Iowa’s 2026 pheasant season opens Saturday, October 31, and Sac County sits in the part of the state where the birds are. The DNR’s August roadside survey counted 23 birds per route statewide, the second-highest average since 2015, and the upland game biologist who runs that program expects the northwest to hunt about like last year. The public ground is the easy part here. Three wildlife areas add up to more than 2,000 acres, led by Kiowa Marsh, and the county conservation board fills the gaps along the North Raccoon River. Hours run 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the limit is three roosters a day, and nearly every state and federal area in the county needs nontoxic shot.
Key takeaways
- The youth weekend (Iowa residents 15 and under) is October 24 and 25. The regular season runs October 31, 2026 to January 10, 2027.
- Kiowa Marsh (1,080 acres), White Horse Access (613) and Tomahawk Marsh (428) are the big public areas. County land fills in the gaps.
- Bring nontoxic shells. Iowa requires them on every state and federal area in Sac County except White Horse Access and Sac City Access.
- If the dog travels with you, call before you book. One of the county’s hotels takes service animals only.
A while back a Kansas hunter posted on a pheasant hunting forum asking how the public ground was around Sac County and whether he could stay somewhere that would take a young dog. He got a room in Sac City and came anyway. What follows is the answer we would have handed him.
When does pheasant season open in 2026?
The regular rooster season opens Saturday, October 31, and runs through January 10, 2027. Yes, that is Halloween. The youth season comes the weekend before, October 24 and 25, and is open to Iowa residents 15 and younger.
Shooting runs 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day of the season. Three roosters a day, 12 in possession. Quail runs the same weeks plus three more, out to January 31, and gray partridge opens October 10. All of it comes from the DNR’s 2026 to 2027 seasons and limits card. Print it and put it in the truck. You will use it.
How good will the hunting be this year?
Good. The 2026 August roadside survey came in at 23 birds per route statewide. Down from 2025, which was a banner year. Still the second-highest average since 2015, though, and the DNR’s upland game biologist, Todd Bogenschutz, puts the northwest right about where it hunted last year, when the region posted its best count since 2005. Where he expects the biggest drop is the northeast, not the part of the state you are coming to.
What no survey tells you is how much corn is still standing on opening weekend. Some years the combines are still rolling when the season opens, and a rooster with a cornfield to drop into is hard to move. If the harvest runs late and you can only make one trip, wait a week or two and come in then.
Then there is the best opener I know of in this county, and it is in the DNR’s own records. On the 2015 opener, a group of seven hunters worked a restored prairie at the Burrows Pond Complex and had seven roosters in 45 minutes. Pete Hildreth, a DNR wildlife district supervisor who was out there that morning, guessed they saw around 40 pheasants on that 80-acre tract. One morning in one field is not a promise. It is a picture of what restored prairie in this county can hold when it is working.
Where can you hunt public land in Sac County?
Start with the Iowa Hunting Atlas. It carries every acre open to public hunting, and its boundaries beat any map I could draw for you in a blog post. What follows is the way I would sort the ground once you have the atlas open on the truck bed.
Kiowa Marsh
If you have one morning, take this one. Kiowa Marsh is about 1,080 acres of tall and short grass prairie and wetland a couple of miles east of Early. In a 2020 DNR profile its wildlife technician, Jeff Feisel, said a good share of the pheasant hunters who come out here are from the East Coast. He said it does not take the pressure other areas take, and that the hunting is outstanding.
It got that way because a lot of people built it. The Feilmeier family farmed part of this ground for decades before it went public. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, and the Sac and Buena Vista County Pheasants Forever chapters all had a hand in growing it. Roughly a third of the marsh is federal land.
Tomahawk Marsh
Tomahawk is 428 acres just north of Lake View, and the DNR has been pulling trees and reshaping wetlands to bring it back to prairie. When people call the DNR asking where to hunt pheasants near Sac County, this is the area staff send them to.
White Horse Access
White Horse is 613 acres along the Raccoon River, five miles east of Black Hawk Lake. The DNR describes it as about half timber and under 20 percent prairie. I would hunt it for doves and deer before I would count on roosters. It is also one of two state areas in the county where lead shot is legal, which matters if you are hunting everything on one trip.
The Burrows Pond Complex and the Black Hawk Marsh Complex round out the state ground. Find their boundaries on the atlas.
The shot rule
Iowa requires nontoxic shot for all hunting except deer and turkey on every state and federal area in Sac County, with two exceptions: White Horse Access and Sac City Access. The list is in the DNR’s regulations booklet. The simple move is to pack nothing but nontoxic and stop thinking about it.
County conservation areas
The Sac County Conservation Board manages nearly 900 acres of parks, wildlife areas and trails, each with its own page on the county’s parks list. The one I would try first is the North Raccoon River Wildlife Heritage Corridor, 80 acres of floodplain, timber and grass three miles northeast of Nemaha, and the county lists pheasants by name there. Whitetail Woods, 55 acres four miles northwest of Sac City, is worth a look. So are Eden Prairie, 47 acres on the Boyer River between Early and Schaller, and Almer Noyd, 23 acres north of Auburn.
Be honest about what these are. They are small, and they lean toward river timber. They are good for the last hour of light with the dog, and that is about all. Do not build a weekend around them.
A few county rules from the board’s 2026 regulations. Grant and Reiff parks open to firearms from the youth opener through May 1. Hagge Park is bow only. No target shooting anywhere, and there are no trash cans, so carry it out. The one people ask about most: while you are lawfully hunting, hunting dogs can run off leash. The rest of the time the six-foot leash rule applies.
Walk-in private land
Iowa’s Habitat and Access Program pays landowners to improve habitat and open it to walk-in hunting from September 1 to May 31. The tracts are posted and show up on the atlas. Stay inside the signs, leave the truck at the road, and treat the place like it is your own. The program only works if landowners keep signing up, so how you treat it decides whether it is there next year. For any other private ground the rule here is old and simple. Knock on the door and ask.
What do out-of-state hunters need?
A nonresident hunting and habitat license is $144 for adults. If you are here for a long weekend, the five-day version is $90 and covers pheasants, and you buy it online at Go Outdoors Iowa before you leave home. If you were born after January 1, 1972, you need a hunter education certificate, and Iowa takes the one from your home state.
Two more things the DNR presses on before the opener. Wear at least one piece of outer clothing, a hat, a vest, a coat, something, that is at least half solid blaze orange, and the DNR would rather you wear more than that. And if the dog is coming from out of state, carry a health certificate showing its rabies and other vaccinations.
Where can you stay and eat with a bird dog?
There are not many rooms in the county, and opening weekend is the one everybody wants. Book early. The Sac City Motel, 103 Ash Avenue, (712) 662-7109, is a short drive from Kiowa Marsh and the county ground north of town. Call about the dog before you book, because the answer changes the plan. The Cobblestone Inn & Suites in Lake View sits on Black Hawk Lake and includes breakfast, but it takes service animals only, so it is the pick when the dog stays home. Lake View Motel & Suites is on our places to stay page, and Airbnb and Vrbo both list homes in the county. Filter for pets.
The 8 a.m. start leaves room for breakfast in town. In Sac City, Rosie’s Coffee Shop and Hutch’s Cafe are the morning stops, and Cattlemen’s Steakhouse is there for the night after. Fat Guy’s Pub & Grub in Auburn and The Dockit in Lake View are good on the drive back. The full list by town is on our eat and drink page. Hours in small towns shift once summer is out, so check Facebook the night before you go.
What is there to do after 4:30?
Shooting closes at 4:30, and there is still daylight. If you are in Sac City, the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball is at the Museum Village on your way back to the room, and the barn quilts hang on working farms along the county roads. Some of them are probably on the farms you drove past that morning. In Lake View, walk out on the stone piers at Black Hawk Lake before dark. Our guide to things to do in Sac County covers the rest of the evening.
Sac County pheasant hunting FAQ
Do I need nontoxic shot to hunt pheasants in Sac County?
On state and federal land, yes, except at White Horse Access and Sac City Access. Iowa requires it for all hunting except deer and turkey on the rest. Pack only nontoxic and the question is over.
Can I hunt pheasants in Sac County without a guide?
Yes. Between the state wildlife areas, the county areas and the walk-in tracts, there is plenty of public ground to hunt on your own. The Iowa Hunting Atlas shows all of it.
Can my dog run off leash on county land?
While you are lawfully hunting, yes. The Sac County Conservation Board’s rules exempt hunting dogs from the leash requirement. The rest of the time, the six-foot leash rule applies.
When does Iowa pheasant season end?
The rooster season closes January 10, 2027. Quail and gray partridge stay open through January 31.
Is there a short-term license for out-of-state hunters?
Yes. The nonresident five-day hunting and habitat license is $90 and covers pheasants. It does not cover deer or turkey.
If you make the trip, stop in a cafe on the way out of town and tell somebody how the dog did. People here will want to know. And before you come, check the events calendar for what else is going on that weekend.
