The 2025 South Dakota Black Hills Spring Turkey season will feature a major change for nonresidents. Beginning in 2025, nonresident Black Hills spring turkey licenses will be issued by a lottery drawing, which means nonresident hunters must apply for their licenses prior to their hunt. Unlimited licenses will no longer be available for purchase for nonresidents.
There are 2,225 nonresident licenses that will be available through this drawing in 2025. The application period will run from January 15 to February 12, 2025. Applicants should be aware all South Dakota application periods close at 8 a.m. central time the day of closing.
Hunters will be notified via email whether their application was successful or not. Successful applicants will receive their license in the mail prior to the season beginning. Unsuccessful applicants will be eligible to purchase a preference point to be used in future season draws, similar to all other South Dakota limited draw seasons. Preference points will also be available for purchase during the general preference point purchasing period September 15-December 15 for nonresidents who did not hold a license in 2025.
This change is significant to nonresident turkey hunters and means these hunters will need to plan for their hunts. Nonresident hunters must get their applications submitted during this period and will know whether they have obtained a license in mid-February once the application period has closed, and the draw has been completed.
These changes were finalized by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission at their September 2024 meeting in Rapid City as part of their spring turkey season setting for 2025 and 2026.
The season dates for 2025 and 2026 are as follows:
2025
- April 12 – May 31, 2025 Single-season prairie units;
- April 26 – May 31, 2025 Black Hills and Black Hills archery;
- April 12 – 30, 2025 Split-season early prairie units (08A and 44A) and Unit 58B;
- May 1 – 31, 2025 Split-season late prairie units (08B and 44B); and,
- April 12 –30, 2025 Access Permit Areas.
2026
- April 11 – May 31, 2026 Single-season prairie units;
- April 25 – May 31, 2026 Black Hills and Black Hills archery;
- April 11 – 30, 2026 Split-season early prairie units (08A and 44A) and Unit 58B;
- May 1 – 31, 2026 Split-season late prairie units (08B and 44B); and,
- April 11 –30, 2026 Access Permit Areas.
* Depending on the geographic area being hunted, the mentored and archery spring seasons align with the prairie and Black Hills seasons, respectively.
Additionally, the GFP Commission expanded the archery statewide turkey hunting unit to include the portion of Lake County south of State Highway 34 and changed the name of the unit including Aurora and Douglas counties to PST-10A from PST-18A.
License numbers for the 2025 and 2026 spring firearms prairie turkey hunting season units will be 7,287 resident and 318 nonresident licenses; with the Black Hills season having unlimited resident single “male turkey” licenses and 2,225 nonresident single “male turkey” licenses, and Custer State Park having 100 resident only “male turkey” licenses.
Good Earth State Park will have 5 archery “male turkey” access permits and Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve will have 30 archery and 20 mentored youth “male turkey” access permits.
This is a major change to nonresident Black Hills Spring Turkey hunters and all prospective hunters are encouraged to apply for their license during this application period January 15-February 12, 2025. Additionally, nonresident turkey hunters who may have interest in hunting the Black Hills in spring but do not apply for 2025 are encouraged to purchase a preference point during the general purchasing period September 15-December 15.
Images Courtesy South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Facebook page
