County guide · South Dakota · SD WPAs

Waterfowl Production Areas & Public Hunting Land in Day County, SD

Day County has 49 named Waterfowl Production Areas covering 7,316 acres of federally owned, walk-in public land. The largest is Lardy WPA at 841 acres; the average tract is about 149 acres, and 22 are smaller than 80 acres.

WPAs here are managed by the Waubay Wetland Management District, which sets any district-specific rules (vehicle access, blinds, nontoxic shot, closed areas).

The county covers about 1,090 square miles and has roughly 5,449 residents. WPAs make up about 1.0% of its land area.

County mapAll 49 WPAsDownload KML
49named WPAs
7.3Kacres of WPA land
841largest WPA (ac)
2refuges & districts

Map of WPAs in Day County

Gold outlines are fee-title Waterfowl Production Areas — federally owned public land. Land outside them is almost always private. Switch to satellite to check water conditions and cover, and click any tract for coordinates.

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Waterfowl Production Area (public)County lineRefuge / station Tip: switch to Satellite or USGS Topo in the layer menu · click the map for GPS coordinates
Take every tract with you:KML (Google Earth / onX)GPX waypoints

All Waterfowl Production Areas in Day County

Largest WPAs (acres)
Lardy WPA
841 ac
Augustana WPA
643 ac
E. Hanson WPA
597 ac
Kriech-Lanager WPA
513 ac
Hamman WPA
416 ac
Meuer-Orness WPA
319 ac
Zenk WPA
227 ac
West Storley WPA
198 ac
McCarlson WPA
179 ac
North Taylor WPA
179 ac
South Taylor WPA
160 ac
Hagen WPA
159 ac
How big are the tracts? (number of WPAs by acres)
<40: 88<4040–80: 141440–8080–160: 171780–160160–320: 55160–320320+: 55320+
WPAAcresNearest townGPSGo
Lardy WPA 841 45 mi NW of Watertown 45.48941, -97.52799 Map · Directions
Augustana WPA 643 44 mi E of Aberdeen 45.52576, -97.58726 Map · Directions
E. Hanson WPA 597 44 mi E of Aberdeen 45.48393, -97.57947 Map · Directions
Kriech-Lanager WPA 513 35 mi NW of Watertown 45.29839, -97.55863 Map · Directions
Hamman WPA 416 25 mi N of Watertown 45.25030, -97.25662 Map · Directions
Meuer-Orness WPA 319 38 mi E of Aberdeen 45.40259, -97.70221 Map · Directions
Zenk WPA
222 deeded ac		 227 36 mi NW of Watertown 45.37182, -97.44343 Map · Directions
West Storley WPA 198 42 mi E of Aberdeen 45.57093, -97.63090 Map · Directions
McCarlson WPA 179 46 mi N of Watertown 45.53907, -97.39475 Map · Directions
North Taylor WPA 179 44 mi NW of Watertown 45.46583, -97.52405 Map · Directions
South Taylor WPA 160 43 mi NW of Watertown 45.44043, -97.54068 Map · Directions
Hagen WPA 159 22 mi NW of Watertown 45.17593, -97.34644 Map · Directions
Donat WPA 159 30 mi NW of Watertown 45.29385, -97.40202 Map · Directions
Lundeen WPA 150 35 mi E of Aberdeen 45.33112, -97.78251 Map · Directions
Dulitz WPA 150 31 mi NW of Watertown 45.29568, -97.42256 Map · Directions
Lewno WPA 148 36 mi N of Watertown 45.40071, -97.32569 Map · Directions
Akerson WPA 147 39 mi NW of Watertown 45.34529, -97.61784 Map · Directions
Dolney WPA 134 44 mi E of Aberdeen 45.55696, -97.60011 Map · Directions
Gruba WPA 134 44 mi N of Watertown 45.50620, -97.36836 Map · Directions
Hansen-Johnson WPA 124 41 mi NW of Watertown 45.38619, -97.58888 Map · Directions
Cramer WPA 109 34 mi E of Aberdeen 45.30947, -97.83115 Map · Directions
Rumpca WPA 98 39 mi NW of Watertown 45.40113, -97.50301 Map · Directions
Gonsoir WPA 90 41 mi NW of Watertown 45.44381, -97.46363 Map · Directions
Schmig WPA 82 37 mi NW of Watertown 45.30145, -97.62980 Map · Directions
Holden WPA 81 42 mi E of Aberdeen 45.42053, -97.62511 Map · Directions
Wagner WPA 81 45 mi E of Aberdeen 45.53841, -97.56659 Map · Directions
Lynn Lake WPA 81 40 mi E of Aberdeen 45.44578, -97.66077 Map · Directions
McKane WPA 80 36 mi E of Aberdeen 45.38814, -97.75050 Map · Directions
Fishbeck WPA 79 45 mi E of Aberdeen 45.50396, -97.55380 Map · Directions
Denholm WPA 79 42 mi NW of Watertown 45.44233, -97.50214 Map · Directions
Thompson WPA 79 39 mi SE of Aberdeen 45.18793, -97.79760 Map · Directions
Jensen WPA 76 46 mi E of Aberdeen 45.58660, -97.54847 Map · Directions
East Storley WPA 75 46 mi N of Watertown 45.52468, -97.47201 Map · Directions
Opitz WPA 71 44 mi N of Watertown 45.50253, -97.41343 Map · Directions
Schmit WPA 64 36 mi NW of Watertown 45.18553, -97.74141 Map · Directions
Hilt WPA 62 36 mi NW of Watertown 45.32753, -97.54558 Map · Directions
Eidahl WPA 45 43 mi E of Aberdeen 45.56258, -97.60853 Map · Directions
White WPA 45 44 mi N of Watertown 45.49667, -97.46075 Map · Directions
Bristol Grazing Assn. WPA 44 36 mi SE of Aberdeen 45.18656, -97.85944 Map · Directions
Hawkinson WPA 41 38 mi NW of Watertown 45.37536, -97.51218 Map · Directions
Wika WPA 40 41 mi N of Watertown 45.45578, -97.39407 Map · Directions
U.S.(1c) WPA 40 44 mi E of Aberdeen 45.57460, -97.59497 Map · Directions
Hendrickson WPA 40 43 mi E of Aberdeen 45.48033, -97.60009 Map · Directions
Nicolay WPA 40 37 mi N of Watertown 45.39348, -97.40998 Map · Directions
Bailly WPA 37 43 mi NW of Watertown 45.41149, -97.60989 Map · Directions
Hubsch WPA 32 34 mi NW of Watertown 45.32732, -97.47539 Map · Directions
Peterson WPA 28 39 mi NW of Watertown 45.36151, -97.59335 Map · Directions
H. Hanson WPA 14 35 mi NW of Watertown 45.25354, -97.64369 Map · Directions
Antelope Lake WPA 9.0 32 mi NW of Watertown 45.28115, -97.47835 Map · Directions

Acreage from USFWS realty GIS polygons. Coordinates are a point inside each tract — not necessarily a parking area. Look for designated parking and boundary signs on the ground.

Hunting WPAs in Day County: rules & tips

Typically allowed

  • Hunting waterfowl, upland birds, deer and other game in season under South Dakota regulations
  • Walk-in access from roads and designated parking areas
  • Fishing and trapping where state and district rules allow
  • Wildlife watching, photography and dog training outside restricted periods

Common restrictions

  • No camping, fires or overnight use on most tracts
  • Motor vehicles only on designated roads and parking areas
  • Blinds and portable stands usually removed at the end of each day
  • Nontoxic shot required for waterfowl; many districts require it for all shotgun hunting
  • Some tracts have closed areas, refuge-style rules or seasonal restrictions

Getting to Day County

Distances below are straight-line from the center of the county. Most WPAs are reached by county and township gravel roads — download the GPX file and load it into your phone or GPS before you lose cell coverage.

  • Aberdeen, SD43 mi — county center is E of town
  • Watertown, SD44 mi — county center is NW of town
  • Wahpeton, ND75 mi — county center is SW of town
  • Huron, SD80 mi — county center is N of town

Shooting hours in Day County

Today at Day County

Legal light*–
Sunrise–
Sunset–

*½ hour before sunrise — the standard federal shooting-hour start for migratory game birds. Times in Chicago local time.

Full season calculator →

2026–2027 season sun table

DateShooting lightSunriseSunsetDaylight
Tue, Sep 1, 20266:20 AM6:50 AM8:10 PM13h 20m
Tue, Sep 15, 20266:37 AM7:07 AM7:44 PM12h 37m
Thu, Oct 1, 20266:56 AM7:26 AM7:13 PM11h 46m
Thu, Oct 15, 20267:14 AM7:44 AM6:47 PM11h 02m
Sun, Nov 1, 20266:38 AM7:08 AM5:19 PM10h 11m
Sun, Nov 15, 20266:58 AM7:28 AM5:02 PM9h 34m
Tue, Dec 1, 20267:19 AM7:49 AM4:50 PM9h 01m
Tue, Dec 15, 20267:33 AM8:03 AM4:47 PM8h 45m
Fri, Jan 1, 20277:40 AM8:10 AM4:56 PM8h 47m
Fri, Jan 15, 20277:36 AM8:06 AM5:11 PM9h 05m
Mon, Feb 1, 20277:22 AM7:52 AM5:34 PM9h 43m

Computed for 45.430, -97.605 (CDT / DST-aware). Check state rules — big game hours vary.

7-day forecast for Day County

Loading National Weather Service forecast…

Forecast from the National Weather Service. Wind direction matters — plan your approach downwind of where game beds.

Refuges & districts with land in Day County

Waubay NWR

Day County, SD

1 open1 closed
🦌🎣

4.6K huntable acres

Waubay WMD

Day County, SD

1 open
🦌🦆🦃🐦🕊️🐇🎣

41.1K huntable acres

Refuge hunt units in Day County

UnitRefugeStatusAcres
Hunt UnitWaubay NWROpen4,550
Closed AreaWaubay NWRClosed80

Neighboring counties with WPAs

Source: USFWS Realty Tracts (fee-title interest) and Esri county boundaries. Page updated October 28, 2026.