Hiking in NJ During Hunting Season

2011 New Jersey Hunting Season schedules, rules, and resources.

Fall Foliage Reports New Jersey hunting regulations can be confusing. Each park or area can have it's own rules and dates, so you need to check into each park to make sure. Most do allow hunting at least some time during the season - but it may just be for certain dates or areas of the park.

We contacted NJ Fish & Wildlife to see if they have a list of parks that never allow hunting and that would be safe anytime to hike at, but they don't have such a list.

Some Key Dates for the 2011-12 Season

*Sept. 2011 thru Feb. 2012 - Deer.
Dates vary by zone. Bow starts first and runs throughout, then specific date ranges for guns.

The following dates are taken from the Deer Regulation sets across all zones, just to give a broad generalization of all possible deer days across the state.

Nov. 19 (Sat) - Youth Firearm
Nov. 28, 29 (Mon, Tues) - Muzzleloader
Nov. 30 (Wed) - Shotgun

Dec. 12, 13, 17–24, 26–31, 2011 - Muzzleloader

Dec. 1-2, 14–16, 2011 - Shotgun

Jan. 1–31, 2012 - Muzzleloader

Jan. 7–Feb. 11, 2012 - Shotgun

Jan. 1–Feb. 18, 2012 - Winter Bow

*Sat., November 12, 2011: small game firearm season starts
Small game is hunted throughout the year, for info, check here.

Monday Dec. 5 - Saturday Dec. 10, 2011: Six-day Firearm Deer Season, Bear Hunt

NJ Hunting Calendar For Hikers 2011 - We put the above dates in a handy calendar for you to download/print.

New for 2011: Bow Hunting at Cheesequake State Park. This used to be a no-hunting park. Started Sept. 9. A safety of 120' distance on either side of public trails in the park has been imposed. Check the Parks & Forestry page for info. [update 12/23/11 - hunt is over for the season due to reaching their goal; info via signs posted at the park]

There is no need to stop hiking during hunting season, just be aware if there is hunting allowed where you are going. The safest bet is to simply be visible by wearing blaze orange or brightly colored clothing during the entire season.

Tips: Stay on designated hiking traills. Make noise as you hike. Avoid wearing brown/tan or white (deer colors) and have blaze orange visible from all directions.

Photo credit: Gone Hikin'

Sunday Hunting

There is no hunting on SUNDAY in New Jersey EXCEPT for certain Wildlife Management Areas and private lands. This was a NEW change in 2009. In the past, the best option was to limit your hiking to Sundays but now if where you hike is a WMA you need to check the NJ Fish and Wildlife list to make sure your park is ok: Lands Open or Closed to Sunday Bow Hunting.

Be Visible

Wear bright colors or blaze/hunter orange when hiking during hunting season. A hat, vest, jacket, bright backpack etc... and if you hike with a canine companion, you can get a blaze orange dog vest for them. See the side and at the bottom of this page for blaze orange gear.

Some non-hunting park options:

(Rules can change at anytime, contact the specific park if you have questions.)

Wells Mills County Park - Ocean County
**Closed Dec 5 - 10 and Dec 14, 2011 due to firearm hunting in the private land that surrounds the park. Visitor center is still open.**
Pyramid Mountain (some park closures for shotgun hunting here.)
Hacklebarney State Park - day use area (large portion of this park is hunting only)
Watchung Reservation (Union County)
South Mountain
Apshawa Preserve
Ramapo Valley County Reservation - note that the surrounding areas of Ramapo Mountain State Forest and Ringwood State Forest allow hunting
Harriman State Park - just over the northern NJ border, no-hunting in most of the park. **changed in 2009: hunting now allowed west of Rt. 17**
Contact us for ones to add to this list.

Hunting Season Resources for New Jersey Hikers
NJ Deer Hunting Regulation Set - 2011 list of hunting dates. Zones shown here.
NJ Black Bear Hunt Information - December 5-10, 2011
2011 Hunting and Trapping Digest - From NJ Fish & Wildlife, has regulations, zones, season dates etc... a lot of into to weed through
Deer Hunting Dates in NY/NJ 2011 - Info from the NY-NJ Trail Conference.
Public Deer Hunting Land in New Jersey - List of hunting land from NJ Fish & Wildlife
State Parks open to hunting for 2010-2011 - lists parks open to hunting from NJ Parks & Forests. Assuming if the State Park is not on here, there is no hunting at it.
Lands Open or Closed to Sunday Bow Hunting - WMAs and public lands that are still CLOSED to hunting on Sunday
Hunterdon County Hunting - List of hunting dates, parks
Monmouth County Parks - areas open for hunting and zone maps (scroll down page)
Morris County Parks - list of hunting sites and dates; Info for non-hunters. Note that some parks such as Pyramid Mtn, Black River, Schooley's Mtn, are closed for shotgun hunting only on certain dates.
2011 Hunting Seasons on the Appalachian Trail - List by state for the AT
NY Hunting Season Summary - Zone maps with 2011 date ranges for NY.
PA Hunting Season - 2011-12
Safety on the trail during hunting season - article with good some tips