The DNR’s Byron Paulsen said good late-season hunting grounds can also be found in Peoria and Tazewell counties, especially in the Illinois River and Mackinaw River corridors.

“Jubilee College State Park (309/446-3758) has good late archery. Mackinaw River State Forest (309/963-4969), Pekin Lake State Forest (309/968-7135) and Spring Lake State Forest (309/968-7135) are open for archery,” Paulsen noted.

Additionally, the Illinois River and Vermilion River bottoms in La Salle County are a prime winter yard for late-season deer. Starved Rock and Matthiessen state parks offer excellent archery access and a muzzleloader program, (815) 667-4726. And Jo Daviess County has exceptional opportunities for late-season hunters, including Mississippi River Pool No. 12, (815) 273-2732, for bowhunters and muzzleloaders. Apple River Canyon State Park, (815) 745-3302, offers all three hunting options.

REGION 2
In regard to overall harvest, Region 2 isn’t in first place, but during the winter, numbers of whitetails find refuge among forest preserves and parks. For the savvy hunter who can find areas open to hunting, the last hurrah can be phenomenal.

DNR biologist Ray Eisbrener said his McHenry County area is a winter bowhunting hotspot.

“Deer habitat includes large blocks of woodland,” Eisbrener said. “In McHenry County, Moraine Hills State Park (815/385-1624) and the McHenry County Conservation District draw numbers of winter deer.”

To the east, Lake County also draws numbers of late whitetail hunters. Forest and marsh areas around Chain-O-Lakes State Park, (847) 587-5512, and Volo Bog State Nature Area, (815) 344-1294, offer archery.

Will County has one of the prominent archery harvests in Illinois, and some of the best access in Region 2. Des Planes Conservation Area, (815) 423-5326, offers good bowhunting in its extensive tracts of grass. Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie, (815) 423-6370, offers archery and muzzleloading.

Grundy County had the highest kill density in the region in 2005. “In farm country, deer make heavy use of ditches, small woodlots, thick fencerows and even patches of tall prairie grass,” said DNR biologist Bob Massey. One of the best overall late-season yards in the region is in Goose Lake Prairie, (815) 943-2899, and Heidecke Lake State Park, (815) 942-6352. Expansive grasslands attract herds of wintering deer. Goose Lake is an antlerless-only hunt, but chances for success are excellent.

On the Kankakee/Grundy County line, Mazonia State Forest at (815) 237-0063 attracts good numbers of deer to the heavy cover of this reclaimed mining area. Slag hills, grass and brush are challenging to hunt, but there’s plenty of deer and some nice bucks, too.

REGION 3
The openness of west-central Illinois isn’t the greatest place to kill a winter whitetail, but within Region 3 are some pockets that provide good late-season deer hunts.

“The best opportunity is at Clinton Lake SRA,” said DNR district biologist Carl Handal. “The area around the lake constitutes about 90 percent of all the viable cover in De Witt County. I’ve walked through the park and kicked up gigantic bucks in the grass plantings. There’s definitely a lot of deer that winter here.” Clinton Lake, (217) 935-8722, offers both archery and muzzleloader hunting.

Darryl Coates, DNR district biologist for Ford, Livingston and McLean counties, said winter deer concentrate in the Mackinaw River corridor of McLean County. “Moraine View State Park (309/724-8032) offers a good late-winter archery program, and the area around Comlara Park (309/726-2022) north of Normal offers limited archery and is literally full of deer in the winter.”