North Dakota

The Duck Factory. Billions of ducks in the Prairie Pothole region, Badlands mule deer, and open access PLOTS lands.

Public Access & WMAs

Public Lands to Hunt in North Dakota

Official Regulatory Authority

North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF)

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF) provides sportsmen access to millions of acres of prime hunting territory across the Peace Garden State. Access is anchored by North Dakota's flagship Private Land Open To Sportsmen (PLOTS) program, which leases nearly 800,000 private acres for free public walk-in hunting. In addition, North Dakota features more than 230 state Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) covering 215,000 acres, 1 million acres across the Little Missouri National Grassland, and federal Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs). North Dakota is the duck factory of North America and a premier destination for waterfowl, sharp-tailed grouse, pheasants, and trophy deer.

Statewide Walk-In Access | 800,000 Acres

North Dakota PLOTS (Private Land Open To Sportsmen)

Marked by inverted yellow triangle signs, PLOTS provides free walk-in hunting on working farms, ranches, and CRP grasslands. Renowned nationwide for world-class ring-necked pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge, whitetail deer, and waterfowl field-hunting without landowner contact.

Badlands & Clay Buttes | 1.02 Million Acres

Little Missouri National Grassland

The largest national grassland in the United States, surrounding Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. Carved by the Little Missouri River into rugged multicolored clay buttes, juniper coulees, and sagebrush flats. Premier hunting for trophy mule deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and elk.

Sheyenne River Headwaters | 32,890 Acres

Lonetree Wildlife Management Area

The largest state-owned WMA in North Dakota, located in Wells and Sheridan counties. Rolling prairie hills, seasonal wetlands, and woody draws support high densities of sharp-tailed grouse, ring-necked pheasant, mourning dove, whitetail deer, and waterfowl.

Missouri River Delta | 45,000+ Public Acres

Lake Sakakawea & Riverdale Wildlife Management Areas

Encompassing thousands of acres of reservoir bays, marshlands, and dense riparian cottonwood forests along the Missouri River below Garrison Dam. Celebrated for late-season greenhead mallard and Canada goose shoots, alongside trophy whitetail deer and wild turkey hunting.

Souris River Basin | 58,700 Acres

J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge

Stretching 45 miles along the Souris River in McHenry and Bottineau counties. Recognized as one of the most vital waterfowl breeding and staging refuges in the Central Flyway. Designated public hunting areas offer world-class decoy hunting for mallards, pintails, canvasbacks, snow geese, and heavy-racked river whitetails.