The Ten Best Cities in the U.S. for Duck Hunters

For the purposes of this list, I chose metropolitan areas that have at least 100,000 residents. This means that some of waterfowl hunting’s most iconic locales, such as Stuttgart, Arkansas and Cold Bay, Alaska, are not on this list. This arbitrary rule also kept off a couple of small cities like Bismarck that just barely missed the cutoff. That said, the criteria for choosing these cities did take into account access to legendary marshes and potholes within several hours of driving from these cities, not just what’s right next to or within their city limits. We tried to include cities from every flyway. The list is arranged in alphabetical order.

If I know anything about waterfowl hunters, it’s that they’ll either be pissed off that I missed including a top duck hunting city on the list, or they’ll be pissed that I did put their city on here and fear that it’s going to blow up the hunting pressure. Well. Sound off in the comments.

Baltimore is not often thought of when it comes to hunting destinations—but the city is within spitting distance of The Chesapeake Bay, which many folks consider to be the cradle of American waterfowling. The nation’s largest estuary—at nearly 5,000 square miles—is one of the most important areas for migrating waterfowl along the Atlantic Flyway, drawing a variety of species which can be targeted from boats, layout blinds, or simply by standing in the water wearing a “body boot.” Baltimore is particularly close to the upper Chesapeake and the Susquehanna Flats, which is where most hunters in the area concentrate their efforts. Maryland’s eastern shore also offers great sea duck and brant hunting.

Billings is one of the smallest cities on this list, but it offers some of the best public waterfowl hunting opportunities in the Central Flyway. Field hunting can be highly effective on many of the area’s ag fields, and hunters can also decoy birds over water along the Yellowstone River and south of the city on the Bighorn River. Big Lake Wildlife Management Area, just northwest of Billings, is another great option before still water freezes over. Mallards and Canadas are the name of the game here.

Fargo, like Billings, is one of the smaller cities on this list. But there is no way we could leave it off. Fargo is located in the heart of the Central Flyway, and North Dakota is known colloquially as the “Duck Factory.” The area is known for its prairie potholes, which can be successfully hunted by freelancers on public land. Field hunting can also be productive. Importantly, Fargo is just a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Devil’s Lake, a vast complex of shallow wetlands that draws thousands of migrating birds each year.

Texas doesn’t have a ton of public hunting opportunity—and this is true for waterfowl hunting near Houston, the fourth most populous city in the U.S. But while the area lacks public access, the duck hunting can be world-class in the region’s private clubs and lodges. Just thirty minutes West of the city, waterfowl hunters can target birds in Katy, Texas, which used to be one of the waterfowl capitals of the country. Today, though, urban development has pushed most hunters further southwest toward managed properties near El Campo and Columbus. One of the best aspects of hunting this area is the variety of birds you can target, from early-season bluewings to pintails and gadwalls.

Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, gets the nod in large part due to its proximity to Stuttgart. The region is known for mallards over flooded timber, which is a bucket-list hunt for most folks from other parts of the country. That said, don’t sleep on the rice fields and winter wheat hunting for ducks as well as snow and specklebelly geese in the area. Access is ample but highly sought after on public options such as the Bayou Meto and Dagmar wildlife management areas.

Memphis is located near the midpoint of the Mississippi River Flyway—and offers plenty of access along said river basin, though a lot of the best hunting areas are leased. However, the city is less than a two-hour drive from Reelfoot Lake, which offers public access on a waterbody where you can kill a wide variety of waterfowl. Additionally, some new hunting grounds within city limits are opening up, such as one along the Wolf River funded by an onX Maps Adventure Forever Grant.

The Big Easy is known for its nightlife, but the city is also near some of the country’s primo wetlands. South Louisiana’s coastal marshes support upward of 9 million migrating and wintering ducks. You can get into these birds in basically any direction of New Orleans, whether you want to hit the Chenier Plain to the west, the coastal marshes near Venice to the south or the Biloxi area to the east.

Portland, Oregon, might be known more as a hotspot for hipsters rather than duck hunters, but don’t forget that the city is located on the banks of one of the most iconic waterways for waterfowling: The Columbia River. Public hunters flock to Sauvie Island, 12,000 acres of wetlands just minutes from downtown Portland. Less-trafficked areas can be found up and down the Columbia River, whether you want to target divers like bluebills on the mainstem of the river or dabbling ducks in the islands or nearby tidal marshes.

Sacramento was a no-brainer for this list for one simple reason: 60% of Pacific waterfowl rely on it during the fall migration, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The area offers plenty of public ground for freelance hunters through the state-managed refuge system, though reservations are hard to come by at top areas such as Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, which is on the southwest edge of the city. Folks willing to spend dough can lease rice fields in the valley or join private clubs on the Suisun Marsh. Sea duck hunting for scoters is just a short drive away in the San Francisco Bay.

This is the only city on the list that shares the part of the name of its greatest hunting attraction: the Great Salt Lake. According to Ducks Unlimited, the Great Salt Lake “is arguably the most important waterfowl hotspot in the Intermountain West” and hosts “3 to 4 million” birds each year. Like Sacramento, the Salt Lake City area can be hunted by boat-less hunters, particularly wetlands on the edge of the lake, such as the famous Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Another potential way to get into lights-out hunting is to use an airboat to reach remote sections of the shallow lake. Hunters can target both divers and dabbling ducks in the massive lake, though the future of waterfowl hunting in the area is uncertain as water levels have been declining for years.