Becker County Hunting

With Detroit Lakes as its seat, Becker County takes in 1,315 square miles of the Red River Valley, the aspen parkland and the northwest lakes. Roughly 35,444 people lived here in 2024, 0.7% up on the 2020 base. Its DNR region is the Northwest Region; staff there work out of Bemidji. 7 deer permit areas split the county: 258, 298, 241, 239, 666, 297 and 251. GIS layers count close to 120,288 acres of state and federal ground within the line.

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.

Seasons that reach Becker County

WMAs, state forests and private land share these dates in Becker County; refuges, state parks and special hunts add their own rules.

Lottery DPAs need an antlerless permit for does in the firearm seasons; the DPA pages list the 2026 quota.

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.

WMAs, forests and refuges of Becker County

Open ground in Becker County spans 124 records: 58 waterfowl production areas, 33 aquatic management areas, 23 wildlife management areas and 3 state forests. Forest acreage by GIS: state 36,045. WPAs add near 14,551 acres of prairie wetland ground. Special hunts are the only way into most state parks.

• State forests: 3White Earth State Forest (41,856 ac*), Smoky Hills State Forest (14,916 ac), Two Inlets State Forest (13,833 ac)
• Wetland management districts, 1 listedDetroit Lakes Wetland Management District (51,280 ac*)
• National wildlife refuges: 2Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge (42,649 ac), Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge (3,424 ac)
• State parks with hunts, 1 listedItasca State Park (29,325 ac*)
• Waterfowl production areas, 58Hellicksen Prairie Waterfowl Production Area (1,385 ac), Bay Lake Waterfowl Production Area (950 ac), Anderson Waterfowl Production Area (790 ac*), Donley/Tillman Waterfowl Production Area (642 ac), Kruger Waterfowl Production Area (628 ac), Buchl Waterfowl Production Area (575 ac), Downing Waterfowl Production Area (561 ac*), Seter Waterfowl Production Area (537 ac), Lee Marshes Waterfowl Production Area (480 ac), Matter Waterfowl Production Area (476 ac), Boyer Lake Waterfowl Production Area (473 ac), Lake Park Waterfowl Production Area (424 ac), Balke Lake Waterfowl Production Area (386 ac), Read Waterfowl Production Area (370 ac), Audubon Waterfowl Production Area (364 ac), Jacobson Waterfowl Production Area (362 ac*), Marks Waterfowl Production Area (319 ac), Warling Lake Waterfowl Production Area (283 ac), Brandy Lake Waterfowl Production Area (281 ac), Haverkamp Waterfowl Production Area (258 ac), Pederson Waterfowl Production Area (253 ac), Plum Grove Lake Waterfowl Production Area (250 ac), Seter/Davis Waterfowl Production Area (241 ac), Severson Lake Waterfowl Production Area (230 ac), Axberg Lake Waterfowl Production Area (223 ac), Kent Waterfowl Production Area (200 ac), Ulich Waterfowl Production Area (200 ac), Schouviller Waterfowl Production Area (196 ac), N/A Waterfowl Production Area (181 ac*), Bakken Waterfowl Production Area (180 ac), 28 more listed
• Wildlife management areas, 23 listedHubbel Pond Wildlife Management Area (3,516 ac), Spring Creek Wildlife Management Area (961 ac), Ogema Springs Wildlife Management Area (680 ac), Frank Wildlife Management Area (615 ac), Coburn Wildlife Management Area (400 ac*), Pickerel Wildlife Management Area (321 ac), Callaway Wildlife Management Area (317 ac), Moccasin Wildlife Management Area (294 ac*), Pednor Wildlife Management Area (244 ac), Atlanta Wildlife Management Area (182 ac), Cuba Wildlife Management Area (122 ac), Shelly Island Wildlife Management Area (104 ac), Bruce J. Schwartz Wildlife Management Area (89 ac), Melbye Wildlife Management Area (80 ac), Teiken-dalve Wildlife Management Area (73 ac), Lunde Wildlife Management Area (50 ac), White Earth Wildlife Management Area (43 ac), Pickerel Lake Wildlife Management Area (34 ac*), Audubon Wildlife Management Area (31 ac), Stenseth Wildlife Management Area (27 ac), Gardner Lake Wildlife Management Area (26 ac*), Sugarbush Lake Wildlife Management Area (16 ac), Schultz Lake Wildlife Management Area (7 ac)
• Ruffed grouse areas and walking trails, 2 listedSmoky Hills State Forest Ruffed Grouse Management Area (2,281 ac), Two Inlets State Forest Ruffed Grouse Management Area (1,158 ac)
• Aquatic management areas, 33 listedWhite Earth Aquatic Management Area (401 ac), Straight River Aquatic Management Area (305 ac*), Bullhead Lake Aquatic Management Area (204 ac), Upper Cormorant Aquatic Management Area (131 ac), Toad Lake Aquatic Management Area (115 ac), Detroit Lakes Headquarters Aquatic Management Area (83 ac), Bucks Mill Aquatic Management Area (62 ac), Hungry Lake Aquatic Management Area (61 ac), Elbow Lake Aquatic Management Area (52 ac), Toad River Aquatic Management Area (34 ac*), Long Lake Aquatic Management Area (33 ac), Maud Lake Aquatic Management Area (32 ac), Shell Lake Aquatic Management Area (30 ac), Straight Lake Aquatic Management Area (28 ac), Bog Lake Aquatic Management Area (24 ac), Rock Lake Aquatic Management Area (24 ac), Floyd Lake Aquatic Management Area (23 ac), Bad Medicine Lake Aquatic Management Area (21 ac), Sallie Lake Aquatic Management Area (18 ac), Little Cormorant Lake Aquatic Management Area (14 ac), Monson Lake Aquatic Management Area (10 ac), Pickerel Lake Aquatic Management Area (9 ac), Little Toad Lake Aquatic Management Area (8 ac), Meadow Lake Aquatic Management Area (8 ac), Cotton Lake Aquatic Management Area (8 ac), Little Floyd Lake Aquatic Management Area (6 ac), Lief Lake Aquatic Management Area (6 ac), Middle Cormorant Aquatic Management Area (5 ac), Turtle Lake Aquatic Management Area (5 ac), Twin Lake Aquatic Management Area (3 ac), 3 more listed
• Scientific and natural areas, 1 listedDinner Creek Scientific and Natural Area (243 ac)

* Acres for the whole property, which reaches into another county.

Special hunts here

Skip Bad Medicine Lake – Restricted Use Aquatic Management Area, Big Cormorant Lake – Dudley Farnham/Henry Bolley Aquatic Management Area, Burritt Lake Aquatic Management Area, Dead Horse Creek Aquatic Management Area, Elbow Lake Creek Aquatic Management Area, Greenwater Lake Scientific and Natural Area, Headquarters Waterfowl Production Area and Sucker Creek Aquatic Management Area: they are closed to hunting by rule or by the managing agency.

Public land hub · WMA index · Walk-In Access page · WPA index · All 60 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.

Becker County legal hunting light

Legal light for deer at Becker County brackets sunrise and sunset by 30 minutes; ducks and geese open 30 minutes before sunrise and stop at sunset.

Clock time includes Daylight Saving Time until Nov. 1.

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.