Meeker County Hunting

Measured on Census maps, Meeker County holds 608 square miles; Litchfield serves as the county seat. Its 2024 population estimate is 23,491 (+0.4% against 2020). For wildlife business it falls in the DNR South Region, run from New Ulm. The DNR sets deer designations by permit area, and 277, 283, 685, 219 and 284 reach into the county. Public ownership by GIS measure runs near 10,188 acres, overlaps counted once.

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.

Meeker County dates from September to May

Deer dates in Meeker County follow its deer permit areas (277, 283, 685, 219 and 284), not the county line. The 50 rows below come from the 2026-2027 DNR booklet.

Youth, special hunts and lottery permits are on their own pages.

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.

Where the public may hunt around Meeker County

50 public hunting units on our Minnesota list reach into Meeker County; Tyrone Flats Waterfowl Production Area is the largest at 1,281 acres. Federal waterfowl production areas take up some 5,412 acres. Park land is open to hunting only through special hunts.

• Wetland management districts, 1Litchfield Wetland Management District (37,899 ac*)
• Waterfowl production areas, 18 hereTyrone Flats Waterfowl Production Area (1,281 ac), Rosendale Waterfowl Production Area (478 ac), Litchfield Waterfowl Production Area (463 ac), Harvey Waterfowl Production Area (430 ac), Peifer School Waterfowl Production Area (386 ac), Lake Harden Waterfowl Production Area (380 ac), Hanson Lake Waterfowl Production Area (313 ac), Casey Lake Waterfowl Production Area (304 ac), Cedar Mills Waterfowl Production Area (231 ac), Miller Lake Waterfowl Production Area (224 ac), Forest City Waterfowl Production Area (213 ac), Clear Lake Waterfowl Production Area (197 ac), N/A Waterfowl Production Area (175 ac*), Cosmos Waterfowl Production Area (160 ac), Stone Lake Waterfowl Production Area (147 ac), Greenleaf Waterfowl Production Area (80 ac), Acton Waterfowl Production Area (80 ac), Grass Lake Waterfowl Production Area (46 ac)
• Wildlife management areas, 22Kingston Wildlife Management Area (624 ac), Greenleaf Wildlife Management Area (436 ac), Knapp Wildlife Management Area (433 ac*), Madsen Wildlife Management Area (363 ac), Manannah Wildlife Management Area (320 ac), Wieker Wildlife Management Area (305 ac*), Rodewald Wildlife Management Area (291 ac*), Prairie-Big Woods Wildlife Management Area (281 ac), Powers Lake Wildlife Management Area (276 ac), Dr. L. Daniel Frenzel Jr and Virginia Frenzel Wildlife Management Area (240 ac*), Teal Scurry Wildlife Management Area (235 ac), Popular Wildlife Management Area (206 ac), Boon Lake Wildlife Management Area (186 ac*), Thoen Lake Wildlife Management Area (155 ac), Butternut Wildlife Management Area (154 ac), Litchfield Wildlife Management Area (120 ac), Provencher Wildlife Management Area (86 ac), Mahlon W. James Memorial Wildlife Management Area (59 ac), Minnie-Man Wildlife Management Area (41 ac), Acton Wildlife Management Area (40 ac), Hen Haven Wildlife Management Area (40 ac), Grovelund Wildlife Management Area (27 ac)
• State recreation areas, 1 listedGreenleaf Lake State Recreation Area (383 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 8Thompson Lake Aquatic Management Area (54 ac), Koronis Lake Aquatic Management Area (52 ac), North Fork Crow River Aquatic Management Area (44 ac), Minniebelle Lake Aquatic Management Area (16 ac), Cedar Lake Aquatic Management Area (14 ac*), Jennie Lake Aquatic Management Area (6 ac), Dunn's Lake Aquatic Management Area (4 ac), Long Lake Aquatic Management Area (3 ac)

* Multi-county property, total acreage shown.

Walk-In Access sites

Some 203 acres of leased private land (3 sites) are open by Walk-In Access in Meeker County.

• WIA #513
• WIA #717
• WIA #900

Changed sites: Meeker #1086 closed (contract terminated)

Special hunt list

Walk-In Access (WIA) Program

Within the county, Sucker Creek Aquatic Management Area stays shut to hunting.

Land by type · Wildlife management areas · Walk-In Access · Waterfowl production areas

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.

Meeker County legal hunting light

Pheasant hunting starts at 9 a.m. and runs to sunset, early teal runs sunrise to sunset, and big game gets the half hour on each end.

Pheasant hours start at 9 a.m. whatever the sunrise.

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.