Goodhue County Hunting

Goodhue County spreads across 757 square miles of land plus 23 of lakes and rivers, governed from Red Wing. That ground is shared by some 47,982 residents, near 63 to each square mile. The DNR regional office that covers it sits in St. Paul, home of the Central Region. Permit area lines decide deer limits here, and the ones that matter are 341, 293 and 605. DNR, Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service polygons add up to about 14,774 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 Goodhue County and when

Rows marked with a DPA apply only in that part of Goodhue 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 Goodhue County hunter can walk

By kind, Goodhue County public land counts 11 wildlife management areas, 1 scientific and natural area, 1 state parks with hunt and 1 aquatic management area. Forests add 6,144 state forest acres by GIS measure. Parks are closed to general hunting; special hunts are the exception.

• State forests: 1 on fileRichard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest (48,840 ac*)
• Wildlife management areas, 11 hereGores Pool #3 Wildlife Management Area (7,103 ac*), John Peter Hoffman Spring Brook Valley Wildlife Management Area (395 ac), Perched Valley Wildlife Management Area (247 ac), Warsaw Wildlife Management Area (243 ac), Buck Family Memorial Wildlife Management Area (159 ac), Tiedemann Wildlife Management Area (136 ac), John Murtaugh Memorial Wildlife Management Area (120 ac), Woodbury Wildlife Management Area (114 ac), Roscoe Wildlife Management Area (49 ac), Tangential Wildlife Management Area (26 ac), Espen Island Wildlife Management Area (13 ac)
• State parks with hunts, 1 hereFrontenac State Park (2,644 ac)
• Scientific and natural areas, 1 hereCannon River Turtle Preserve Scientific and Natural Area (906 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 1 hereLittle Cannon River Aquatic Management Area (77 ac)

* The acreage includes ground in a neighbouring county.

Special deer hunts

Over the line

• Prairie Creek Wildlife Management Area17 miles off · 760 ac
• Izaak Walton League Wildlife Management Area18 miles off · 120 ac
• Zumbro Falls Woods Scientific and Natural Area18 miles off · 440 ac
• Prairie Creek Woods Scientific and Natural Area19 miles off · 83 ac
• Nerstrand Big Woods State Park20 miles off · 1,630 ac

Hunting is barred at Bullard Creek Aquatic Management Area, Gemini Aquatic Management Area, Hay Creek Aquatic Management Area, North Fork Zumbro Woods Scientific and Natural Area, River Terrace Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, Spring Creek Aquatic Management Area and Spring Creek Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, so plan around them.

All land pages · WMAs statewide · WIA program · State forests

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.

Goodhue County shooting time on key dates

Sun times below are calculated for Goodhue 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.