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From the DNR booklet, 2026-27
Minnesota Hunting
2,955 public places from the Red River Valley to the North Shore, all 87 counties, 227 base towns, the 130 deer permit areas with their 2026 designations, every bear, turkey and elk unit and all 105 license rows, each checked against Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sources on October 28, 2026.
Photo: Chad Davis. (CC BY 2.0)
What is open in Minnesota right now
Pulled from the 93 season rows of the 2026-2027 booklet. Deer rows depend on the deer permit area, ducks and geese on the North, Central or South Zone, so check your unit; the Today column reads the date on your own device.
Running on Oct 29, 2026 (20 rows)
| Game | Season | Applies in | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Crow | Crow segment | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Oct 31, 2026 | |
| Wilson's Snipe | Regular | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Mourning Dove | Regular | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| Sora and Virginia Rail | Regular | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 | |
| American Woodcock | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 | |
| Hungarian (Gray) Partridge | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Eastern Cottontail | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Gray Squirrel | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| White-tailed Jackrabbit | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | |
| Ruffed Grouse | Regular | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Sharp-tailed Grouse | Northwest zone | Northwest zone | Sep 19, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Archery | Every DPA but 287 | Sep 19, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Regular ducks | North Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Nov 24, 2026 | |
| Canada Goose | Regular geese | North Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Dec 25, 2026 | |
| Wild Turkey | Fall | Statewide | Oct 3, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | |
| Ring-necked Pheasant | Regular | Statewide | Oct 10, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| American Badger | Hunting (north) | North Furbearer Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 | |
| Raccoon | Hunting (north) | North Furbearer Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 | |
| American Badger | Hunting (south) | South Furbearer Zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 | |
| Raccoon | Hunting (south) | South Furbearer Zone | Oct 24, 2026 | Mar 15, 2027 |
Next ten openers
| Game | Season | Applies in | Opens | Closes | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed Deer | Firearms (100 series) | 100-series DPAs plus 604, 679 and 684 | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Firearms (200 series) | 200-series DPAs plus 338, 341, 605, 642-649, 6 | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Metro firearms | DPA 601 | Nov 7, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Late southeast | DPAs 338, 341, 605, 642-649 | Nov 21, 2026 | Nov 29, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Muzzleloader | Statewide | Nov 28, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed Deer | Late CWD season | DPAs 605, 642, 643, 645-649, 655 | Dec 18, 2026 | Dec 20, 2026 | |
| Snow, Blue and Ross's Geese | Spring light goose | Statewide | Feb 18, 2027 | Apr 30, 2027 | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring period A | Statewide | Apr 14, 2027 | Apr 20, 2027 | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring archery-only | Statewide | Apr 14, 2027 | May 31, 2027 | |
| Wild Turkey | Spring youth | Statewide | Apr 14, 2027 | May 31, 2027 |
Trapping, falconry and no-season rows stay on the season and species pages. Sources: deer seasons, p. 95; 2026 bear regulations; turkey, p. 60; small game, p. 57; waterfowl, p. 48, held up against the DNR text on October 28, 2026.
Public ground open to Minnesota hunters
The DNR counts 1,521 wildlife management areas on about 1,390,000 acres, and they open under the statewide seasons with portable stands taken down each day. Waterfowl production areas hunt under federal rules with nontoxic shot, state parks open only through special hunts or listed portions, and Walk-In Access adds private acres from Sept. 1 to May 31.
| Public land hub | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Wildlife management areas | 1,490 WMAs |
| Waterfowl production areas | 949 WPAs, 7 districts |
| Aquatic management areas | 244 AMAs |
| Scientific and natural areas | 73 on hunting lists |
| State forests | 60 forests |
| Ruffed grouse management areas | 48 areas |
| State parks and SRAs with hunts | 54 with hunting |
| Refuges, national forests, Camp Ripley | 12 refuges, 2 forests |
| Access programs | 5 programs |
| Walk-In Access | Private land, $3 validation |
| Statewide land map | 2,947 pins |
The hub also lists 377 DNR, park and federal places that are closed to hunting, with the reason the manager gives, among them Voyageurs National Park and Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge. Public land hub
Every land page carries its own source links. Sources: DNR WMA page; WMA finder; Walk-In Access, p. 108; federal lands, p. 123, held up against the DNR text on October 28, 2026.
All the Minnesota hunting land we could map
2,947 places with a map point, from Agassiz and the Lake of the Woods bogs to the southeast bluffs and the prairie pothole tracts of the southwest. Larger dots mark the properties of 20,000 acres or more.
Minnesota deer permit areas and other hunting units
Deer rules hang on 130 deer permit areas. Each carries a 2026 designation, from bucks only to a 5-deer limit, and the 100 series gets a longer firearms season than the 200 series. Bear, turkey, elk and prairie chicken run on units of their own, and the waterfowl and furbearer lines follow highways rather than county lines.
| 2026 DPA designation | DPAs |
|---|---|
| Bucks only | 7 |
| Antlerless permit lottery | 32 |
| Either-sex | 24 |
| 2-deer limit | 20 |
| 3-deer limit | 39 |
| 5-deer limit | 8 |
| Unit set | Count |
|---|---|
| Deer permit areas | 130 DPAs |
| Antlerless lottery | 32 DPAs, 8,450 permits |
| CWD management zone | 18 DPAs |
| 2026 surveillance block | 35 DPAs |
| Bear quota areas | 15 areas, 5,330 permits |
| Turkey permit areas | 12 areas |
| Elk zones | 3 zones, 12 licenses |
| Prairie chicken areas | 11 areas, 117 licenses |
| Waterfowl zones | North, Central, South |
| Furbearer zones | North and South |
| State game refuges | 47 refuges |
| Deer season | DPAs | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide firearms | 100 series plus 604, 679, 684 | Nov. 7-22, 2026 |
| Statewide firearms | 200 series plus 338, 341, 605, 642-649, 655, 661, 666, 671, 685 | Nov. 7-15, 2026 |
| Late southeast firearms | DPAs 338, 341, 605, 642-649 | Nov. 21-29, 2026 |
| Metro management zone | DPAs 601 | Nov. 7-29, 2026 |
| Muzzleloader | statewide | Nov. 28-Dec. 13, 2026 |
| Late CWD | DPAs 605, 642, 643, 645-649, 655 | Dec. 18-20, 2026 |
Open all 130 DPA pages, by 2026 designation
Bucks only: 118, 119, 126, 130, 131, 132, 203
Antlerless permit lottery: 104, 107, 109, 110, 111, 133, 153, 154, 155, 156, 169, 171, 172, 173, 176, 177, 178, 181, 197, 199, 234, 237, 238, 259, 270, 272, 274, 278, 280, 282, 297, 298
Either-sex: 114, 117, 159, 208, 235, 246, 250, 251, 252, 253, 258, 260, 269, 275, 284, 286, 287, 288, 294, 295, 296, 666, 679, 684
2-deer limit: 101, 105, 152, 157, 201, 210, 224, 239, 248, 249, 256, 262, 263, 273, 279, 283, 289, 291, 644, 671
3-deer limit: 182, 209, 213, 214, 215, 218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 225, 227, 229, 230, 232, 233, 236, 240, 241, 254, 255, 257, 264, 265, 267, 268, 277, 281, 290, 292, 293, 299, 338, 341, 604, 642, 655, 661, 685
Sources: designations, p. 95; deer series; CWD areas, p. 90; DNR bear page; DNR elk page; prairie chicken page, held up against the DNR text on October 28, 2026.
Minnesota hunting by the numbers
Hunters registered 186,368 deer in 2025, 106,437 of them antlered bucks, and 2,878 bears. Spring 2026 turkey hunters registered 15,258 birds, and the DNR has tested more than 165,000 wild deer for chronic wasting disease since 2002.
Acres are GIS measures of public land polygons summed by county, not official acreages; harvest figures are registered harvest as the DNR publishes it. Sources: 2025 deer harvest report; bear status report; 2026 turkey report; bear permits; lottery quotas; CWD history, held up against the DNR text on October 28, 2026.
66 Minnesota game and protected species
Whitetails in every county, black bears in 15 quota areas and the no-quota area, spring and fall turkey, ducks and geese in three zones, ruffed grouse statewide and sharp-tailed grouse only in the northwest zone. Moose, Gray Wolf, Canada Lynx, Northern Bobwhite and Tundra and Trumpeter Swans have no season, and their pages explain why.
Elk · Moose · Caribou · Pronghorn · Eastern Cottontail · Snowshoe Hare · White-tailed Jackrabbit · Gray Squirrel · Fox Squirrel · Spruce Grouse · Sharp-tailed Grouse · Hungarian (Gray) Partridge · Greater Prairie-Chicken · Northern Bobwhite · Mourning Dove · American Woodcock · Wilson's Snipe · Sora and Virginia Rail · Sandhill Crane · Mergansers · American Coot and Common Gallinule · Canada Goose · Greater White-fronted Goose · Brant · Snow, Blue and Ross's Geese · Tundra and Trumpeter Swans · American Crow · Falconry · Take-a-Kid Weekend · Raccoon · Red Fox · Gray Fox · American Badger · Virginia Opossum · Long-tailed and Short-tailed Weasels · Bobcat · Fisher · American (Pine) Marten · Mink · Muskrat · Beaver · River Otter · Coyote · Striped Skunk · Woodchuck · Red (Pine) Squirrel · North American Porcupine · Plains Pocket Gopher · House Sparrow · European Starling · Common Pigeon · Eurasian Collared-Dove · Chukar · Monk Parakeet · Gray Wolf · Canada Lynx · Cougar · Wolverine · Eastern Spotted Skunk · Turtles and Frogs
Four DNR regions, 87 counties
The DNR runs Minnesota from four regional headquarters in Bemidji, Grand Rapids, St. Paul and New Ulm, with area wildlife offices below them. Pick a county for its deer permit areas and their 2026 designations, bear and turkey units, public land acres and the nearest wildlife office.
Region 1: Northwest: the Red River Valley, the aspen parkland and the northwest lakes
Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Pope, Red Lake, Roseau, Stevens, Traverse, Wadena, Wilkin
Region 2: Northeast: the Arrowhead, the Iron Range and the North Shore
Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Crow Wing, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, Pine, St. Louis
Region 3: Central: the Twin Cities, the St. Croix Valley and the southeast bluff country
Anoka, Benton, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Fillmore, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Olmsted, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wabasha, Washington, Winona, Wright
Region 4: South: the prairie pothole farmland and the Minnesota River Valley
Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Dodge, Faribault, Freeborn, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Sibley, Steele, Swift, Waseca, Watonwan, Yellow Medicine
Regions follow county lines. Sources: DNR regions layer; DNR regions page; DNR wildlife offices, held up against the DNR text on October 28, 2026.
Eight Minnesota rules to know before the opener
Licenses
Residents pay $34 for a firearms deer license and $22 for small game; nonresidents pay $185 and $102.
No more tags
Validate at the kill site in the app or on the paper license, then register within 48 hours for deer and bear and 24 hours for turkey.
Blaze orange or pink
Cap and outer clothing above the waist during the firearms and muzzleloader deer seasons, for every hunter and trapper afield.
Bait and feeding
No hunting deer over bait anywhere; feeding and attractants are banned in 37 counties. Bear baiting opens Aug. 14.
Rifles statewide
The shotgun zone was repealed in 2025, so rifles are legal for deer except in the 13 counties with shotgun-only or partial ordinances.
Legal hours
Deer, bear and elk from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; birds and small game stop at sunset; pheasant opens at 9 a.m.
Draws and deadlines
Declare a lottery DPA by Sept. 10 for an antlerless permit; bear applications closed May 1 for 15 quota areas.
Young hunters
Youth deer season Oct 15-18, 2026, youth waterfowl days Sep 12-13, 2026 and the Take-a-Kid weekend Sep 26-27, 2026.
Sources: license fees, p. 18; validation, p. 28; blaze, p. 39; baiting, p. 82; shotgun ordinances, p. 94; shooting hours, p. 80; lotteries, p. 81; youth, p. 97, held up against the DNR text on October 28, 2026.
Banquets, classes and ranges across Minnesota
80 hunting events are dated from Oct 29, 2026 on, most of them conservation-group banquets and fundraisers, with DNR firearms safety classes and special youth deer hunts in state parks among them. The DNR range finder could not be read, so the range list is built from club and business listings.
| Date | Event | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2026 | Firearms Safety Hybrid Class | Waubun, Mahnomen County | Class |
| Oct 30, 2026 | Wings North Bird Hunt and Rare Bourbon Tasting | Pine City, Pine County | Banquet |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Banning State Park Special Youth Deer Hunt 2026 | Pine County | Youth hunt |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Firearms Safety Hybrid Class | Cambridge, Isanti County | Class |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Kilen Woods State Park Special Youth Deer Hunt 2026 | Jackson County | Youth hunt |
| Oct 31, 2026 | St. Croix State Park Special Youth Deer Hunt 2026 | Pine County | Youth hunt |
Who cuts, mounts and outfits Minnesota hunters
Deer processors
66 listed, 23 of them on the 2026 venison donation list.
Taxidermists
221 shops, 47 of them DNR CWD sampling partners.
Guides and game farms
31 preserves, game farms and guide services.
Gun and bow shops
331 independent gun, archery and outdoor shops.
DNR offices
37 offices: St. Paul, four regional headquarters and 32 area wildlife offices.
All services
One map of every listing, with the near-me sort.
Sources: MDA donation list; DNR CWD partners; DNR license agents; DNR offices, held up against the DNR text on October 28, 2026.
Minnesota hunting questions
Why can nobody hunt Minnesota moose right now?
The law still lists moose as big game, but there is no open season, and caribou and pronghorn are in the same position.
How are Minnesota bear permits handed out?
5,330 quota permits are drawn for 15 bear permit areas; the no-quota area sells licenses over the counter. The season is Sep 1-Oct 18, 2026.
Which Minnesota deer permit areas carry CWD rules?
18 deer permit areas form the CWD management zone; a 35-DPA surveillance block in the southwest has mandatory sampling on Nov. 7-8, 2026.
Who gets to hunt the Minnesota elk herds?
Only with one of 12 lottery licenses for zones 10, 20 and 30 in the northwest; Minnesota residents only.
How many acres of public ground are open to Minnesota hunters?
Public land polygons sum to about 9,183,407 acres by GIS measure: wildlife management areas, state forests, the Superior and Chippewa National Forests, refuges, waterfowl production areas and more. County tax-forfeited land comes on top of that.
What date does the 2026 Minnesota firearms deer opener fall on?
Nov 7, 2026 statewide. It runs to Nov 22, 2026 in the 100 series and to Nov 15, 2026 in the 200 series, with a late southeast season Nov 21-29, 2026 and metro DPA 601 open Nov 7-29, 2026.
Are Minnesota seasons open on Sundays too?
No Sunday restriction appears in the 2026 booklet or chapter 97B; seasons run every day including Sundays.
May a Minnesota deer hunter sit over bait or a feeder?
No. Hunting deer with bait is illegal statewide, and feeding deer or using attractants is banned in 37 counties because of chronic wasting disease.
Does a Minnesota deer license still come with a tag?
No. Since 2026 there are no physical tags; you validate the animal at the kill site in the app or on the paper license, then register it.
What was the 2025 Minnesota deer registration total?
186,368 deer, 106,437 of them antlered bucks. The best year since 2014 in the DNR table is 2017, at 197,768.
Plan a Minnesota season
Start with a county for its deer permit areas, bear and turkey units and public land acres, or with a town for the nearest WMA, a processor and a range down the road.
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