Blue Earth County Hunting

Blue Earth County spreads across 748 square miles of land plus 18 of lakes and rivers, governed from Mankato. That ground is shared by some 70,700 residents, near 95 to each square mile. The DNR regional office that covers it sits in New Ulm, home of the South Region. Permit area lines decide deer limits here, and the ones that matter are 299, 230, 291 and 253. DNR, Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service polygons add up to about 9,559 public acres inside the county.

Land area from the Census 2024 Gazetteer, population from Census Vintage 2024 estimates, region from the DNR county region list, DPAs from the DNR deer permit area layer, public acres from DNR, USFS and USFWS GIS layers (not official acreages). Checked October 28, 2026.

What is open around Blue Earth County and when

Rows marked with a DPA apply only in that part of Blue Earth County; firearms deer runs Nov. 7 to 15 in 200-series areas and Nov. 7 to 22 in the 100 series.

Where a deer permit area line splits the county, check the DNR deer map before you hunt near the line.

From the 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations booklet (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) and the DNR deer permit area map, checked October 28, 2026.

Public ground a Blue Earth County hunter can walk

By kind, Blue Earth County public land counts 19 wildlife management areas, 18 waterfowl production areas, 2 aquatic management areas and 1 state parks with hunt. Some 4,083 acres are WPAs run by the wetland management districts. Parks are closed to general hunting; special hunts are the exception.

• Wetland management districts, 1 hereMinnesota Valley Wetland Management District (8,340 ac*)
• Waterfowl production areas, 18 listedLincoln Waterfowl Production Area (881 ac), Pauley Waterfowl Production Area (663 ac), Howard Farm Waterfowl Production Area (502 ac), Cobb River WPA-Duncanson Waterfowl Production Area (398 ac), Roberts Waterfowl Production Area (279 ac), Watonwan Waterfowl Production Area (275 ac), Robert Kaul Waterfowl Production Area (195 ac), Perch Lake WPA – South Waterfowl Production Area (165 ac), Perch Lake WPA – North Waterfowl Production Area (159 ac), Shelby Waterfowl Production Area (156 ac), Cobb River WPA-Ward Waterfowl Production Area (101 ac), Cobb River WPA-Stradtman Waterfowl Production Area (89 ac), Evans Slough Complex-Ikier Waterfowl Production Area (80 ac), Willow Creek Waterfowl Production Area (80 ac), N/A Waterfowl Production Area (80 ac), Strom Lake Waterfowl Production Area (59 ac), Evans Slough Complex-Marble Waterfowl Production Area (58 ac), MN Pheasants Waterfowl Production Area (28 ac)
• Wildlife management areas, 19 hereGilfillan Lake Wildlife Management Area (559 ac), Stokman Wildlife Management Area (513 ac*), Maple River Wildlife Management Area (492 ac), Lost Marsh Wildlife Management Area (329 ac), O A Vee Memorial Wildlife Management Area (253 ac), Pick Wildlife Management Area (199 ac), Born Wildlife Management Area (185 ac*), Picnic Rock Wildlife Management Area (181 ac), Evans Slough Wildlife Management Area (165 ac), Gary Clancy Wildlife Management Area (162 ac), Hobza Wildlife Management Area (158 ac), George & Elizabeth Lang Wildlife Management Area (134 ac), Lembke Wildlife Management Area (93 ac), Latourelle Wildlife Management Area (83 ac), Cambria Wildlife Management Area (82 ac), Duckhaven Wildlife Management Area (40 ac), Saiki Wildlife Management Area (39 ac), Gage Wildlife Management Area (29 ac), Thompson Slough Wildlife Management Area (27 ac)
• State parks with hunts, 1 hereMinneopa State Park (1,806 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 2 hereBlue Earth River Aquatic Management Area (376 ac*), Ida Lake Aquatic Management Area (172 ac)

* The acreage includes ground in a neighbouring county.

Walk-In Access here

Hunters can walk onto 1 enrolled site in Blue Earth County, near 49 acres, from Sept. 1 to May 31.

• WIA #1001

Special deer hunts

Walk-In Access (WIA) Program

Over the line

• Lura Lake Waterfowl Production Area13 miles off · 24 ac
• Smith Wildlife Management Area14 miles off · 337 ac
• Winnebago Waterfowl Production Area14 miles off · 81 ac
• Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area14 miles off · 3,394 ac
• Maple River Waterfowl Production Area15 miles off · 200 ac

Hunting is barred at Butternut Valley Prairie Scientific and Natural Area and Duck Lake Aquatic Management Area, so plan around them.

All land pages · WMAs statewide · WIA program · WPAs statewide

Units from our Minnesota land list (DNR WMA, SNA, AMA, forest and park pages, USFWS and USFS records); acres by kind from the DNR management units layer, the USFS ownership layer and the USFWS interest layer (GIS measures); Walk-In Access from the DNR Walk-In Access program; special hunts from the booklet special hunt tables. Checked October 28, 2026.

Blue Earth County shooting time on key dates

Sun times below are calculated for Blue Earth County; the big game column adds the half hour after sunset and the bird column stops at sunset.

Times are rounded to the minute.

Hours rule from the DNR booklet shooting hours page; sun times calculated for the county centre (NOAA method, Central Time), checked against U.S. Naval Observatory tables; checked October 28, 2026. Legal hours for every county.