Today marks the beginning of Pennsylvania’s expanded Sunday hunting, just ahead of next weekend’s archery season opener for deer in areas that encompass the Lehigh Valley.
Public and nonprofit owners of Lehigh Valley parkland have informed lehighvalleylive.com that they will not follow the state parks’ decision to limit the number of Sundays available for hunting in 2025.
This change means that non-hunting outdoor enthusiasts may encounter more hunters in the woods and fields along their favorite trails. It serves as a reminder to consider wearing blaze orange for both personal safety and that of your four-legged companions.
State House Bill 1431, which was signed into law on July 9 as Act 36 of 2025, lifted Pennsylvania’s long-standing ban on Sunday hunting. A previous law from 2019 had allowed hunting on just three Sundays each year.
In April, before the new law was enacted, the Pennsylvania Game Commission designated Sunday hunting for November 16, 23, and 30 this year. Empowered by the Legislature and Governor Josh Shapiro, commission officials subsequently expanded the number of Sundays open to hunting to 13 consecutive weekends, starting September 14 and running through December 7.
In August, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that state parks would only permit Sunday hunting on the original three dates in November. Conversely, state forests will allow Sunday hunting on all 13 dates, as stated by the DCNR.
In the Lehigh Valley region, parkland available for hunting includes designated portions of 12 areas within Northampton County’s Open Space and Parks, such as Trexler Nature Preserve, Leaser Lake, Big Rock, Jordan Creek Parkway, and Seems Seed Farm in Upper and Lower Milford townships.
Salisbury Township provides permits for archery hunting, with shotguns allowed only for junior hunters at Walking Purchase Park. Additionally, nearby in Salisbury, the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy offers a limited number of free permits for archery hunting at its new Black River Sanctuary, which spans public-access land along the border with Upper Saucon Township.
Representatives from Northampton County, Lehigh County, Salisbury, and Wildlands have all confirmed that they are not restricting the Sundays when hunting is allowed in their designated park areas.
“We’re really pleased to provide the opportunity to the community to recreate at Black River Sanctuary and accommodate multiple recreational uses,” said Wildlands President Chris Kocher, highlighting the ecological benefits of managing the deer population.
Wildlands also permits hunting in accordance with Game Commission seasons and bag limits at its Thomas Darling and Maple Tract preserves in the Pocono Mountains. An interactive map available at their website allows visitors to filter for amenities and uses, including ADA access and hunting.
Lehigh County opens designated park areas to hunting through the state’s Hunter Access Program, as stated by county Director of Parks Robert Stiffler. The county benefits from services such as law enforcement and land management in return.
“We always stress the importance of safe hunting practices,” he emphasized. “Always follow the Pennsylvania Game Commission rules and regulations, and always identify your target to ensure safety.”
Hunters taking advantage of the expanded Sundays must carry written permission from the landowner to hunt on private land, according to Game Commission spokesman Travis Lau. This written permission is not necessary for public land, including State Game Lands, state parks and forests, or public-access land.
It is the responsibility of each hunter to be aware of the regulations for the land they are hunting, Lau noted.
For more information about hunting in Lehigh and Northampton county parks, visit northamptoncounty.org and lehighcounty.org. For Salisbury Township’s hunting permit application, check salisburypolice.org. To obtain an archery permit for Black River Sanctuary, contact Wildlands’ preserve manager, Michael Hock, at mhock@wildlandspa.org or 610-965-4397, Ext. 132.
The first Sunday open to hunting in 2025 is September 14, when the game in season includes small game species such as squirrels, bobwhite quail, woodchucks (groundhogs), crows, starlings, and English sparrows; archery for elk (with a permit required through the state’s lottery system) and antlerless deer (agricultural deer control harvest permit required); as well as furbearer species like coyotes, opossum, striped skunks, and weasels. Note that Sunday hunting is not allowed for migratory game birds.
Archery season opens on Saturday and continues on Sunday, September 20-21, for both antlered and antlerless deer in Pennsylvania’s Wildlife Management Unit 5C in the Lehigh Valley, WMU 5D in the five-county Philadelphia region, and western Pennsylvania’s WMU 2B.
The Game Commission provides a helpful two-page PDF guide detailing seasons, bag limits, regulations, and fluorescent orange requirements on its website.
Source: https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/outdoors/2025/09/pennsylvania-sunday-hunting-is-here-for-2025-lehigh-valley-parks-not-limiting-dates.html
