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Wildlife area · District 1 ground
Mohican River Wildlife Area for Buckeye State hunters
475 acres managed as a state wildlife area in Knox County and Coshocton County.
Photo: Ryan Kitko (CC BY 2.0)
Getting to Mohican River Wildlife Area
Access and conduct rules at Mohican River Wildlife Area
The status layer says restricted, so check which zones of Mohican River Wildlife Area allow hunting.
- Vehicles stay on marked roads and in parking areas.
- No campsites on this property.
- Closing hours apply to hikers, not to legal hunting or trapping.
- Shooting outside a hunt or a designated range is illegal.
- Hunting deer over bait is illegal here.
- No screw-in steps or nails in trees.
- Only two antlerless deer may come from public hunting areas each year.
From the agency page, public hunting area rules; checked November 6, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Mohican River Wildlife Area
Inside the Mohican River Wildlife Area record
This state wildlife area in Knox County and Coshocton County spans 475 acres under the ODNR Division of Wildlife. Walhonding is the reference town: the area sits some 4 miles northwest of it. It belongs to ODNR Wildlife District 1 (Central Ohio), whose office is in Columbus. The listing describes river, grassland, crops, forest and brush on the ground. Activities beyond the hunt: hiking, birding and fishing. Trail types: hunter access. Acquisition began in 1958; the final tract came in 2014. Money came from several state funds and donations. Land tenure in the ODNR layer: owned outright by the state. Ohio rule 1501:31-15-04(A)(1) names it ("Mohican river") as land open to public hunting.
The acreage runs from 475 to 479 depending on the layer; the headline figure is 475.
| Source | Size (ac) |
|---|---|
| ODNR property page | 475 |
| Area map PDF | 479 |
| Property Details layer | 479 |
| Water (Property Details) | 5 |
| Hunting-status layer | 479 |
| GIS parcel area | 478 |
From the ODNR property page, ODNR hunting-status layer, OAC; retrieved 2026-11-05, checked November 6, 2026.
Mohican River Wildlife Area: open seasons for its listed game
ODNR names no particular game for Mohican River Wildlife Area, so the statewide seasons apply; the table shows the common ones. Read the spring turkey rows as 2026 dates.
| Species | Hunt | First day | Last day | Bag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | Archery | Sep 26, 2026 | Feb 7, 2027 | County limit |
| Deer | Youth gun | Nov 21, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | County limit |
| Deer | Gun | Nov 30, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | County limit |
| Deer | Bonus gun | Dec 19, 2026 | Dec 20, 2026 | County limit |
| Deer | Muzzleloader | Jan 2, 2027 | Jan 5, 2027 | County limit |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Oct 1, 2026 | Oct 25, 2026 | 1 turkey |
| Squirrels | Regular | Sep 1, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | 6 daily |
| Cottontail | Regular | Nov 6, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | 4 daily |
| Pheasant | Regular | Nov 6, 2026 | Jan 10, 2027 | 2 roosters daily |
| Cottontail | Youth small game weekend | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 25, 2026 | 4 daily |
| Cottontail | Youth small game weekend | Oct 31, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 4 daily |
| Pheasant | Youth small game weekend | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 25, 2026 | 2 roosters daily |
| Pheasant | Youth small game weekend | Oct 31, 2026 | Nov 1, 2026 | 2 roosters daily |
| Raccoon | Hunting | Nov 10, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | No limit |
| Raccoon | Trapping | Nov 10, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | No limit |
Dates and limits from the 2026-27 hunting seasons list and the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations; species from the record (No species named by ODNR for this area); checked November 6, 2026.
Mohican River Wildlife Area: deer limits and zones by county
Knox County is a 3-deer county for 2026-27. Knox County hunters checked 6,704 deer in 2025-26 (2,539 antlered). So far in 2026-27 (through November 3, 2026) the county shows 1,440.
| County | Deer limit | DSA | Duck zone | Spring turkey | Fall turkey | Deer 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County | 3 deer | No | C | South | Open | 6,704 |
| Coshocton County | 3 deer | No | C | South | Open | 8,527 |
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.
Ohio hunting ground a short drive from Mohican River Wildlife Area
The nearest other public hunting ground is Mohawk Lake Hunt Area, 2 miles off to the southeast. The six nearest places include 2 wildlife areas, 2 public access areas and 1 public hunting area. Closed to hunting nearby: Brinkhaven Oak Barrens Dedicated Nature Preserve (nature preserve), Galehouse Scenic River Land (scenic river land) and Kokosing Scenic River (scenic river land).
| Area | Kind | Acres | County | Miles off | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohawk Lake Hunt Area | Hunting area | 3,667 | Coshocton | 2 miles | southeast |
| Lower Killbuck Creek WA | Wildlife area | 161 | Holmes | 12 miles | northeast |
| Six Mile Dam – Walhonding River Fishing Access | Access area | 24 | Coshocton | 13 miles | southeast |
| Killbuck Walhonding Public Access | Access area | 20 | Coshocton | 14 miles | east |
| Richland County WA 1 | Wildlife area | 89 | Richland | 14 miles | northwest |
| Mohican-Memorial State Forest | State forest | 4,541 | Ashland | 15 miles | northwest |
Point: ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 2 parcels (point inside polygon (centroid falls outside) of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Closed places from the lands.json closed list. Checked November 6, 2026. Statewide public land map.
Where to fuel up and grab ice near Mohican River Wildlife Area
Count on Warsaw, about 11 miles out, for supplies. Of the five, Mount Vernon is the biggest with 17,329 residents (2024 estimate). The nearest ODNR office sits in Warsaw, 11 miles from the point.
| Community | County | Residents | Straight line | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warsaw | Coshocton | 650 | 11 miles | southeast |
| Mount Vernon | Knox | 17,329 | 15 miles | west |
| Loudonville | Ashland | 2,778 | 16 miles | north |
| Millersburg | Holmes | 3,264 | 18 miles | northeast |
| Fredericktown | Knox | 2,658 | 20 miles | west |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); ODNR offices and businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 6, 2026.
Phone numbers and maps for Mohican River Wildlife Area
Wildlife District One staff work from 1500 Dublin Rd, Columbus, OH 43215; phone 614-644-3925. County wildlife officer: Austin Levering, (614) 400-0731. Turn in a poacher at 1-800-POACHER (762-2437).
- Area map PDF (published 5/16/2022) · legend: parking area, parking, trail
- ODNR hunting regulations web map
- Google Maps 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, 2 parcels (point inside polygon (centroid falls outside) of the largest part); checked November 6, 2026.
Sun-up to sundown hunting clock for Mohican River Wildlife Area
Furbearers have no hour limit in Ohio, but in the deer gun and muzzleloader weeks coyote hunting near Mohican River Wildlife Area keeps to deer hours.
| Date | Why it matters | Sunrise | Sunset | Deer window | Ducks and squirrels | Sunrise birds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | Archery deer opens | 7:19 a.m. | 7:21 p.m. | 6:49 a.m. to 7:51 p.m. | 6:49 a.m. to 7:21 p.m. | 7:19 a.m. to 7:21 p.m. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Fall turkey | 7:24 a.m. | 7:13 p.m. | 6:54 a.m. to 7:43 p.m. | 6:54 a.m. to 7:13 p.m. | 7:24 a.m. to 7:13 p.m. |
| Nov 6, 2026 | Rabbit and pheasant | 7:03 a.m. | 5:22 p.m. | 6:33 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. | 6:33 a.m. to 5:22 p.m. | 7:03 a.m. to 5:22 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Deer gun week | 7:31 a.m. | 5:04 p.m. | 7:01 a.m. to 5:34 p.m. | 7:01 a.m. to 5:04 p.m. | 7:31 a.m. to 5:04 p.m. |
| Dec 12, 2026 | Second duck split | 7:42 a.m. | 5:03 p.m. | 7:12 a.m. to 5:33 p.m. | 7:12 a.m. to 5:03 p.m. | 7:42 a.m. to 5:03 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:48 a.m. | 5:05 p.m. | 7:18 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. | 7:18 a.m. to 5:05 p.m. | 7:48 a.m. to 5:05 p.m. |
| Jan 2, 2027 | Muzzleloader | 7:52 a.m. | 5:13 p.m. | 7:22 a.m. to 5:43 p.m. | 7:22 a.m. to 5:13 p.m. | 7:52 a.m. to 5:13 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.
Photo strip: land and game around Mohican River Wildlife Area
Zeroing a slug gun on the way to Mohican River Wildlife Area
Woodbury Wildlife Area Shooting Range is 15 miles from Mohican River Wildlife Area and is the nearest public range on ODNR’s list. The other cards show clubs a 30-mile drive or less away.
From ODNR’s public range list and range pages, ranges’ own pages and directory listings, checked November 6, 2026.
Classes, hunts and dinners near Mohican River Wildlife Area
Ahead: 1. Already held here: 0.
| When | Title | How far | Location | Register or details | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2027 | Knox County DU Annual Banquet · DU dinner, Howard | 7 | Howard, Knox County | Tickets | Source |
Mohican River Wildlife Area, answered one question at a time
How big is the Mohican River Wildlife Area property in acres?
Roughly 475 acres all told. Other sources differ a little; see the acreage table.
Deer bag limit for Mohican River Wildlife Area?
Up to 3, by the county rule. The statewide limit is six, one antlered; public land adds a two-antlerless cap.
Does Mohican River Wildlife Area have lottery hunts?
Not in 2026: hunt it during the open seasons without a draw.
Duck zone and split dates for Mohican River Wildlife Area?
Zone C dates apply: Oct 17 to Oct 25, 2026; Dec 12, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027.
Overnight stays at Mohican River Wildlife Area?
Camping is prohibited.
Can I hang a stand on Mohican River Wildlife Area?
Stands must be portable; bait and feed are prohibited.
When is hunter orange required on Mohican River Wildlife Area?
In gun and muzzleloader seasons: an orange garment, unless you hunt waterfowl.
When is legal shooting light for deer at Mohican River Wildlife Area?
On the gun opener (November 30, 2026): 7:01 a.m. to 5:34 p.m.
What office handles Mohican River Wildlife Area for ODNR?
Try (614) 644-3925.
Which town on this site is nearest to Mohican River Wildlife Area?
Warsaw is the nearest, 11 miles off.
Which parts of Mohican River Wildlife Area allow hunting?
Not all of it: ODNR lists it as restricted, so use the hunting map.
When must I check game taken on Mohican River Wildlife Area?
Deer and turkeys go through the electronic game check by noon the next day.
Do Sunday rules limit hunting at Mohican River Wildlife Area?
Yes; Ohio sets no Sunday ban.
Sign-off notes for Mohican River Wildlife Area hunters
Use this page to plan, then reread the official page for Mohican River Wildlife Area the week before the trip.
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: USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain); YellowstoneNPS (Public domain); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain).