I have a little different take than some, but to me staying out of a patch of public land several months before the season opens like this seems kind of silly, and there is so much variation in how you might approach depending on various factors it's almost not even worth worrying about. I'd for sure put a camera there and check it every couple weeks until a couple weeks or a month before season opens, and at the same time I'd scope out and maybe prep few trees if you are a stand hunter, or find the best access points, sit spots, etc so you arent fumbling around in the dark opening morning if that's where you'll be. Ny public land is everything from tiny suburban parcels that are overrun with both hunters as well as dog walkers, etc...all the way to legit million-plus acre wilderness. OP, you didnt say what type of an area this is, but to me taking into account what part of the state you are in, how much traffic that area gets from other hunters and other humans in general, etc--that will matter. If its an area where deer are used to people it probably doesnt matter--they are better at patterning people than people are at patterning them, so they are totally used to being near people and getting bumped once in a while. In a smaller, more suburban area it also may not see a huge variation in deer presense from season to season. On the other hand, if you are talking about a big area way North, those deer could be a long way off from there by the time october rolls around. In all cases it is likely you will have deer around there all summer right up until some time in september when the first frosts hit and leaves start turning, after which there's usually a visible shift in patterns as the deer switch to fall food sources. That's why to me, summer trail camera stuff is more of a hobby than a hunting tactic, becasue in most cases that info isnt very useful for october and november, or later. Regardless, you should be looking for fall buck sign in addition to just trails and beds, because the deer may be in a very different areas in the spring and summer, compared to where they'll be in october and november--food sources will be totally different, cover will be totally different, etc, so if there isnt any buck sign leftover from Fall it's likely it wont be a great place to hunt (unless you are targeting does, in which case it might be fine). I wouldnt overdo it, but wouldnt worry in the least about going in there once every couple weeks to check a trail camera until we get closer to mid-late august depending on when season opens there. While that camera is soaking this summer find your self a plan b, c, d, e and f too.
