DNR 2026 deer hunting preview
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ESCANABA -- The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has published their 2026 deer hunting preview, detailing this year’s hunting season predictions for the Upper Peninsula and reviewing weather conditions within the last year.
How’d it go
The Upper Peninsula experienced a harsh winter for the second year in a row. Deep snow and several late-winter snowstorms delayed spring melt and green-up. These conditions likely affected the deer population, but no major widespread die-offs were reported.
Local wildlife biologists reported that fawn recruitment may be lower than average this spring and summer compared with previous years, but population impacts are expected to be localized rather than dramatic across the region.
Summer weather was dry in some areas but generally favorable for crop growth, with an average to above-average blueberry crop reported. Deer returning to their summer range found an abundance of acorns.
A good U.P. summer should provide a boost for deer in the region, but the difficult winter extending into spring may still result in below-average deer condition and antler development heading into the 2026 hunting season.
What to know
Hunters pursuing an antlered buck in the U.P. with a single deer or combo deer license should familiarize themselves with antler point restrictions (APRs) in the region. Consult the Upper Peninsula APRs section of the 2026 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary, available through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app or in digital versions accessible through our deer page. Review the APR requirements based on the options you have for licenses to purchase and the seasons in which you'll be hunting.
Following several severe U.P. winters, no antlerless deer hunting access permits are being offered for 2026, reducing harvest pressure on antlerless deer. Deer Management Units 351 and 352 have been rescinded.
U.P. hunters can still use universal antlerless licenses to hunt antlerless deer in the southernmost DMUs (022, 055, 121, 122, 155 and 255). The purchase limit remains 10 universal antlerless licenses per hunter, but DMU-level use limits now apply. A map outlining the use limit for each DMU, and for each county in the Lower Peninsula, is provided in the 2026 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary.
The Upper Peninsula muzzleloader season has been reduced from 10 days to three days, running Friday through Sunday on the first weekend in December. The shorter season will reduce harvest and late-season hunting pressure on deer, including during periods when deer may face increased energetic demands and be more vulnerable to harvest while migrating to deer wintering complexes in the U.P.
The Liberty Hunt for youth and hunters with qualifying disabilities occurs the second weekend in September (September 12-13, 2026).
Hunters in the U.P. are allowed to use bait from Sept. 15 through Jan. 1. Bait cannot exceed 2 gallons at a hunting site and must be spread over a minimum 10-foot-by-10-foot area. To minimize potential disease transmission, the DNR recommends not repeatedly placing bait at the same point on the ground and baiting only when actively hunting. Review additional rules in the Baiting section of the 2026 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary in the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app or in digital versions available through links on our deer page.
In 2026, the DNR is not conducting focused CWD collection in the U.P. Hunters interested in testing their deer for CWD may use free lymph node extraction kits, which include overnight shipping. Hunters must extract the lymph nodes themselves and submit them to the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for CWD testing. Results from deer submitted to MSU will be sent directly to the hunter and will not appear on the DNR lab results webpage.
Where to go
Basic information about how to find a place to hunt can benefit people who are new to deer hunting or to a region of the state, as well as seasoned hunters looking for a new area or more details about a favorite hunting location.
Hunters can start by visiting the DNR Where to hunt page. Links are provided to explore state game areas and Hunting Access Program (HAP) lands and to learn about hunting on national forests or Commercial Forest lands.
Hunters can use the MiHunt mapping application accessed from that page to identify hunting lands (with approximate boundaries of all types of lands open to public hunting), hunting unit boundaries (like Deer Management Units), Michigan DNR parking areas and boat access sites, and forest types with stand size/age and density for State Forest lands. MiHunt may be used from a computer or a mobile device to scout new hunting areas or explore more details about any site of interest, and if location services are available and enabled on your device you can view your current location.
The public lands page is another source of information on the approximately 4.6 million acres of public lands stewarded by the DNR.
For each region, additional considerations are provided below regarding how deer distribution, hunting opportunities and accessibility may vary across the area.