About 70% of Pennsylvania is privately owned, according to the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which puts most huntable ground behind a farm gate or a family woodlot rather than a public sign. HuntWise overlays county parcel lines, landowner names, and acreage directly onto satellite imagery, so you always know whose ground you're standing on.
Finding your property lines before you hunt in Pennsylvania means knowing one geographic exception up front: the state's purple paint law, in effect since 2020, doesn't apply in Philadelphia or Allegheny counties. Everywhere else in the Commonwealth, a purple-marked tree carries the same legal weight as a posted sign.
Keep reading for our guide to finding property lines in Pennsylvania to plan a great hunt.
How to Find Property Lines in Pennsylvania
Two of Pennsylvania's 67 counties sit outside the state's purple paint law entirely, which trips up plenty of hunters who assume the rule is uniform statewide. Here's how to nail down a boundary before you head out.
- Check whether purple paint even applies where you're hunting. Pennsylvania's purple paint law, in effect since 2020, covers every county except Philadelphia and Allegheny. Where it applies, marks must be vertical purple lines at least 8 inches long and 1 inch wide, placed 3 to 5 feet off the ground and no more than 100 feet apart.
- Confirm ownership through your county Assessment Office. Most Pennsylvania counties maintain a free, searchable GIS parcel viewer showing boundaries, acreage, and current ownership. For a certified legal description, the county recorder of deeds keeps plats and deeds on file.
- Layer HuntWise's Land Ownership data over your hunting area. The app pulls that same parcel information and displays landowner names and contact details directly on satellite imagery. Its mapping tools stay usable offline once downloaded, which matters in Pennsylvania's more remote state forest tracts.
- Pull PGC's State Game Lands maps before you commit to a spot. With more than 1.5 million acres of state game lands scattered across the Commonwealth, it's easy to assume you're on public ground when you're actually one field over from private property. Download the boundaries into HuntWise or a backup app in case you lose signal.
- Understand what a defiant trespass charge actually means. Entering land marked by a fence, a posted sign, or (where applicable) purple paint makes you a "defiant trespasser" under Title 18, a third-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Additional game-law penalties can stack on top if the trespass happens while hunting.
Full regulations for the PA hunting season are available on the PGC's Hunting and Trapping Regulations page.
Why Pennsylvania Hunters Must Identify Property Lines
With roughly 70% of Pennsylvania privately held, mostly working farms and family forestland, a huge share of the state's best whitetail and turkey habitat sits on private ground rather than state game lands. That two-county carve-out in the purple paint law makes boundary confusion especially likely near Philadelphia and Allegheny, where a purple mark simply doesn't carry the legal force it does everywhere else.
Reliable property-line data in your hunting app matters more once you understand that visual cues alone won't tell the whole story in every county. Cross-checking against county Assessment Office data closes that gap regardless of which side of the purple paint line you're standing on.
That's also why so many Pennsylvania hunters lean on PGC's Hunter Access Program, which opens millions of private acres to public hunting through formal agreements rather than relying on informal handshake permission alone.
What Are the Types of Hunting Land in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania's hunting land spans private farms and forest, state game lands, and federally managed forest. The table below covers what's available and what each requires.
Types of Hunting Land in Pennsylvania | |||
| Type | What It Is & What to Hunt Here | Public or Private | Permission Needed |
| Private farmland or forestland | Most of Pennsylvania's land base supports whitetail deer, turkey, and small game across family farms and woodlots. | Private | Landowner permission required |
| State Game Lands | More than 1.5 million acres are managed by PGC specifically for hunting and trapping statewide. | Public | Valid Pennsylvania hunting license |
| State forests | Over 2 million acres are managed by DCNR across 50 counties, open to a range of hunting activities. | Public | Valid Pennsylvania hunting license |
| Hunter Access Program land | Private land enrolled through PGC agreements to provide public hunting access. | Public (private ownership) | Valid license. Follow the posted program rules. |
| Leased hunting land | Private tracts are leased to individual hunters or clubs for exclusive access. Anyone evaluating a lease should work through a hunter's checklist covering access, habitat, and lease terms before committing. | Private | Signed lease agreement |
How Using a Hunting App Helps You Plan Where You Can Legally Hunt
A hunting app with property lines matters in a state where one legal notice method simply doesn't exist in two counties. It shows you exactly where State Game Lands end and private property begins, plus who owns the tract next door if it looks promising.
Because county Assessment Office data can lag behind a recent property sale, e-scouting before the season confirms current ownership before you plan a hunt around it. That check can spare you an uncomfortable run-in with a new landowner who hasn't updated the posting yet.
Offline maps matter once you're deep into Pennsylvania's state forests or larger game land tracts, where cell service disappears fast in the ridges and hollows. Downloading the map for your target area in advance keeps a dead zone from turning into a boundary guessing game.
How to Ask Permission to Hunt on Private Land
Pennsylvania landowners, especially those near popular game lands, get asked for hunting access constantly, so how you approach the conversation matters as much as the ask itself. Once HuntWise or your county Assessment Office points you to an owner, call ahead rather than showing up unannounced.
Name the specific parcel, the dates you're targeting, and whether you'll be hunting alone or with others. A landowner who hears concrete details is far more likely to say yes than one fielding a vague request for "somewhere to hunt this fall."
Consider offering to help with something the property actually needs, clearing storm debris, repairing a fence section, or sharing meat from a successful hunt, since Pennsylvania's rural landowners often value a hunter who gives something back over one who simply asks for access.
Put the agreement in writing, even briefly, especially near the Philadelphia and Allegheny county lines where the usual purple paint notice doesn't apply and a verbal understanding is easier to dispute later.
See how HuntWise property lines work in the video below!
Know Your Boundaries Before You Hunt in Pennsylvania
Two counties in Pennsylvania don't play by the same boundary-marking rules as the other 65, and that gap catches out-of-state and local hunters alike. Combined with roughly 70% of the Commonwealth in private hands, getting the legal picture right before you hunt isn't optional.
Layer HuntWise's Land Ownership data over your county Assessment Office records and PGC's State Game Lands maps well before opening day. That groundwork turns a potential trespassing citation into a hunt you can actually enjoy.
Download HuntWise and map out your hunt with Pro and Elite features (free) during your first week in the app!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is the best app to find property lines for hunting in Pennsylvania?
A: For Pennsylvania hunters, HuntWise stands out because its Land Ownership layer overlays county parcel data, landowner names, and acreage directly onto satellite imagery. The offline maps keep working in the state's more remote forest tracts.
Q: How accurate are GPS hunting apps for property lines in Pennsylvania?
A: Expect accuracy within a few feet in open terrain, though Pennsylvania's dense ridge-and-hollow forest cover can reduce that somewhat. Since app data pulls from county records that can trail behind a recent sale, treat a fence, sign, or purple mark on the ground as the final word over what an app displays.
Q: Does Pennsylvania have a purple paint law for marking property boundaries?
A: In most of the state, yes. Pennsylvania's purple paint law took effect in 2020 under Title 18, letting landowners mark boundaries with vertical purple lines at least 8 inches long, spaced no more than 100 feet apart. The one catch: this law doesn't apply in Philadelphia or Allegheny counties, where landowners must rely on signs or fencing instead.
Q: Is there a free way to look up property boundaries in Pennsylvania?
A: Pennsylvania counties generally offer this at no cost. Search your county Assessment Office's GIS parcel viewer online for boundary, acreage, and ownership data, and check with the recorder of deeds if you need certified plats or a full legal description.
Q: What are the penalties for trespassing while hunting in Pennsylvania?
A: Entering posted, fenced, or (outside Philadelphia and Allegheny counties) purple-marked property makes you a defiant trespasser under Title 18, a third-degree misdemeanor with penalties up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Hunting-related game law violations can add further penalties on top of that.
Q: How do I find public hunting land boundaries in Pennsylvania?
A: PGC's State Game Lands maps cover the Commonwealth's more than 1.5 million acres of public hunting ground. Review those boundaries in the HuntWise app ahead of time, since cell coverage can be spotty in the state's more remote hunting country.
Q: Can HuntWise show me landowner information in Pennsylvania?
A: It can. HuntWise's Land Ownership layer pulls up landowner names, acreage, and contact details for private tracts across Pennsylvania, which simplifies reaching out for hunting access.
Q: How do I use county records to verify property lines in Pennsylvania?
A: Pull up your county Assessment Office's GIS parcel viewer and search for the tract you're interested in to confirm the boundary, acreage, and current owner. If you need a certified legal description, the recorder of deeds holds the recorded plats and deeds.
