Winona County Hunting

Winona County spreads across 626 square miles of land plus 15 of lakes and rivers, governed from Winona. That ground is shared by some 49,973 residents, near 80 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 645, 646 and 644. DNR, Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service polygons add up to about 36,877 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 Winona County and when

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

By kind, Winona County public land counts 4 wildlife management areas, 2 aquatic management areas, 2 state parks with hunts and 1 scientific and natural area. Forests add 7,284 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, 4 hereWhitewater Wildlife Management Area (27,451 ac*), Schueler Wildlife Management Area (896 ac*), Vermilya Wildlife Management Area (198 ac*), Thorpe Wildlife Management Area (143 ac)
• National wildlife refuges: 1 on fileUpper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Minnesota portion) (19,205 ac*)
• State parks with hunts, 2 hereGreat River Bluffs State Park (2,130 ac), Whitewater State Park (2,042 ac)
• Scientific and natural areas, 1 hereKing's and Queen's Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area (212 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 2 hereCoolridge Creek Aquatic Management Area (49 ac), Coolridge, Hemmingway, PineCreek Aquatic Management Area (4 ac)

* The acreage includes ground in a neighbouring county.

Over the line

• Rush Creek Woods Wildlife Management Area11 miles off · 367 ac
• Rushford Sand Barrens Scientific and Natural Area14 miles off · 214 ac
• Ferndale Ridge Wildlife Management Area15 miles off · 658 ac
• Chisholm Valley Wildlife Management Area16 miles off · 80 ac
• Torkelson Creek Aquatic Management Area17 miles off · 5 ac

Hunting is barred at Ahrensfeld Creek Aquatic Management Area, Cedar Valley Creek Aquatic Management Area, E. Burns Valley Creek Aquatic Management Area, Ferguson Creek Aquatic Management Area, Garvin Brook Aquatic Management Area, Gernander Creek Aquatic Management Area, Little Pickwick Creek Aquatic Management Area and Lower Garvin Brook Aquatic Management Area and 10 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.

Winona County shooting time on key dates

Sun times below are calculated for Winona 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.