Itasca County Hunting

Itasca County spreads across 2,668 square miles of land plus 260 of lakes and rivers, governed from Grand Rapids. That ground is shared by some 45,442 residents, near 17 to each square mile. The DNR regional office that covers it sits in Grand Rapids, home of the Northeast Region. Permit area lines decide deer limits here, and the ones that matter are 679, 169, 197, 176, 109, 178 and 110. DNR, Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service polygons add up to about 650,222 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 Itasca County and when

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

By kind, Itasca County public land counts 13 wildlife management areas, 8 scientific and natural areas, 6 ruffed grouse areas and walking trails and 5 aquatic management areas. Forests add 238,831 state forest acres and 319,615 USFS acres by GIS measure. Parks are closed to general hunting; special hunts are the exception.

• National forests, 1 listedChippewa National Forest (659,658 ac*)
• National forest districts, 2Deer River Ranger District, Chippewa National Forest (297,666 ac*), Blackduck Ranger District, Chippewa National Forest (187,217 ac*)
• State forests: 5 on fileBowstring State Forest (115,891 ac*), George Washington State Forest (95,433 ac), Big Fork State Forest (45,186 ac), Blackduck State Forest (41,314 ac*), Golden Anniversary State Forest (1,832 ac)
• Ruffed grouse areas and walking trails, 6 hereStoney Ridge Ruffed Grouse Management Area (3,364 ac), Peloquin Ruffed Grouse Management Area (2,738 ac), Bear River Ruffed Grouse Management Area (1,794 ac*), Third River Ruffed Grouse Management Area (1,086 ac), Cowhorn Ruffed Grouse Management Area (964 ac), Sandstrom Ruffed Grouse Management Area (758 ac)
• Wildlife management areas, 13 hereMorph Meadows Wildlife Management Area (4,894 ac*), Dishpan Wildlife Management Area (1,556 ac), Swan River Deer Yard Wildlife Management Area (909 ac), Prairie Lake Deer Yard Wildlife Management Area (789 ac), Bowstring Deer Yard Wildlife Management Area (771 ac), Sugar Lake Wildlife Management Area (382 ac), Peloquin Wildlife Management Area (322 ac), Bass Brook Wildlife Management Area (300 ac), Trout Lake Eagle Wildlife Management Area (57 ac), Nature's Lake Wildlife Management Area (40 ac), Balsam-Deer Islands Wildlife Management Area (36 ac), Nisbett Island Wildlife Management Area (12 ac), Balsam Island Wildlife Management Area (0 ac)
• State parks with hunts, 2 hereScenic State Park (2,558 ac), McCarthy Beach State Park (1,971 ac*)
• Scientific and natural areas, 8 hereWabu Woods Scientific and Natural Area (145 ac), Lost 40 Scientific and Natural Area (136 ac), Potato Lake Scientific and Natural Area (84 ac), Boltuck-Rice Forever Wild Scientific and Natural Area (77 ac), Little Too Much Lake Scientific and Natural Area (58 ac), Ladies Tresses Swamp Scientific and Natural Area (40 ac), Chisholm Point Island Scientific and Natural Area (28 ac), Mississippi Oxbow Scientific and Natural Area (23 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 5 hereBirds Eye Lake Aquatic Management Area (223 ac), Dixon Lake Aquatic Management Area (86 ac), Bender Aquatic Management Area (50 ac), Crawford Island Aquatic Management Area (35 ac), Johnson Lake Island Aquatic Management Area (4 ac)

* The acreage includes ground in a neighbouring county.

Special deer hunts

Minnesota Forest Legacy Conservation Areas

Over the line

• Schoolcraft State Park20 miles off · 137 ac
• Mud Goose Wildlife Management Area25 miles off · 17,011 ac
• Willow Lake Deer Yard Wildlife Management Area26 miles off · 40 ac
• Remer State Forest28 miles off · 2,469 ac
• Hole in the Bog Peatland Scientific and Natural Area32 miles off · 1,642 ac

Hunting is barred at Bear River Aquatic Management Area, Botany Bog Scientific and Natural Area, Bruce Creek Aquatic Management Area, Morrison Brook Aquatic Management Area, Pancake Creek Aquatic Management Area, Popple River Aquatic Management Area, Sand Creek Aquatic Management Area and Smith Creek Aquatic Management Area and 3 more, 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.

Itasca County shooting time on key dates

Sun times below are calculated for Itasca 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.