Buying Hunting Land in Itasca County: What to Know

Buying hunting land in Itasca County usually means a parcel somewhere between 10 and 160 acres, zoned rural residential or forestry, with access ranging from a paved township road to a seasonal trail you maintain yourself. I’m Malcolm Wallaker, and as of August 2026 I tell every buyer to verify access and zoning with Itasca County before writing an offer.

How Much Land Do You Actually Need for Hunting?

This depends more on what you’re hunting than most people expect. For deer and grouse, I see buyers do just fine on 20 to 40 acres, especially if it borders public forest land where the hunting pressure and habitat aren’t fully in your control anyway. For bear or if you want real privacy and room to put in food plots, buyers tend to look at 80 acres and up. Smaller lots near public land can actually work better than a big parcel surrounded by other private owners, because you get more total ground to hunt without paying for all of it.

What Access Issues Come Up With Rural Parcels?

This is where I see the most surprises. Some parcels sit on a maintained township road that gets plowed all winter. Others only connect by a private easement across a neighbor’s land, or by a forest road that the county or DNR does not plow at all. Before you get attached to a piece of land, ask who owns and maintains the road, whether the easement is recorded (not just a handshake with the current owner), and whether you can actually get a truck in there in December. I’ve had buyers assume a trail on a map meant year-round access, and it did not.

How Does Zoning Work on Hunting Land Here?

Most rural Itasca County parcels fall under agricultural or forestry zoning, which is generally permissive for hunting and low-impact use, but rules change by township and by how close you are to water. If the land touches a lake or river, shoreland zoning setbacks kick in and they affect where you can eventually build, clear brush, or put in a septic system. I’m not the person to quote you exact setback numbers or permit fees, because those change and vary by parcel. Call Itasca County Environmental Services or the planning and zoning office directly and get it in writing before you buy.

Should You Buy Land Next to State or County Forest?

There’s a real upside here. Bordering public land gives you access to far more acreage to actually hunt than your deed says you own, and Itasca County has a lot of state and county forest to work with. The tradeoff is you don’t control how that neighboring land gets managed. It could get logged, opened to more hunters, or have gates and access change on the DNR’s schedule, not yours. I tell buyers to think of public-adjacent land as a bonus, not a guarantee, and to base their decision on the acreage they actually own.

What Does Hunting Land Cost Compared to Lake Property?

Hunting land and lake property serve different buyers, and the numbers and access tradeoffs reflect that. Here’s the general shape of it, though you should always call for current listings and pricing since this moves with the market.

Land Type	Typical Acreage	Road Access	Zoning Focus
Land bordering state or county forest	20-80 acres	Often gravel or forest road, sometimes seasonal	Ag/forestry, generally permissive
Land near a lake or chain, like the Wabana Chain guide	5-20 acres	Usually a maintained township road	Shoreland zoning, setbacks apply
Larger tracts near Deer River or Bigfork	40-160+ acres	Mix of township road and private easement	Ag/forestry, verify with county

Lake property tends to cost more per acre because of shoreline demand, while pure hunting land without water access is usually the better value if privacy and acreage matter more to you than a dock.

Which Towns Make Sense as a Home Base?

Cohasset is a good pick if you want acreage but still want a short drive into Grand Rapids for supplies, and I cover that tradeoff more in the Cohasset community guide. Deer River sits about 25 minutes out and works well as a fishing and hunting gateway, close to Bowstring Lake if you want walleye water nearby too. Bigfork is an hour north and it’s the real seclusion play, fewer neighbors, more woods, longer drive for groceries. I go into more detail on that tradeoff in the Bigfork community guide and in the Deer River guide if you’re weighing the two.

Can You Build a Cabin on Hunting Land Later?

A lot of buyers plan to hunt the land for a few years and then put a small cabin on it. That’s realistic, but budget time for it. You’ll need a well and septic permit, a driveway that meets road access standards, and confirmation that the parcel’s zoning allows a dwelling (some ag or forestry parcels have restrictions on structures). If you know upfront that building is part of the plan, tell me before we shop, because it changes which parcels I’ll even show you. I walk buyers moving from out of state through this same planning process in the relocation guide, and it applies just as much to hunting land as it does to a full-time home.

If you want to talk through a specific parcel or figure out what’s actually realistic for your budget and hunting plans, call me, Malcolm Wallaker, at (218) 259-9837.