● Ranked from real North Carolina data · 2024-25
Most huntable public land: counties in North Carolina
North Carolina 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.
#1Graham Countypublic land you can walk on59.1% public→#2Clay Countypublic land you can walk on47.2% public→#3Macon Countypublic land you can walk on46.6% public→#4Transylvania Countypublic land you can walk on44.2% public→#5Cherokee Countypublic land you can walk on31.2% public→#6McDowell Countypublic land you can walk on25.6% public→#7Jackson Countypublic land you can walk on24.4% public→#8Haywood Countypublic land you can walk on21% public→#9Avery Countypublic land you can walk on19.7% public→#10Madison Countypublic land you can walk on19.2% public→#11Yancey Countypublic land you can walk on19.1% public→#12Burke Countypublic land you can walk on18.9% 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. 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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