"Area closed to fishing from Oct. 15 – Dec. 31." That line sits in the Twin Lakes WMA entry of the 2026 Nebraska Game and Parks Fishing Guide, and it took effect a week ago. It's the first of several dates that change who's out on the public land around Seward between now and Thanksgiving week.
If you walk a dog, carry binoculars, or just like a long loop on a cool morning, the weather isn't what sets your November. The state hunting calendar does. On the state wildlife areas near town, that calendar puts several openings into about five weeks. Inside city limits, the parks the City of Seward describes for dog walks and birdwatching keep running as usual.
Five weeks, stacked
Here's how the season builds from today, Thursday, Oct. 22, using dates from the Nebraska Game and Parks hunting seasons page and the Small Game and Waterfowl Guide:
- Already underway. Archery deer season opened Sept. 1 and runs through Dec. 31. White-fronted goose season opened statewide Oct. 17 and runs through Dec. 27. Twin Lakes closed to fishing Oct. 15.
- Saturday, Oct. 31. Pheasant, quail and partridge season opens and runs through Jan. 31, 2027.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, through Monday, Nov. 9. Special Landowner deer season.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, through Sunday, Nov. 22. November firearm deer season.
By mid-November, deer hunters with bows and with rifles, upland bird hunters, and goose hunters can all be out at the same time. Archery and goose seasons were already open when the leaves started turning. What's new in November is how many seasons overlap, and that the overlap peaks the weekend before Thanksgiving.
What the state land near Seward is set up for
Nebraska Game and Parks describes its wildlife management areas as open to the public year-round for hunting, trapping and fishing, along with hiking, bird watching, nature study, horseback riding, stargazing and primitive camping. So a non-hunter is welcome on a WMA in November. The agency also says only basic facilities like parking lots and boat ramps are provided, so WMAs have no public restrooms or trash cans. Portions of some areas may be set aside as refuge, with limits on certain uses.
Three of the WMAs on the state's directory are close to home:
- Twin Lakes WMA in Seward County. The Fishing Guide lists 270 acres of water in two lakes, a 5 mph no-wake limit, a concrete boat ramp on the east lake, and a west lake it calls "extremely shallow." The fall closure applies to fishing. It doesn't close the area to visitors.
- North Lake Basin WMA, half a mile north of Utica. According to the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, it holds about 300 acres of wetland and 64 acres of upland, and its shallow water gives migrating waterfowl and other water birds a place to rest and refuel. That page dates to January 2023 and describes enhancement work as a plan, so treat it as background on the wetland rather than a report on current conditions.
- Oak Glen WMA, also on the state's WMA list. An older Game and Parks public hunting lands guide puts it in Seward County, about a mile and a half north of Garland.
North Lake Basin shows why November gets crowded. The shallow water that draws ducks and geese, and the birdwatchers who come to see them, draws waterfowl hunters for the same reason.
To see boundaries before you go, Game and Parks points people to the online Public Access Atlas. Tapping a site on the interactive map brings up its regulations. The agency says the online version is the most accurate, because the printed atlas comes out in late August and things can change after that.
The orange rule is written for hunters
People ask about blaze orange every fall, so here's what the state actually says. The Big Game Guide requires firearm deer hunters to show at least 400 square inches of hunter orange on the head, chest and back. The Small Game and Waterfowl Guide says hunter orange "is not required for upland game hunting or trapping but is strongly encouraged, especially during the November firearm deer and January late deer seasons."
Both rules cover people holding permits. Neither one addresses someone out walking a dog.
The same guide limits dogs on WMAs on a seasonal schedule. It bars exercising, running, training or hunting with dogs from May 1 through July 31, except in posted training areas. That restriction is for the nesting months. In November, bird dogs working the grass are part of what the season looks like out there.
This is general information, not legal advice. If you're hunting or bringing a dog onto state land, the current Game and Parks guides and the site's posted rules are what count.
The city's parks are described for the walk you had in mind
Inside town, the City of Seward describes several of its own places in terms that fit a November dog walk or a bird-watching morning. The city's pages also list a few comforts the WMAs don't have.
| Place | Where | What the city describes |
|---|---|---|
| Plum Creek Trail and Garden Area | Trailheads near Plum Creek Sports Complex on Karol Kay Boulevard and near the Water Treatment Facility on South Columbia Avenue | A 2.7-mile concrete hiking and biking trail on the east side of town, finished in fall 2003, with a garden entrance that has arbors, benches, a drinking fountain and two rock water features |
| Centennial Park | 1758 N 16th St., next to the Seward County Fairgrounds | Dog walking along the banks of the Big Blue River, birds and squirrels in established trees, the Kiddie Korral playground, shelters and restrooms |
| Independence Landing | 1595 Fairgrounds Circle, next to the fairgrounds and Centennial Park | A renovated two-acre pond with fishing piers, picnic tables, shelters and restrooms |
According to the city's parks page, Independence Landing is thought to date to the 1930s, built under a Depression-era program such as the Works Projects Administration. Recent renovations coordinated by Seward County Bridges improved accessibility, added the piers and picnic tables, and improved water quality to support a warm-water fishery. The state lists it at 2 acres, owned by the City of Seward, with bluegill, channel catfish and largemouth bass. Twin Lakes has 270 acres of water and closed to fishing Oct. 15. Independence Landing is about one-hundredth that size, and the guide lists no fall closure for it. That makes it the in-town spot where a kid with a rod can still fish this fall.
Centennial Park and Independence Landing sit next to each other at the fairgrounds. Between the two, you have the river walk, the pond, a playground and restrooms within a short stroll.
Planning a November week around the dates
The calendar matters most on a handful of specific days.
Saturday, Nov. 7. According to the Seward Independent's community calendar, VFW Post 4755 is hosting a public March Against Hunger and Veteran Suicide at Plum Creek Park, 1933 Karol Kay Boulevard, at 8 a.m. That's also opening morning of the Special Landowner deer season, so the busiest walking spot in town that day will be on the east side of Seward along Plum Creek.
Nov. 14 through Nov. 22. This is the firearm deer window, and it overlaps with pheasant season and the waterfowl seasons. If your usual loop runs through a WMA, these nine days are the ones to check the Public Access Atlas first, or to switch to the Plum Creek Trail or the Big Blue River bank at Centennial Park.
After Nov. 22. Firearm deer season ends, though archery deer, upland and goose seasons keep going. If you just want to watch the water at Twin Lakes, it's still open to you. Only fishing is closed there, through Dec. 31.
If you want open water and a boat ramp after Twin Lakes closed to anglers, the Fishing Guide lists two other Seward County lakes owned by natural resources districts:
- Meadowlark, 55 acres, owned by the Lower Platte South NRD. It has an accessible concrete ramp, a 5 mph no-wake limit and a 21-inch minimum length limit on black bass. White perch are present, and the guide notes it's illegal statewide to possess or transport them live.
- Smith Creek, 21 acres, owned by the Upper Big Blue NRD, with a 5 mph no-wake limit.
The guide lists both as fishing waters, not wildlife management areas, and neither entry shows a fall fishing closure.
On our own acreage, the November routine changes too. The horses get walked at different times, and I check the dates before heading out to the fence line. If you're looking for a place in Seward County where your own land is the morning walk, or you want to know how land near a WMA works day to day, Ashley Terry is happy to talk it through over coffee or out in the pasture. Let's Connect.
