Saratoga Spa State Park Announces Deer Hunting Season
(Saratoga Springs, NY) – The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) will open an undeveloped section of Saratoga Spa State Park to white-tailed deer hunting for the 2026-27 season as part of a deer management program. The program allows permitted bow and crossbow white-tailed deer hunting within a roughly 600-acre section of the park south of East-West Road within the city of Saratoga Springs and the town of Malta. The park will issue 15 permits for the initial hunting season from October 13, 2026, through January 1, 2027.
Hunters are required to receive a park-specific hunting permit, in addition to their New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)-issued hunting license, to hunt at the park. Applications for the park-specific hunting permit will be available at the park office, 19 Roosevelt Dr., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, from September 8 through September 22, 8:30am-4pm. Applications will be accepted until 4pm Tuesday, September 22. A randomized lottery system will be used to select which 15 applicants receive permits to ensure all applications have an equal chance of being selected.
The hunting area will be posted with signage, and hunting will not be permitted within 250-feet of any building, road, parking lot, or neighboring private property. Portable tree stands are permitted during the hunting season, provided hunters do not damage trees or other vegetation. Building or using permanent tree stands is prohibited. No overnight camping is permitted within the park. All other OPRHP rules and regulations apply.
The park’s deer management program will follow DEC’s Earn-a-2nd-Buck program – meaning that before harvesting an antlered deer (buck), participants must first take an antlerless deer. All other rules pertaining to hunting season dates and allowed take will follow DEC deer hunting regulations for this area of the state. The park is within DEC Wildlife Management Unit 5R, within DEC’s Southern Zone.
After taking into consideration feedback gathered at a public information meeting on May 14, 2026, and a two-week public comment period, OPRHP approved the hunting proposal to address the negative impacts of deer overabundance in Saratoga Spa State Park and to provide additional outdoor recreational opportunities. The goal is to manage white-tailed deer populations within the park at a level appropriate to support forest regeneration and resilient natural communities; enhance habitat for forest-dependent wildlife; and provide for safe and enjoyable recreational and educational opportunities. Over 80 New York State Parks and Historic Sites maintain hunting programs, of which 65 offer deer hunting, including several in OPRHP’s Saratoga-Capital District Region.
Further information on the hunting program, including the hunting area map, is available on the Saratoga Spa State Park website: https://parks.ny.gov/visit/state-parks/saratoga-spa-state-park.
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