Should You Lease to Hunters if You Border Public Land?

Our advice? Lease your hunting land! Inviting hunters to your land generates income for you and your family. Why not make the most of your property? 

Seasoned hunters are on the prowl for phenomenal private land. Public hunting land poses unique challenges, like heavy hunting pressure and difficult game retrieval. If your property is adjacent to public hunting land, it may be more appealing to those looking for the best of both worlds—exclusive access to private land and the chance to explore public land. 

Your property’s location opens the door for a new opportunity. See what you can make of your private property with public access. Use the considerations and benefits in this article to determine whether or not you should lease hunting land. 

What to Consider When Owning Land Near Public Land 

Let’s explore the potential downsides of leasing land for hunting first, so you can consider all angles before deciding. Then, we’ll dive into how leasing land that borders public land can benefit you! 

The first thing that may come to mind when thinking about your private property is trespassers. You don’t know the people using the public land beside you. You don’t know if they will make ethical choices while hunting and exploring and if those choices will affect your land. 

If your land juts up against public property, you never know who could stumble your way. As a landowner, you may have already experienced this a time or two. 

A higher likelihood of trespassing, whether intentional or accidental, is a disadvantage of owning land that borders public hunting land (especially if that land gets a lot of traffic). Private property signage around your land’s border helps keep would-be trespassers from entering. 

You may be worried that allowing some hunters on your land could increase the risk of trespassers. If someone sees another hunter enter your property, they may assume it’s still part of the public area. However, this risk doesn’t outweigh the benefits you could reap by leasing your land to responsible hunters. 

4 Benefits of Owning Land Near Public Land—And Why Hunters Will Love Them

Whether your land borders public land or sits nearby, you can put it to work when you invite hunters for the weekend or a season. 

While trespassing from public land to your land is a risk, your shared border can appeal to welcome hunters who want easy access to private and public land. Your property has a built-in attraction that can help you make money and build relationships season after season.

1. More Room to Explore  

With land that borders public hunting land, you can expand what you give hunters. There’s no need to be on the fence about your hunting prospects when you can open the gate and offer both sides. 

Private property with public land access offers more opportunities to find game as long as hunting is allowed on the public land. Hunters can explore your land. Then they can continue on to public land. You may also give visitors the chance to try more activities. For example, you may not have a place to fish, but there may be a river on the public land nearby. 

Even if you don’t share a border, being near public hunting land gives you an advantage. Hunters from out of state can make the most of their trip by hunting in multiple locations without wasting much time on travel.

2. Exclusive Public Land Access

Some public lands are completely blocked by private land. The only way to access them is through private landowners. Developing those relationships or finding the right person to talk to can be hard for hunters, especially if they don’t live in the area. 

If you’re a landowner in this position, you can use your location to your advantage. When you lease your land, use your position next to a public hunting area as a selling point. Be sure to provide easy access from your property to the public land beyond it once the hunters arrive. 

3. Know Your Neighbor

While you won’t know who is hunting beyond your border, you will know the landowner. The State, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management own public hunting land. Land belonging to these organizations rarely changes hands or becomes developed.

Since the public area beside yours is to be preserved land, you can rest assured that the neighboring property will remain wild.

4. Your Wildlife Refuge 

There isn’t a difference between your land and public land to the wildlife that calls the area home. Public land may have features or food sources wildlife prefer, but they won’t stop at your private property sign. 

Private land near public land can increase the number and diversity of wildlife that visit or live on your property. If your lands are connected, you have one large habitat for wildlife to flourish—a great thing for hunters!

List Your Hunting Property for Lease

Your private property is in high demand from hunters looking for less crowded areas and exclusive amenities. Turn your acreage into another income stream—it’s easy. 

If you’re ready to welcome hunters, put your hunting land for lease up on HUUNT.com. We help you reach hunters and simplify booking so you can worry less about the details. Be sure to include that your private property is next to public land or share if you have public land access directly from your property. 

Get the word out about your hunting land for lease. Become a HUUNT member, and begin your new side hustle. Sign up for our Base membership to get started.