● Ranked from real Illinois data · 2024-25 season
Most huntable public land: counties in Illinois
Illinois counties with the largest share of HUNTABLE public land — state game lands/WMAs, national forest and state/county forest you can hunt without knocking on doors. Parks and permit-only refuges are excluded.
#1Pope Countypublic land you can walk on40% public→#2Alexander Countypublic land you can walk on25.4% public→#3Hardin Countypublic land you can walk on25% public→#4Union Countypublic land you can walk on20.2% public→#5Johnson Countypublic land you can walk on17.1% public→#6Jackson Countypublic land you can walk on16.4% public→#7Cass Countypublic land you can walk on9.9% public→#8Calhoun Countypublic land you can walk on8% public→#9Saline Countypublic land you can walk on8% public→#10Perry Countypublic land you can walk on6.8% public→#11Jersey Countypublic land you can walk on6.2% public→#12Gallatin Countypublic land you can walk on5.6% public→
How this list is ranked
Ranked by huntable public land as a share of the county: state wildlife-agency game lands/WMAs + USGS PAD-US national/state/county forest, unioned and intersected with the Census county boundary in an equal-area projection. National & state parks, military and permit-only refuges are excluded.
Data year: 2024-25 season. Each row links to its full page with every number cited to its agency source. A place missing a signal is never guessed — it simply can't rank.
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