Home › Ohio › Public land › Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
Wildlife area in Jackson County, Ohio
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area hunting, rules and county limits
A 5,744-acre Ohio state wildlife area in Jackson County.
Photo: Dan Keck (CC0 1.0)
Getting to Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
Parking, trailheads and gates near Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
- Parking areaParking · 0.5 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 0.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 1.5 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 1.6 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.2 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.1 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
Getting to know the Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area ground
At 5,744 acres, Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area is a state wildlife area in Jackson County; the ODNR Division of Wildlife looks after it. Look roughly 4 miles northeast of Oak Hill on the map. The Division of Wildlife handles it from its Athens office (District 4, Southeast Ohio). Cover on the property page: woods, grassland, streams, wetlands, ponds and brush. Other uses listed: hiking, birding and fishing; trails are marked as hiking trails and hunter access. The state started assembling it in 1953 and kept buying through 2009, with several state funds, donations and Wildlife Restoration money. The hunting layer shows the parcels as owned outright by the state. The administrative code lists it under 1501:31-15-04(A)(1), written "Cooper hollow".
Pick your number: 5,727 acres at the low end, 5,905 at the high end, by source.
| Source | Acres |
|---|---|
| ODNR property page | 5,744 |
| Property Details layer | 5,727 |
| Water (Property Details) | 60 |
| Hunting-status layer | 5,905 |
| GIS parcel area | 5,768 |
From the ODNR property page, ODNR hunting-status layer, OAC; retrieved 2026-11-05, checked November 6, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area hunting rules, line by line
ODNR marks every parcel of Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area open to hunting.
- Park in designated spots; off-road driving is illegal.
- Leave the tent at home: no camping here.
- Night closure (8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in fall and winter) does not apply to hunters and trappers.
- Plinking is not allowed outside the designated ranges.
- Leave the corn at home: no bait on public land.
- Stands: portable, no devices driven into the bark.
- Two antlerless deer at most from all public hunting areas in a license year.
- Certain hunts are drawn by lottery.
From the agency page, public hunting area rules; checked November 6, 2026.
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area: 2026 controlled hunting
1 drawing cover Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area this year: 1 trapping. Each application costs $3 and is non-refundable; apply at wildohio.gov, in HuntFish OH or by phone. Trapping lotteries are drawn in person on October 3, 2026 at the five district offices.
| No. | Hunt name | Type | Application | Packet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2836 | Cooper Hollow WA beaver/otter trapping | Trapping | In person, Oct. 3 | packet |
Hunts from the ODNR controlled hunting access lotteries page and the 2026-27 regulations, pp. 26-27; checked November 6, 2026.
Hunting calendar matched to Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
The sources name trapping and dove on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area; the table shows the 2026-27 dates for that game.
| Quarry | Season | Start | End | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mink | Trapping | Nov 10, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | No limit |
| Muskrat | Trapping | Nov 10, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | No limit |
| Beaver | Trapping | Dec 26, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | No limit |
| River otter | Trapping | Dec 26, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | 1 of the 3 |
| Mourning dove | Dove | Sep 1, 2026 | Nov 8, 2026 | 15 daily |
| Mourning dove | Dove | Dec 12, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | 15 daily |
Dates and limits from the 2026-27 hunting seasons list and the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations; species from the record (controlled hunt lotteries); checked November 6, 2026.
Extras for hunters at Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
Dove fields planted on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
ODNR plants 2 fields for doves on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area, roughly 12 acres. None needs a lottery permit; bring your license and HIP.
| Field | Acres | Status | Planting |
|---|---|---|---|
| A13 | 5.9 | Non-Controlled / Cover-Corn Attractant-Wheat & Millet | – |
| L40 | 5.8 | Non-Controlled / Cover-Corn Attractant- Wheat&Millet | – |
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area range
Sight in on site: class D. A class D range has no permit fee.
| Range | Class | Type or contact | Supervised trap/skeet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area | D | Archery | No |
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area accessible hunting
Mobility-impaired access: vehicle use on designated roads with the permit.
From the ODNR dove fields layer, range list; checked November 6, 2026.
County limits that apply on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
Deer bag in Jackson County: 2, with a single antlered deer allowed across Ohio. ODNR counted 2,643 deer in Jackson County for 2025-26, 1,494 of them antlerless. The 2026-27 count stood at 625 on November 3, 2026.
| County | Limit | DSA | Zone | Spring | Fall turkey | 2025-26 deer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County | 2 deer | No | C | South | Open | 2,643 |
From the deer bag limit map, DSA, waterfowl zones, turkey zones, 2025-26 deer harvest report, harvest to date (ODNR Division of Wildlife); checked November 6, 2026.
Public hunting land within reach of Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
Drive 5 miles west and the next public tract is Jackson Lake State Park. Around it on the map: 5 wildlife areas and 1 state park. Within 15 miles but not open to hunters: Jackson Lake Wildlife Area (no open parcels), Baker Swamp State Nature Preserve (nature preserve) and Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve (nature preserve).
| Nearby | Type | Acres | County | Miles | Heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Lake State Park | State park | 106 | Jackson | 5 miles | west |
| Tycoon Lake Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 684 | Gallia | 8 miles | east |
| Broken ARO Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 2,914 | Jackson | 8 miles | north |
| Flint Run Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 567 | Jackson | 9 miles | north |
| Samuels Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 83 | Gallia | 10 miles | east |
| Coalton Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 1,760 | Jackson | 14 miles | northwest |
Point: ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 1 parcel (polygon centroid of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Closed places from the lands.json closed list. Checked November 6, 2026. Statewide public land map.
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area maps, address and officers
For permits and questions try the Wildlife District Four office, 740-589-9930. The Jackson County wildlife officer is Ted Witham, (614) 563-4138. Anonymous tip line: 1-800-POACHER. Printed on the map: ponds freeze over. Woodcock hunting is increasing in popularity. Raccoon hunting is good. Printed on the map: ores in Michigan and Minnesota brought Ohio’s iron industry to an end.
- Area map PDF · legend: headquarters, parking, accessible, waterfowl hunting, trail, wetland, brushland, woodland
- ODNR hunting regulations web map
- Map pin
Address and phone from the agency page and the ODNR Property Details layer; district offices from the ODNR Districts layer; officers from the officer list; point from ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 1 parcel (polygon centroid of the largest part); checked November 6, 2026.
Towns and outfitters a short drive from Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
From the point, Oak Hill sits 4 miles away. A bigger stop is Jackson, population 6,226. For face-to-face help, the Oak Hill ODNR office lies under a mile away as the crow flies.
| Place | County | Population | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Hill | Jackson | 1,404 | 4 miles | southwest |
| Jackson | Jackson | 6,226 | 11 miles | northwest |
| Wellston | Jackson | 5,493 | 13 miles | north |
| Coalton | Jackson | 444 | 14 miles | northwest |
| South Webster | Scioto | 651 | 15 miles | southwest |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); ODNR offices and businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 6, 2026.
Gun-week light and other opener times on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
ODNR prints no sunrise table and points hunters to its app, the NOAA calculator and the Naval Observatory; the times for Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area below are worked out with the NOAA solar formula for its own location.
| Date | Opener | Sunrise | Sunset | Big game | Duck window | Pheasant window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | Archery deer opens | 7:20 a.m. | 7:23 p.m. | 6:50 a.m. to 7:53 p.m. | 6:50 a.m. to 7:23 p.m. | 7:20 a.m. to 7:23 p.m. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Fall turkey | 7:25 a.m. | 7:15 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. | 7:25 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. |
| Nov 6, 2026 | Rabbit and pheasant | 7:02 a.m. | 5:26 p.m. | 6:32 a.m. to 5:56 p.m. | 6:32 a.m. to 5:26 p.m. | 7:02 a.m. to 5:26 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Deer gun week | 7:28 a.m. | 5:09 p.m. | 6:58 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. | 6:58 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. | 7:28 a.m. to 5:09 p.m. |
| Dec 12, 2026 | Second duck split | 7:39 a.m. | 5:08 p.m. | 7:09 a.m. to 5:38 p.m. | 7:09 a.m. to 5:08 p.m. | 7:39 a.m. to 5:08 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:45 a.m. | 5:11 p.m. | 7:15 a.m. to 5:41 p.m. | 7:15 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. | 7:45 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. |
| Jan 2, 2027 | Muzzleloader | 7:49 a.m. | 5:18 p.m. | 7:19 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. | 7:19 a.m. to 5:18 p.m. | 7:49 a.m. to 5:18 p.m. |
Hours rules from the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations; sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Eastern Time); checked November 6, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Field and woods views near Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area: archery range details
ODNR lists Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area Shooting Range on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area; entry is free (Class D).
From ODNR’s public range list and range pages, ranges’ own pages and directory listings, checked November 6, 2026.
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area: what Buckeye hunters keep asking
Is every part of Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area open to hunting?
The whole area is open.
What is the deadline to report a deer from Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
Report deer and turkeys by noon the day after the kill, online, by phone or in the HuntFish OH app.
Can Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area be hunted all seven days?
No statewide Sunday limit applies.
Is any special pass needed to hunt Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
An Ohio hunting license ($19 resident, $180.96 nonresident) plus the permit for your game: deer or turkey permit, fur taker permit, or HIP and stamps for waterfowl. Some hunts here are by lottery permit.
How big is the Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area property in acres?
About 5,744 acres by the main source; other layers are in the acreage table. Different layers give slightly different totals.
What deer limit covers Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
2 deer, the Jackson County limit. Statewide: 6 deer, 1 antlered; public hunting areas: 2 antlerless at most.
Is any hunting at Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area by permit only?
Yes. The 2026 list has 1 (trapping). Applications are $3.
Which zone sets the waterfowl calendar at Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
Zone C. Splits: Oct 17 to Oct 25, 2026; Dec 12, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027.
Where can hunters stay overnight at Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
No. Camping is banned on wildlife areas except at Appalachian Hills, Simco and Woodbury.
Can I leave a tree stand or use bait on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
No bait, and stands must be portable.
Must I wear orange while hunting Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area in winter?
During the youth gun, gun, bonus gun, DSA early gun and muzzleloader seasons, every hunter except waterfowl hunters wears a hunter orange vest, coat, jacket or coveralls.
When does legal deer light start on Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
6:58 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. on November 30, 2026.
Who should I phone about hunting Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area?
The area phone is (740) 589-9930.
Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area: the night-before checklist
Gravel lanes and parking lots can flood or close in wet weather; check access to Cooper Hollow Wildlife Area before the drive.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4 · source 5; seasons from the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Checked November 6, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Dan Keck (CC0 1.0); cuatrok77 (CC BY-SA 2.0); Cindy Sue Causey (CC BY 2.0).