Expanded Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania starts this weekend and continues through December 7, but state parks won’t be open to hunters until later this year. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is taking a phased approach to when and where it will allow Sunday hunting on state lands.
Sunday hunting in most state parks will only be allowed on three Sundays this year: November 16, November 23 and November 30. Some state parks won’t allow any Sunday hunting, including Cherry Springs, Bendigo and Susquehanna state parks.
DCNR is allowing Sunday hunting for all state forests on each Game Commission approved date, starting this weekend. That includes Bald Eagle State Forest, which covers 194,602 acres in Central Pennsylvania, including in Centre, Clinton and Mifflin counties.
Matt Beaver, the district forester at Bald Eagle State Forest, said he isn’t worried about hunters disrupting people trying to enjoy the peacefulness of the forest.
“When I was a kid in my teens, I would hunt this forest," Beaver said. "I grew up in Selinsgrove. You could count a number of the cabins, especially for the first day of deer season that had a gang of hunters at them. Nowadays, I drive through the forest on the first day of hunting season and there’s hardly a soul in those cabins.”
According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, hunting license sales have been gradually dropping both at the state and national level.
But for anyone who is still concerned about coming across hunters in state lands, DCNR says to wear fluorescent orange, stick to established trails, and avoid hiking at dawn and dusk. Beaver also said there are designated safety zones where hunters are not allowed.
In a press release, DCNR said they are phasing the opening of Sunday hunting in state parks to protect the experience of non-hunters and "to give staff time to adjust park operations and communications to ensure visitor safety." DCNR says it will further expand Sunday hunting next year in state parks.
Here's a list of Pennsylvania state parks with hunting restrictions, according to DCNR:
Parks that currently do not allow any hunting are:
- Bendigo
- Buchanan’s Birthplace
- Cherry Springs
- Fort Washington
- Fowlers Hollow
- Hyner View
- Laurel Mountain
- Laurel Summit
- McCall’s Dam
- Memorial Lake
- Milton
- Mont Alto
- Patterson
- Penn Roosevelt
- Poe Paddy
- Point
- Prouty Place
- Ralph Stover
- Ravensburg
- Samuel Lewis
- Sand Bridge
- Shikellamy
- Susquehanna
- Upper Pine Bottom
- Washington Crossing
Parks that allow only mentored youth or controlled hunting are:
- Benjamin Rush
- Neshaminy
- Norristown Farm Park
- Presque Isle
- Tyler
Any state park not listed here will be open for Sunday hunting on November 16, November 23 and November 30.
