---
title: "Public Land: Hunting and Fishing in Delaware"
description: "Located on the Atlantic Costal Plain, only seven percent of Delaware is publicly owned (88,000 acres)."
date: "2013-04-24"
modified: "2013-04-24"
authors:
  - name: "Tony Hansen"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/tony-hansen/"
url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/open-country/2013/04/public-land-hunting-and-fishing-delaware/"
categories:
  - "Conservation"
  - "Fishing"
  - "Hunting"
  - "Public Lands & Waters"
---

# Public Land: Hunting and Fishing in Delaware

![](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/22/UZVFWBZ2J2NK52A7GPY3S5U74Y.jpg>)

Located on the Atlantic Costal Plain, only seven percent of Delaware is publicly owned (88,000 acres).

**[Redden State Forest](<https://dda.delaware.gov/forestry/forest.shtml///>)**

• 9,500 acres

• Delaware’s largest state forest

• Large timbered areas are noted for deer hunting

**[Taber State Forest](<https://dda.delaware.gov/forestry/forest.shtml///>)**

• 1,240 acres

• Popular deer and turkey hunting location

**[Blackbird State Forest](<https://dda.delaware.gov/forestry/forest.shtml///>)**

• 4,800 acres

• 40 miles of trails for access

• Deer and turkey hunting opportunities

Cedar Swamp Wildlife Area

• 5,515 acres

• Area includes mix of open areas, food plots and timber

• Deer and turkey hunting opportunities

**\[Woodland Beach Wildlife Area\](https://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/Hunting/Documents/WMA%20Maps%202012/ WoodlandBeach%20Waterfowl.pdf)**

• 6,320 acres

• Popular for waterfowl hunting

• Offers goose pits and duck blinds

**[Norman G. Wilder Wildlife Area](<https://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/Hunting/Documents/WMA%20Maps%202012/NGW%20Petersburg.pdf/>)**

• 4,418 acres

• Deer and turkey hunting opportunities

• Waterfowl hunting including snow goose opportunities

**[Augustine Wildlife Area](<https://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/Hunting/Documents/WMA%20Maps%202012/augustine%20overview.pdf/>)**

• 2,667 acres

• Made up of three tracts

• Shoreline fishing opportunities as well as deer, turkey, and small game hunting options

Find more public land access opportunities with the [Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Hunt Planner](<https://www.rmef.org/TheHunt/HuntPlanner.aspx/>).

Photo: Taber State Forest

Photo credit: [flickr](<https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5200/5889498426_23bb84707f_b.jpg>)

## Author
Tony Hansen is a contributing writer to Outdoor Life. A Michigan native, he lives in the southern Michigan community where he grew up chasing deer, turkeys, and football-sized smallmouths with the most meaningful catch of his life, his wife, Nichole.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/t.hansen_im2nd?utm_medium=copy_link>)