Hunting opportunities in the Tilden and Meadow Grove area would primarily include those for whitetail deer, wild turkey, and small game such as rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, and dove. Several state-owned wildlife management areas (WMA’s), which are open to public hunting, are nestled directly along the Elkhorn River in relatively close proximity (less than 30 minutes) to the two communities. Those would include:
- Yellowbanks WMA-1N, 3E of Meadow Grove-664 acres
- Red Wing WMA-18W of Tilden-320 acres
- Hackberry Creek WMA-21W of Tilden-235 acres
Other areas that are open to public hunting and within 45 minutes of the Tilden/Meadow Grove area would include:
- Grove Lake WMA-1N of Royal-1,984 acres
- Oak Valley WMA-3S, 1W of Battle Creek-640 acres
- Willow Creek State Recreation Area (SRA)-1.5SW of Pierce (parts of this area are closed to hunting)
- Wood Duck WMA-7.5SE of Norfolk-1,832 acres
More information about the areas, including maps indicating location, size, species available, etc., can be found on the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission website at https://maps.outdoornebraska.gov/hunting/.
Additional hunting opportunities are available through the Open Fields and Waters and CRP-MAP programs that are administered by the Game and Parks Commission for public access and can be found here: https://maps.outdoornebraska.gov/PublicAccessAtlas/ and here: http://digital.outdoornebraska.gov/i/554204-public-access-atlas-2015. These areas are private land that is contracted for public access for 1 to 5 year terms and thus may not be available every year. A new atlas is published every year.
Opportunities are also available to those who are willing to “knock on doors” for access to private land by permission.
Other amenities that can be found on some of the aforementioned public areas include designated camping areas at Grove Lake (primitive only, no electricity) and Willow Creek Reservoir.
