Public Hunt LandFINDER

State guide

Public land that may allow hunting in California

255 named public land units in California from PAD-US 4.1: 119 state wildlife & game areas, 41 forests & grasslands, 35 wildlife refuges & WPAs, 19 BLM units, 27 lake & reservoir project lands, 4 state trust / land board tracts, 10 other public land units. The largest are BLM Needles Field Office Public Lands, BLM Barstow Field Office Public Lands, Inyo National Forest.

  • 255listed areas
  • 37.1Macres (approx.)
  • 119state wildlife & game areas
2026 deer season opening dates by state. For California, check the agency link below.

Regulations & licenses: California Department of Fish and Wildlife

This site does not list seasons, bag limits, license or permit rules. Those change every year and differ by area. Check them with the state agency before you go, and confirm the specific area is open to the hunting you plan.

Check regulations with California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Where the listed areas are

State wildlife & game areas (119)Forests & grasslands (41)Wildlife refuges & WPAs (35)BLM public land (19)Lake & reservoir project land (27)State trust land (4)Other public land (10)

One dot per area at its reference point; larger dots are larger areas. Outline: U.S. Census Bureau.

Acres by land type

Forests & grasslands20.9M acBLM land15.0M acState wildlife areas606K acRefuges & WPAs314K acLake & reservoir242K acOther106K acState trust land1,635 ac

Approximate acres for the portion of each unit inside California.

Photos from California public lands

All photo credits

Public-domain photos by U.S. federal agencies, taken in the place named on each card.

All 255 areas, largest first

Acreage is calculated from simplified PAD-US boundaries for the portion inside California. “Access” is the PAD-US public access field, not a statement about hunting. National wildlife refuges are generally coded “restricted” in PAD-US because of seasonal or area closures.

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