMU use limit.
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.
P.H. Hoeft State Park and nearby public ground
P.H. Hoeft State Park at the big pin; the nearest 10 public places around it. Between them the nearby tracts list 309,969 acres.
| Public land | Type | Acres | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson's Harbor | State park | 5,399 | 16 mi | southeast |
| Atlanta Forest Management Unit | Forest unit | 291,430 | 20 mi | south |
| Rainey River Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 1,422 | 21 mi | southwest |
| Tomahawk Creek Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 1,144 | 23 mi | southwest |
| Mud Creek Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 18 | 25 mi | west |
| Stoney Creek Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 1,110 | 25 mi | west |
| Lee Grand Ranch | GEMS | 2,436 | 27 mi | west |
| Dog Lake Flooding | Flooding or WMA | 1,665 | 28 mi | southwest |
| Cheboygan | State park | 1,064 | 29 mi | northwest |
| Rockport | Recreation area | 4,281 | 29 mi | southeast |
Points from the DNR wildlife, GEMS, parks, forest, USFS, USFWS and NPS layers (MI DNR Parks Hunting Land Boundary GIS (centroid of hunting-open polygons) (polygon centroid)). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
P.H. Hoeft State Park deer units, bear units and zones
It is Zone 2 ground in the Northern Lower Peninsula. Presque Isle County allows 10 universal antlerless licenses per hunter. Presque Isle County is an early and late antlerless county. For bear the unit is Red Oak; its 2026 hunt 0020 quota is 685. For turkeys it is unit NN (spring) and I (fall); the 2027 spring calendar has not been printed. Waterfowl: Middle Zone, regular duck season Oct 3-Nov 29 and Dec 12-Dec 13. Elk units H and X overlap its counties; elk licenses come by drawing, residents only.
The deer units around P.H. Hoeft State Park
| DMU | Unit name | Antlerless status | Antlerless use limit | APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMU 487 | Northeast Lower Peninsula multicounty | Open | County rule | No APR |
| DMU 071 | Presque Isle county | – | 10 | No APR |
P.H. Hoeft State Park bear units
| Bear unit | Hunts | Quota | Points (res.) | 2025 bears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Oak | 1 hunt | 685 | 9–10 | 282 |
P.H. Hoeft State Park turkey units
| Unit | Reported harvest | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spring NN | 4,156 | All of unit, 2026 |
| Fall I | 822 | Unit-wide, fall to date |
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.
Game you can hunt at P.H. Hoeft State Park
There is no species list for P.H. Hoeft State Park in the sources; the open seasons for its county and units decide what you can hunt.
Seasons for 24 species reach Presque Isle County; White-tailed deer, Black bear, Elk and Wild turkey lead the 44-row table.
Weapon limits on the park layer may restrict some species in practice.
Species from the source (The park hunting layer does not list species; open seasons follow statewide/zone regulations unless a restriction is listed.); bag limits from the DNR regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
P.H. Hoeft State Park openers and closers in one table
Private ground and public ground share these dates in P.H. Hoeft State Park; a state park, refuge or national lakeshore can set its own limits.
| Animal | Segment | Area | Starts | Ends | Open now? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Early antlerless firearm | Listed antlerless county | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 13, 2026 | |
| 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 | December firearm | Lower Peninsula | Dec 4, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Late antlerless firearm | Listed antlerless county | Dec 7, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 (firearm/bait/dogs) | Red Oak BMU | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 22, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Period 1, archery | Red Oak BMU | Oct 2, 2026 | Oct 8, 2026 | |
| Elk | Hunt period 1 | Elk unit X | Sep 23, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 | |
| Elk | Hunt period 2 | Elk unit X/H | Dec 1, 2026 | Dec 15, 2026 | |
| Elk | Hunt period 2 | Elk unit X | Dec 1, 2026 | Dec 15, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Fall unit I | 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 | Zone 2 | Oct 20, 2026 | Nov 14, 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 | Middle Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 2 | Middle Zone | Dec 12, 2026 | Dec 13, 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 | Middle Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 2 | Middle Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Dec 18, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 1 | Middle Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 2 | Middle Zone | Oct 3, 2026 | Dec 18, 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 C | 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.
Lodging, fuel and a processor near P.H. Hoeft State Park
Pick a town for the night, then a processor for the deer.
| Town | County | Miles | Population | Public land near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers City | Presque Isle | 4.7 mi | 2,890 | 7,397 |
| Posen | Presque Isle | 16 mi | 278 | 17,158 |
| Presque Isle Harbor | Presque Isle | 21 mi | – | 13,659 |
| Tower | Cheboygan | 21 mi | – | 95,064 |
Each county here has its own page: Presque Isle County.
Who handles a deer from P.H. Hoeft State Park
Office phone numbers that handle P.H. Hoeft State Park
Licenses and questions for Presque Isle County go through DNR Gaylord 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.
What hunters reported from the county around P.H. Hoeft State Park
2025 in Presque Isle County: 2,113 antlered, 1,517 antlerless, 3,630 in all. The reporting era peaked at 3,837 in 2024 and bottomed at 3,156 in 2023. Season to date (Oct. 22, 2026): 592 deer. With mandatory reporting new in 2026, Presque Isle County logged 50 spring turkeys. These are county or unit totals, not P.H. Hoeft State Park alone; the DNR does not report harvest by property.
Presque Isle County harvest table
| Season | Antlered | Does and fawns | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026* | 194 | 398 | 592 |
| 2025 | 2,113 | 1,517 | 3,630 |
| 2024 | 2,223 | 1,614 | 3,837 |
| 2023 | 1,996 | 1,160 | 3,156 |
| 2022 | 2,044 | 1,324 | 3,368 |
Reported by DMU, P.H. Hoeft State Park
| DMU | Antlered | Antlerless | 2025 total |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMU 071 | 2,113 | 1,517 | 3,630 |
Turkeys reported in Presque Isle County
| Figure | Turkeys |
|---|---|
| Spring 2026 reported | 50 |
| Fall 2026 | 3 |
| Fall 2025 survey | 24 |
| Fall 2025 hunters | 122 |
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.
Nearest ranges to P.H. Hoeft State Park
From P.H. Hoeft State Park, Voyer Lake Shooting Range is the closest range on DNR land (30 miles). Clubs inside 30 miles are included.
Offers 5-stand, rifle, handgun, smallbore rimfire, archery
Offers rifle, air gun
From the DNR shooting page and its range pages, checked October 22, 2026.
P.H. Hoeft State Park hunting-hour table for key season dates
Use the column for the hunting-time zone that covers P.H. Hoeft State Park on the DNR map. Zone D is the far western Upper Peninsula.
| Date | Moment | Zone A hours | Zone B hours | Zone C hours | Zone D hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:59 a.m. to 7:46 p.m. | 7:05 a.m. to 7:52 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 7:58 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 8:04 p.m. |
| Oct 15, 2026 | Independence Hunt | 7:15 a.m. to 7:24 p.m. | 7:21 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. | 7:27 a.m. to 7:36 p.m. | 7:33 a.m. to 7:42 p.m. |
| Nov 15, 2026 | Firearm opener | 6:53 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. | 6:59 a.m. to 5:54 p.m. | 7:05 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 6:06 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Firearm close | 7:11 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 5:46 p.m. | 7:23 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. | 7:29 a.m. to 5:58 p.m. |
| Dec 5, 2026 | December hunts | 7:16 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. | 7:22 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. | 7:28 a.m. to 5:51 p.m. | 7:34 a.m. to 5:57 p.m. |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Late archery close | 7:31 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. | 7:37 a.m. to 5:46 p.m. | 7:43 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. | 7:49 a.m. to 5:58 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.
P.H. Hoeft State Park: quick answers
Do I register a bear from P.H. Hoeft State Park?
Bears go to a DNR registration station within 72 hours for sealing.
When can stands go up at P.H. Hoeft State Park?
No: nothing may penetrate the bark on public land.
What does a license for P.H. Hoeft State Park cost?
Base license, then deer ($20 single, $40 combo) or other species licenses.
What part of P.H. Hoeft State Park can I hunt?
Yes, for vehicle entry. Closed acres: 144.
Where do I go when P.H. Hoeft State Park has too many trucks?
Thompson's Harbor State Park (16 miles), Atlanta Forest Management Unit (State Forest) (20 miles) and Rainey River Flooding Wildlife Management Area (21 miles) all have pages on this site.
Is P.H. Hoeft State Park state or federal ground?
A state park with land open to hunting; the manager is the DNR Parks and Recreation Division.
What is the acreage figure for P.H. Hoeft State Park?
The figure used here is 200 acres.
Which town makes a good base for a P.H. Hoeft State Park hunt?
Presque Isle County; Rogers City, the nearest town we cover, is 5 miles away.
Which seasons count on P.H. Hoeft State Park?
Every open Michigan season applies under the area rules; no list narrows it.
What deer rules apply on P.H. Hoeft State Park?
It lies in DMU 487 and 071. In Presque Isle County a hunter may use up to 10 universal antlerless licenses.
How do I get a bear license for P.H. Hoeft State Park?
Bear unit: Red Oak. Draw a Red Oak license with preference points (2025: 9–10 points for residents).
Which unit do I pick for turkeys at P.H. Hoeft State Park?
The fall license ($15) is for unit I; spring hunts follow unit NN.
What are the waterfowl rules at P.H. Hoeft State Park?
It is Middle Zone ground. Waterfowl hunters need the state waterfowl license, HIP and a federal stamp.
Final word on P.H. Hoeft State Park
Gates, refuges and open zones at P.H. Hoeft State Park are the manager's call; confirm them before opening day.
Sources for this page: DNR GIS · Michigan DNR: rules; regulations from the 2026 Michigan hunting regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Russ (CC BY 2.0); USFWSmidwest (Public domain).