Hunting and Fishing Near Medora

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Two visitors on the trail at Painted Canyon Overlook, with layered badlands buttes stretching to the horizon under a bright sky

Hunting and fishing around Medora

Yes, you can hunt and fish around Medora. The Little Missouri National Grassland, the U.S. Forest Service land that surrounds the town and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, is open to hunting in North Dakota’s seasons. So are wildlife management areas, Bureau of Land Management parcels, state school trust land and PLOTS walk-in areas. The national park itself is closed to hunting, but the Little Missouri River through it is open to fishing with a state license.

The catch is the patchwork. Public, state and private land sit side by side, often with no fence or sign between them, and each has its own rules. The guide below tells you who manages the ground you stand on, whether you can hunt it, your hunting units and today’s legal shooting hours. It also shows what is open on any date, about 30 lakes, dams and rivers within reach of Medora, and where to buy a license.

T.R. first came to the Badlands in 1883 on a bison hunt. Staying out overnight? See camping on public land.

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Hunting and fishing near Medora: common questions

No. Hunting is not allowed anywhere in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Little Missouri National Grassland around the park is open to hunting, and much of the park boundary has no fence, so know where it is before you hunt next to it.

The Little Missouri National Grassland, about a million acres of U.S. Forest Service land around Medora, is open to hunting in North Dakota’s seasons. So are wildlife management areas such as Bull Creek, Bureau of Land Management parcels, state school trust land on foot, and PLOTS walk-in areas. The guide above shows each on a map; tap any spot to see its rules.

PLOTS stands for Private Land Open To Sportsmen: private tracts enrolled with North Dakota Game and Fish for walk-in hunting during legal seasons and marked with PLOTS signs. You do not need permission to hunt them, but you may not drive on them, and camping, fishing, trapping and target shooting need the owner’s written permission. The tracts change every year.

North Dakota law allows hunting on private land that is not posted, but Game and Fish says it is always best to ask the owner first. Land can be posted with signs or electronically. Hunting posted land without permission is a misdemeanor and costs at least a year of hunting, fishing and trapping privileges. The guide above checks electronic posting for any spot you tap; land posted only with signs does not show on any map.

For upland birds, turkeys and ducks: half an hour before sunrise to sunset. For deer, pronghorn, elk and predators: half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Geese and sandhill cranes end at 2 p.m. on most days early in the season. Deer and pronghorn seasons open at noon Central Time, which is 11 a.m. in Medora. The guide above works out the times for any date.

Yes, except during the first seven days of pheasant season, when nonresidents may not hunt anything on PLOTS or wildlife management areas unless they own the PLOTS land. Nonresident deer bowhunters may hunt only private land, not PLOTS, for the first nine and a half days of the bow season.

Yes, if you are 16 or older. Residents under 16 do not need one, and nonresidents under 16 may fish with a licensed adult. A North Dakota license covers the river inside Theodore Roosevelt National Park too. Channel catfish are the main catch, with some sauger, walleye and northern pike in spring.

Sather Lake on the national grassland has bluegill, largemouth bass and crappie, with a fishing pier and a boat ramp. Camels Hump Lake near Sentinel Butte is stocked with trout. Patterson Lake at Dickinson holds walleye, perch, crappie, catfish and pike. The guide above lists about 30 waters, closest first, with Game and Fish’s own notes on each.

Yes, if you were born after Dec. 31, 1961. You need a hunter education number to buy a North Dakota hunting license. Hunters 12 and older who have not taken the course can get an apprentice validation to hunt small game and deer for one license year.

Not on public land here. On the national grassland, drive only on roads open to vehicles. On wildlife management areas, vehicles stay on constructed roads, established trails and parking areas. PLOTS and state trust land are walk-in only.

Yes. Open the full-screen map while you have a signal and tap “Save this area for offline.” The land records, hunting units, shooting hours and your phone’s GPS then work with no signal. The check for electronically posted land needs a connection.