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Hunt Urbana Wildlife Area this 2026-27 season
Hunting ground of 547 acres, run as a state wildlife area in Champaign County.
Photo: rklopfer (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Getting to Urbana Wildlife Area
Parking, trailheads and gates near Urbana Wildlife Area
- Parking areaParking · 2.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.6 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.8 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.8 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 3.0 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.
Urbana Wildlife Area by the numbers ODNR keeps
The ODNR Division of Wildlife manages Urbana Wildlife Area, 547 acres of state wildlife area ground in Champaign County. Its ODNR page places the ground about 3 miles north of Urbana. For wildlife work it falls under District 1, run from Columbus. Natural features on record: grassland. ODNR also lists pheasant release here, with hunter access. Hunters have had this ground since the state bought in starting 1930 (through 1998), through state funds. By tenure the ground is owned outright by the state. It appears in OAC 1501:31-15-04(A)(1) as "Urbana", the legal list of public hunting land.
Layers give between 545 and 548 acres, so the table shows each one.
| Measure | Acres |
|---|---|
| Property Details layer | 547 |
| Hunting-status layer | 548 |
| GIS parcel area | 545 |
From the ODNR property page, ODNR hunting-status layer, OAC; retrieved 2026-11-05, checked November 6, 2026.
Lottery permits for Urbana Wildlife Area
The 2026 lottery list has 4 hunts on Urbana Wildlife Area (2 dove, 1 deer gun and 1 pheasant). Entry fee: $3 per hunt, no refunds, one entry each. Lottery deer add to the county limit rather than count against it (one buck rule unchanged).
| No. | Lottery hunt | Game | Window | Packet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2572 | Urbana WA deer hunt | Deer gun | July 1-31 | – |
| 2600 | Urbana WA mentor dove | Dove | July 1-31 | – |
| 2601 | Urbana WA youth dove | Dove | July 1-31 | – |
| 2781 | Urbana WA pheasant | Pheasant | July 1-31 | – |
Hunts from the ODNR controlled hunting access lotteries page and the 2026-27 regulations, pp. 26-27; checked November 6, 2026.
Ground rules for hunting Urbana Wildlife Area
Not all of Urbana Wildlife Area is huntable; the restricted tag points you to the map.
- No driving off the posted roads; park in the lots.
- Camping is prohibited (Appalachian Hills, Simco and Woodbury are the exceptions).
- Closed 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. from September through May 1 to anything but hunting, trapping and fishing.
- Guns may be fired only in lawful hunting, trapping or range use.
- Feed and bait are not allowed.
- Bring a portable stand; permanent stands are illegal.
- The public-area antlerless limit is two per license year.
- Parts of the season need a controlled-hunt permit.
- Permit-only area under the Ohio code.
From the agency page, public hunting area rules; checked November 6, 2026.
What ODNR plants and maintains on Urbana Wildlife Area
Urbana Wildlife Area dove plots and crops
3 dove fields cover about 57 acres here, planted in two-sided, wheat, millet and stakes 1-14. Opening-day hunting on the 3 controlled field(s) is by permit.
| Field | Acres | Status | Planting |
|---|---|---|---|
| A8 future permanent dove field/ food plot | 18 | Controlled | two-sided, stakes 1-14, runs west to east, wheat, millet, sudan grass |
| B3 | 15 | Controlled | two-sided, stakes 1-14, runs north to south, wheat, millet, egyptian wheat |
| D8 Permanent Dove field/food plot | 24 | Controlled | two-sided, stakes 1-15, runs west to east, wheat, millet, egyptian wheat |
Pheasants on Urbana Wildlife Area
The release map shows release fields on Urbana Wildlife Area: 19 field(s), 210 acres. Birds go out for the youth weekends and on November 6, November 14 and November 26.
From the ODNR dove fields layer, pheasant release list; checked November 6, 2026.
Dates and limits for hunting Urbana Wildlife Area
The record pairs Urbana Wildlife Area with deer, dove and pheasant.
| Game | Window | From | To | Daily limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Pheasant | Regular | Nov 6, 2026 | Jan 10, 2027 | 2 roosters 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 |
| 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.
Urbana Wildlife Area: next-nearest open land, by miles
Closest neighbour on the ODNR map: Mad River Wildlife Area, 4 miles southwest. Neighbour mix: 3 wildlife areas and 3 state parks. Do not mistake these for open ground: Owens Fen State Nature Preserve (nature preserve), Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker State Nature Preserve (nature preserve) and Mccracken Fen State Nature Preserve (nature preserve).
| Place | Type | Acres | County | Straight line | Which way |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mad River Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 33 | Champaign | 4 miles | southwest |
| Kiser Lake State Park | State park | 531 | Champaign | 13 miles | west |
| Buck Creek State Park | State park | 1,896 | Clark | 15 miles | south |
| Clark Lake Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 289 | Clark | 17 miles | south |
| Indian Lake State Park | State park | 800 | Logan | 23 miles | north |
| Madison County WA 1 | Wildlife area | 81 | Madison | 27 miles | southeast |
Point: ODNR DNR_Lands_Hunting_Status layer, 1 parcel (polygon centroid). Straight-line distances. Closed places from the lands.json closed list. Checked November 6, 2026. Statewide public land map.
Where Urbana Wildlife Area sits in Ohio's rules
The Champaign County deer limit is 3 this season, only one of them antlered statewide. Final 2025-26 figure for Champaign County: 1,867 deer checked. Through November 3, 2026: 397 deer checked.
| County | Bag | CWD area | Waterfowl | Turkey zone | Fall | Harvest 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champaign County | 3 deer | No | C | South | Open | 1,867 |
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.
Supply towns and ODNR help around Urbana Wildlife Area
Urbana is the closest town on this site to Urbana Wildlife Area, 6 miles in a straight line. For a full grocery run, Springfield (58,138 people) is the pick. ODNR staff closest to Urbana Wildlife Area work out of Urbana, under a mile off.
| Town | County | Pop. 2024 | Miles off | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbana | Champaign | 11,211 | 6 miles | south |
| Bellefontaine | Logan | 14,100 | 12 miles | north |
| Springfield | Clark | 58,138 | 18 miles | south |
| Marysville | Union | 29,276 | 19 miles | east |
| Sidney | Shelby | 20,392 | 25 miles | west |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); ODNR offices and businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 6, 2026.
Urbana Wildlife Area legal-hour chart by opener
Ohio deer hunters may shoot from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; ducks, geese, squirrels and fall turkeys stop at sunset; rabbits, pheasants, quail and doves wait for sunrise.
| When | Event | Rise | Set | Deer | Waterfowl | Small game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 2026 | Archery deer opens | 7:25 a.m. | 7:27 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 7:57 p.m. | 6:55 a.m. to 7:27 p.m. | 7:25 a.m. to 7:27 p.m. |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Fall turkey | 7:30 a.m. | 7:19 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. to 7:49 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. to 7:19 p.m. | 7:30 a.m. to 7:19 p.m. |
| Nov 6, 2026 | Rabbit and pheasant | 7:09 a.m. | 5:28 p.m. | 6:39 a.m. to 5:58 p.m. | 6:39 a.m. to 5:28 p.m. | 7:09 a.m. to 5:28 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Deer gun week | 7:37 a.m. | 5:11 p.m. | 7:07 a.m. to 5:41 p.m. | 7:07 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. | 7:37 a.m. to 5:11 p.m. |
| Dec 12, 2026 | Second duck split | 7:48 a.m. | 5:10 p.m. | 7:18 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. | 7:18 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. | 7:48 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:53 a.m. | 5:12 p.m. | 7:23 a.m. to 5:42 p.m. | 7:23 a.m. to 5:12 p.m. | 7:53 a.m. to 5:12 p.m. |
| Jan 2, 2027 | Muzzleloader | 7:57 a.m. | 5:19 p.m. | 7:27 a.m. to 5:49 p.m. | 7:27 a.m. to 5:19 p.m. | 7:57 a.m. to 5:19 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.
Reaching Urbana Wildlife Area and its managers
Your district office: 1500 Dublin Rd, Columbus, OH 43215, 614-644-3925. The officer assigned to Champaign County is Nick Oliver, (614) 902-4209. Call 1-800-POACHER to report a violation anonymously.
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); checked November 6, 2026.
Hunting events on and around Urbana Wildlife Area
About 10 straight-line miles from here there is 1 date ahead.
| Day | Name | Mi | Place | Next step | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 2027 | Champaign County Ghost Gobblers NWTF Fundraiser · NWTF banquet, Urbana | 6 | Urbana, Champaign County | Tickets | Source |
Images for sizing up a Urbana Wildlife Area hunt
Public range and clubs on the road to Urbana Wildlife Area
Wildlife District 5 Office Shooting Range is 34 miles from Urbana Wildlife Area and is the nearest public range on ODNR’s list. Club and private ranges within 30 miles fill the other cards.
From ODNR’s public range list and range pages, ranges’ own pages and directory listings, checked November 6, 2026.
Common Urbana Wildlife Area questions with sourced answers
Can I apply for a drawn hunt at Urbana Wildlife Area?
ODNR lists 4: dove, deer gun and pheasant. Each costs $3 to enter.
Which county deer limit applies to Urbana Wildlife Area?
Champaign County allows 3. Remember the one-antlered rule and the two-antlerless public land cap.
May I camp while hunting Urbana Wildlife Area?
No overnight camping.
When can ducks be hunted on Urbana Wildlife Area this year?
Ducks in Zone C open Oct 17 to Oct 25, 2026; Dec 12, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027.
Hunter orange rules for Urbana Wildlife Area in deer season?
A hunter orange vest or coat during the gun deer seasons; no square-inch rule.
Stand and bait rules for Urbana Wildlife Area?
Portable stands only, with nothing driven into the tree, and no bait: deer baiting is illegal on public hunting areas.
Which number reaches the Urbana Wildlife Area managers?
614-644-3925 reaches the managers.
What are deer hunting hours at Urbana Wildlife Area on the gun opener?
Deer hours run 7:07 a.m. to 5:41 p.m. on November 30, 2026, worked out for this spot.
Can I hunt doves on planted fields at Urbana Wildlife Area?
Yes, 3 managed dove field(s).
Where is Urbana Wildlife Area relative to the nearest town?
Urbana, 6 miles away in a straight line.
Is hunting restricted anywhere on Urbana Wildlife Area?
Parts are closed or limited; carry the map.
Pheasant hunting at Urbana Wildlife Area?
Pheasants are stocked here.
Does Ohio law allow Sunday hunts on Urbana Wildlife Area?
Sunday is a normal hunting day in Ohio.
Urbana Wildlife Area trip, last details
Report your deer or turkey by noon the next day, and keep your license and permits on you while hunting Urbana Wildlife Area.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4; seasons from the 2026-27 Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Checked November 6, 2026.
Other photos on this page: Cindy Sue Causey (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); ImagePerson (CC BY 4.0).