- Open for Recreation: Year-round

- Fee: Free
- Contact Information:
- DEC Region 7 Cortland Office (M-F, 8:30AM - 4:45PM), (607) 753-3095; [email protected]
- Search, rescue, wildfire, and enforcement matters: 911- or - 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264)
A local Forest Ranger is a valuable source of information for the state land you would like to visit.
- Location: Towns of Lorraine and Worth, Jefferson County; Towns of Boylston and Redfield, Oswego County
- Wildlife Management Unit: 6N
- Map: Little John WMA Map (PDF) || Google Earth || DECinfo Locator
The primary purposes of Little John Wildlife Management Area (WMA) are for wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. This WMA totals 7,918 acres. About 60 percent of the WMA is in mature forest with less than 200 acres in openings such as open water or grassy/brushy fields.
Little John lies on the northwest slope of the Tug Hill Plateau. Most of the area lies between 1,400 and 1,500 feet above sea level. The result is a gently rolling topography, which is never quite flat, transected by many long, narrow serpentine swampy areas and numerous small depressions. The soils are generally acid in nature, being derived from shale and sandstone. Precipitation ranges between 45 and 55 inches per year with an average annual snowfall above 170 inches. Drifts as deep as 15 feet are common occurrences, and snow lies five to six feet deep in the woods during an average winter.
In 1928, 4,250 acres belonging to the Cleveland Estate became the Little John Game Refuge and Demonstration Forest. Acquisition of abandoned land adjacent to the WMA by the Federal Resettlement Administration became part of Little John when it was later transferred to the State.