Pennsylvania has one of the richest hunting heritages in the nation, so it makes sense that it would have one of the largest hunting populations in the country. But, in a state where the vast majority of the land is privately owned, there’s also a surprising amount of publicly accessible land to pursue deer, turkeys, black bear and other game species.

Within its borders, the Keystone State has about 28.8 million acres of land. Of that total, according to information from the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), at least 6 million acres are open to public hunting. That equates to more than 20% of the total land in the state, pretty impressive for a heavily populated East Coast state.

The most well-known of the state’s public hunting-land options is the PGC’s State Game Lands (SGL) system, which started in 1920 with a 6,288-acre parcel in Elk County. PGC spokesman Travis Lau said today, there are roughly 1,535,000 acres across 312 game lands, with game lands in every county except Delaware County. Even Philadelphia has an SGL now, with a small, 17-acre parcel opened to bowhunting just this year.

Locally, the Lehigh Valley is home to all or part of three State Game Lands — the 1,314-acre SGL 205 off Route 100 in Lehigh County; the 7,805-acre SGL 168 on the Blue Mountain in Northampton, Carbon and Monroe counties; and the 8,613-acre SGL 217 on the Blue in Lehigh, Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

“Approximately 1,174 acres have been added so far this year, though there are additional acquisitions pending that have been approved but not yet finalized,” Lau said. “We prioritize certain types of properties and acquisitions, including those that fill in indentures to, adjoin or improve access to existing game lands; those where some unique or otherwise important habitat feature or wildlife species exists; and those near population centers or acquired through donation or partnership.

“These are just a few examples, but some of the more common priorities exhibited in properties we acquire.”

In addition to its SGLs, the PGC also partners with private landowners who are willing to open their land to public hunting through a program called the Hunter Access Program. Currently, there are approximately 1.65 million farmland and forest acres open to hunting through this program.

Other public hunting opportunities include about 2.2 million acres of state forest and more than 240,000 acres of state parks managed under the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), as well as the 70,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and 500,000-plus acres in the Allegheny National Forest in the western part of the state.

DCNR spokesman Wesley Robinson said 100 of the 124 state parks are open to public hunting during established hunting seasons. Locally, these include the 1,164-acre Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center near Belfast off Route 33.

It’s important to note that some state parks, especially those in the southeastern part of the state, have special regulations or restrictions when it comes to hunting, so interested individuals need to do their homework before showing up to hunt.

“Hunters should use extreme caution with firearms at all times,” Robinson said. “Other visitors use the parks during hunting seasons. Firearms and archery equipment used for hunting may be uncased and ready for use only in authorized hunting areas during hunting seasons.”

In addition to the above-mentioned programs, there are also other hunting opportunities through township and county parks, as well as land preservation organizations such as The Nature Conservancy. Just one example is Trexler Nature Preserve in the Schnecksville area. Part of Lehigh County parks system, the 1,495-acre preserve provides bowhunting opportunities on some of its land. Other Lehigh County-owned properties like Leaser Lake are also open for hunting, as are a number of parks owned by Northampton County.

While public-land hunting opportunities are plentiful in the state, the number of hunters using public land may surprise some. Every couple of years, the PGC conducts a Hunter Survey that surveys hunters on a variety of topics, one of which is whether they hunt public land, private land or both.

In the 2024 survey, which covered the 2023-24 hunting-license year, some 9,300 hunters were surveyed, with 47% responding. Of those, 56% said they hunted only private land, while 23 percent hunted both public and private. Only 21% of respondents said they hunted public land exclusively.

Statistically, that’s similar to the 2021-22 hunting-license year survey of 6,000 hunters, in which 55% of respondents said they only hunted private land and 16% only hunted public land. For that year, 29% said they hunted both.

If you’re interested in exploring a new piece of public ground this year, it’s easier than ever to get started since there are now so many online resources and apps to assist you. Hunting apps like onX, HuntStand and Spartan Forge are excellent tools since they highlight public- and private-land boundaries, plus provide 2- and 3-D maps and a host of other resources to help with planning your next big- or small-game outing.

The PGC also offers an excellent Mapping Center through pgc.pa.gov that individuals can use to explore its Game Lands system and identify the private properties enrolled in the Hunter Access Program, while the DCNR offers the same for its state forests and parks at dcnr.pa.gov.

If you need a new place to hunt, or your old spot is no longer producing like you’d hoped, don’t forget to explore Pennsylvania’s public-land options. There are more publicly accessible acres out there than you think, and one of these parcels just might lead you to your next trophy or meal for the dinner table.

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