Upper Mississippi River NWFR
Houston County, MN
!10 special✕6 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
237K huntable acres
2026–2027 season · updated October 2026
Find public hunting land on America's wildlife refuges
Hunt-unit maps, satellite & topo views, permits, directions and shooting hours for 420 National Wildlife Refuges and 815K acres of walk-in Waterfowl Production Areas — straight from official USFWS data.
56states & territories
420refuges with hunting
1,474open hunt units
92.4Mhuntable acres
815KWPA acres
Closest refuges to you
Where refuge hunting is
All states →Refuges with hunting1+3+6+9+13+
Number of refuges & stations (by headquarters state) that list at least one hunting opportunity. Alaska and Hawaii not to scale. Territories: Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa.
Hunt by game
Season calendar →
Big GameDeer, elk & other big game357 refugesWaterfowlDucks & geese336 refugesWild TurkeySpring & fall turkey232 refugesUpland BirdsPheasant, quail & grouse265 refugesMigratory BirdsDove, woodcock & snipe287 refugesSmall GameSquirrel, rabbit & hare297 refugesFeral & ExoticFeral hogs & exotics135 refuges FishingFresh, tidal & shellfish375 places
Featured refuges for 2026–27
All refuges →Pocosin Lakes NWR
Tyrrell County, NC
!4 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
107K huntable acres
Felsenthal NWR
Union County, AR
!2 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
77.3K huntable acres
Valentine NWR
Cherry County, NE
!2 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
70.9K huntable acres
Bosque del Apache NWR
Socorro County, NM
!5 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
47.6K huntable acres
Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee NWR
Winston County, MS
!2 special✕3 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
44.7K huntable acres
Crab Orchard NWR
Williamson County, IL
!5 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
44.4K huntable acres
Upper Ouachita NWR
Morehouse Parish, LA
!2 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
43.8K huntable acres
Iowa WMD
Kossuth County, IA
✓1 open!3 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
27.5K huntable acres
Chassahowitzka NWR
Citrus County, FL
✓2 open✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
21.8K huntable acres
Kenai NWR
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK
✓2 open!2 special✕1 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🎣
1.9M huntable acres
Leopold WMD
Columbia County, WI
✓1 open✕2 closed
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🐗🎣
13.8K huntable acres
What hunt-unit status means
✓Open
275
Units open to hunting under state seasons and general refuge rules.
!Special regulations
1,199
Open, but with refuge-specific limits — species, dates, weapons, quota permits or access rules.
✕Closed
741
Closed to hunting — sanctuaries, visitor areas and safety zones. Know where they are before you go.
Typical season calendar
AugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJun
🦌 Big Game
🦆 Waterfowl
🦃 Wild Turkey
🐦 Upland Birds
🕊️ Migratory Birds
🐇 Small Game
🐗 Feral & Exotic
Interactive map
Every refuge and WPA on one map with satellite and USGS topo layers.
Shooting hours
Legal light, sunrise and sunset for any spot and date.
Permit finder
187 refuges require a refuge permit — see which and how.
Youth hunts
79 refuges with special youth opportunities.
Insights
Charts on open vs closed acreage, top states and permits.
Guides
How to hunt refuges, WPAs, permits and e-scouting.
Guides for refuge hunters
All guides →How to Hunt National Wildlife Refuges: A Complete Guide
Step-by-step: find a refuge that allows your game, read hunt unit maps, get licenses and permits, and follow refuge-specific rules.
Public-Land Duck Hunting on National Wildlife Refuges: Tactics That Work
How to find ducks, beat the crowds and set up on refuge marshes and WPAs — scouting, timing, small decoy spreads for pressured birds…
Deer Hunting on National Wildlife Refuges: Quota Hunts, Archery Units and Stand Rules
How refuge deer hunts work — lotteries and quota permits, archery-only and muzzleloader units, tree-stand rules, access and tracking —…
Refuge Hunting Near Major U.S. Cities: 30 Metro Areas
Which National Wildlife Refuges with open hunting are within a 90-minute drive of 30 big metro areas — with distances, game and open hunt…
Federal Duck Stamp Explained: Who Needs One, Where to Buy It and Where the Money Goes
Everything waterfowl hunters need to know about the Federal Duck Stamp — who must carry it, signing rules, the E-Stamp, free refuge entry…
Your First Public-Land Hunt: A Step-by-Step Checklist for New Hunters
Hunter education, licenses, choosing a first species, gear, practice, scouting with maps and what to expect on your first day hunting a…
Why WildlifeChase?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes detailed open data every season — which hunt units are open, which need a permit, what game each refuge allows and exactly which land the government owns. It's scattered across GIS layers, PDFs and hundreds of refuge websites. We put it in one place, in plain English, with maps that work on your phone in the field.
Every refuge guide combines the official 2026–2027 hunt-unit map with directions, sunrise and shooting-hour tables, a live forecast and links to the refuge's own regulations — so you can plan a hunt in minutes and then confirm the details with the source. More about us · How we check facts
Browse by state
Alabama 11Alaska 16American Samoa 1Arizona 9Arkansas 14California 41Colorado 11Connecticut 3Delaware 3Florida 31Georgia 12Guam 1Hawaii 10Idaho 7Illinois 13Indiana 3Iowa 9Kansas 4Kentucky 5Louisiana 26Maine 14Maryland 7Massachusetts 15Michigan 12Minnesota 22Mississippi 16Missouri 14Montana 28Nebraska 9Nevada 10New Hampshire 7New Jersey 5New Mexico 11New York 13North Carolina 12North Dakota 35Northern Mariana Islands 2Ohio 4Oklahoma 10Oregon 26Pennsylvania 5Puerto Rico 6Rhode Island 5South Carolina 10South Dakota 13Tennessee 10Texas 21U.S. Minor Outlying Islands 10U.S. Virgin Islands 3Utah 6Vermont 4Virginia 16Washington 30West Virginia 3Wisconsin 13Wyoming 10
Frequently asked questions
Can you hunt on National Wildlife Refuges?
Yes — hunting is allowed on many refuges. In the 2026–2027 USFWS data, 420 of 606 refuges and stations list at least one hunting opportunity, across 1,474 open hunt units. Each refuge sets its own rules on top of state regulations.
What does “Special Regulations Apply” mean?
The unit is open to hunting, but refuge-specific rules apply beyond state regulations — for example limited species, dates or hours, weapon restrictions, quota or lottery permits, or access limits. Check the refuge hunt brochure or 50 CFR Part 32.
Are Waterfowl Production Areas open to public hunting?
Generally yes. WPAs owned in fee title by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are open to hunting, fishing and trapping under state regulations, with some federal restrictions. Conservation easements, however, are private land and are not open to the public.
Do I need a Federal Duck Stamp?
Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older must carry a current Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Duck Stamp), plus their state license and HIP certification.
How current is this information?
Hunt unit data reflects the USFWS National Hunt Units 2026–2027 dataset. Refuge rules can change during the season — always confirm with the refuge before you go.