DELAWARE COUNTY
Ridley Creek State Park is the only public land open to hunting in Delaware County. The park’s 2,606 acres are on the south side of Route 3, about two miles west of Newtown Square. Bowhunting is permitted in the park during the archery deer season, and a controlled, one-day shotgun hunt is held during the firearms season. Hunters for the controlled hunt are selected by lottery. Call the park office at (610) 892-3900 for maps of the park and for details on the lottery hunt.

Ridley Creek State Park is a mix of hardwood forest and open fields. In areas where fields meet the woods, look for the thick tangles of multiflora rose and greenbriers that are common throughout this part of the Southeast Region. Deer love these jungles of “picker-bushes’’ because they make great hideouts that allow them to get away from humans. Look for deer trails leading in and out of these thickets and plan on hunting the woods adjacent to them.

The western edge of Ridley Creek off Gradyville Road, where the park abuts Edgmont Golf Course, is a popular section of the park for deer hunters.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Serious Pennsylvania deer hunters already know the quality of the hunting in Allegheny County. After all, Allegheny County bucks dominate Pennsylvania’s trophy record books.

Gary Fujak, the county’s WCO, summed it up best when he said, “Allegheny County is still, in my opinion, the best county to hunt for deer in the Commonwealth.”

That’s the good news about Allegheny County. The bad news is the only public hunting offered in Allegheny County is SGL 203, which lies in the WMU 2A portion of the county.

This 1,250-acre tract is in Marshall Township northwest of Pittsburgh. Take Rochester Road east from Red Belt Road and turn north on Game Lands Road. There are food plots scattered throughout this rectangular property.

For maps of all the state game lands mentioned, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Web site at www.pgc.state.pa.us.

For lodging information in the Southeast Region’s Special Regulations Area, contact the Brandywine Conference and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-343-3983, the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-836-BUCKS or the Valley Forge/Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-VISIT-VF.

In the Pittsburgh area, contact the Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-877-LOVE-PGH.

There’s no question that Pennsylvania’s special regulations areas are the most densely populated areas in the state. But that includes people and deer.

Give these areas a try this season and see for yourself what all the excitement is about!