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Where to hunt american woodcock near Superior, Wisconsin

Last updated 2026-09-24 · seasons from WDNR · 2026 season year

There are 18 public units within 40 miles of Superior, Wisconsin that hold ground where american woodcock is recorded — 447,899 acres of it. The most of it is in Douglas County Forest, 3.6 miles out, with 257,697 recorded acres. The season runs September 19, 2026 to November 2, 2026 — 45 days afield, read against the 2026 season year from WDNR. Public-land boundaries here are PAD-US, which records who manages a parcel rather than where the line runs or whether a unit carries a local closure — check with WDNR before you park.

Public land within 40 miles of Superior

Distance is measured to the nearest edge of a unit rather than to its middle, in a straight line — this app carries no road network and will not print a drive time it cannot compute. A unit whose ground reaches inside the circle is listed for the acreage that is inside it, never for its statewide total.

Ordered by recorded acres — how much of each unit lies inside subbasins where american woodcock is recorded at regular strength or better — rather than by how big the unit is. The biggest block in a state is often not in the half of it the bird is in. PAD-US splits a forest into many parcels, so acreage is summed over the unit's name, and the share is measured against the unit's drawn boundary rather than a centroid: a national forest can be two polygons across half a peninsula.

WDNR names no geographic restriction on this season, so no unit is excluded for being outside one.
Season geography here is read off a dates table rather than the rule itself, and a dates table carries no boundary.

UnitClassMilesRecorded acresAcres in rangeWhere the records are
Douglas County Forest part of the unit County forest 3.6 257,697 262,722 63% stronghold, 35% regular, 2% occasional
Bayfield County Forest part of the unit County forest 26.9 68,484 68,484 31% stronghold, 69% regular
Chequamegon National Forest part of the unit National forest 33.5 50,225 50,225 48% stronghold, 52% regular
Brule River State Forest State forest 16 47,143 47,143 6% stronghold, 94% regular
Burnett County Forest part of the unit County forest 36.9 10,969 10,969 100% stronghold
Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area part of the unit State wildlife area 36.9 5,497 5,497 100% stronghold
Washburn County Forest part of the unit County forest 37.7 5,233 5,233 100% stronghold
South Shore of Lake Superior Fish and Wildlife Area - Flag River Unit State wildlife area 32.5 1,047 1,047 100% regular

18 units clear the circle in all and the 8 holding the most recorded ground are named. The rest are ground a reader would drive past something better to reach.

A unit marked part of the unit has ground outside the circle as well, and the acreage here is only what is inside it. PAD-US records who manages a parcel, not where its line runs on the ground and not whether it carries a local closure: context, not permission. Check the unit with WDNR before you park.

Season and limits

WDNR's dates for the 2026 season year, read from WDNR. Wisconsin lists this season as American woodcock.

SegmentOpensClosesDays
Statewide September 19, 2026November 2, 202645
Open today
Open
Bag limit
not shown No single bag limit is shown for this species here — read the notes below and check the current WDNR regulations before you go.
Hunter orange
requiredAt least 50% of clothing above the waist, and any head covering, must be blaze orange or fluorescent pink any time a firearm deer season is in progress. This applies to small game and archery hunters, not only to deer hunters. Waterfowl hunters are exempt.
Shooting hours
not carried

What to walk when you get there

Wet alder runs, damp aspen bottoms and shrub swamp — soft ground the bird can probe for worms. Woodcock cover is often two hundred yards of a creek bottom rather than a whole block of forest.

Hunt the low wet ground inside grouse country, and hunt it again after a cold front: this is a migratory bird and a covert that was empty on Tuesday can hold a flight on Friday. Birds sit tight and flush straight up through the alders.

Written for this app rather than read off an agency page — the cover a bird uses does not change at a state line. Everything above that is a date, a limit or an acreage names the source it came from.

Read next

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