Colorado · Bear · 2026 Edition
Colorado Bear Season 2026: Dates, Zones & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | Statewide — most GMUs, both limited-draw and OTC add-on (add-on requires an archery deer/elk license for an overlapping unit) | Sep 2 – Sep 30 |
| Muzzleloader | Statewide — most GMUs, both limited-draw and OTC add-on (add-on requires a muzzleloader deer/elk license for an overlapping unit) | Sep 12 – Sep 20 |
| Rifle — September season | Most GMUs statewide (limited draw) | Sep 2 – Sep 30 |
| Rifle — Sept. Plains season | Eastern-plains GMUs (OTC) | Sep 2 – Nov 22 |
| Rifle — fall season, segment 1 | Most western-slope & mountain GMUs (limited draw and OTC) | Oct 14 – Oct 18 |
| Rifle — fall season, segment 2 | Most western-slope & mountain GMUs (limited draw and OTC) | Oct 24 – Nov 1 |
| Rifle — fall season, segment 3 | Most western-slope & mountain GMUs (limited draw and OTC) | Nov 7 – Nov 15 |
| Rifle — fall season, segment 4 | Most western-slope & mountain GMUs (limited draw and OTC) | Nov 18 – Nov 22 |
| Rifle — OTC add-on | GMU 61 only — requires holding rifle elk hunt code E-E-061-E1-R | Oct 1 – Oct 7 |
| Rifle — private-land-only | GMUs 3, 11, 211, 301 (new for 2026) | Oct 1 – Nov 22 |
02 — Bag limits & check-in
| Statewide | 1 bear per license; hunters may hold more than one license depending on whether the hunt code is List A (one only), List B (up to two), or List C (unlimited) — see source note |
|---|---|
| Cub protection | Illegal to kill a bear accompanied by one or more cubs, or to kill a cub (a bear younger than one year old) |
| Methods | Baiting and hunting with dogs/hounds are illegal for bear statewide (Colorado's voter-approved bans); a leashed dog may trail a wounded big-game animal in general, but this exception explicitly does not apply to black bear |
| Mandatory inspection | Hunters must personally present the unfrozen bear head and hide to any CPW office for a free inspection, harvest check, and sealing within five working days of harvest; a premolar tooth is extracted at inspection; an unsealed hide after the five-day window is illegal and becomes state property |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 2, 2026) 06:03 — 20:02
Rule: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset — Colorado's general big-game shooting-hours rule stated in the 2026 Big Game brochure, with no bear-specific exception found. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Colorado sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Bear hunters in Colorado need a Colorado hunting license — a bear license (limited draw or over-the-counter, either List A, B, or C depending on the hunt code), a Habitat Stamp for hunters ages 18-64, and hunter education certification; OTC archery/muzzleloader bear licenses are add-on only and require holding a deer or elk license of the same method of take for an overlapping unit, while OTC rifle bear licenses go on sale statewide Aug. 4 at 9 a.m. Check-in or reporting a harvest is typically mandatory; see the row above for Colorado's specific rule.
05 — Scouting gear
Patterning bear activity before Colorado's opener usually means glassing feeding areas and running a trail camera through summer — check the state's own rules on baiting before you set one over bait.
- Hunting binoculars on Amazon →
- Trail cameras on Amazon →
- Trail camera SD cards — class, capacity & format explained →
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06 — FAQ
When does bear season open in Colorado?
The earliest 2026 opener is September 2, 2026. See the table above for each method and zone.
When does bear season end in Colorado?
The latest 2026 closing date is November 22, 2026. Individual segments and zones can close earlier — see the table above.
Do I need a separate bear license or tag in Colorado?
a bear license (limited draw or over-the-counter, either List A, B, or C depending on the hunt code), a Habitat Stamp for hunters ages 18-64, and hunter education certification; OTC archery/muzzleloader bear licenses are add-on only and require holding a deer or elk license of the same method of take for an overlapping unit, while OTC rifle bear licenses go on sale statewide Aug. 4 at 9 a.m.
How many bears can you shoot in Colorado?
2026 bag limits: Statewide — 1 bear per license; hunters may hold more than one license depending on whether the hunt code is List A (one only), List B (up to two), or List C (unlimited) — see source note. Cub protection — Illegal to kill a bear accompanied by one or more cubs, or to kill a cub (a bear younger than one year old). Methods — Baiting and hunting with dogs/hounds are illegal for bear statewide (Colorado's voter-approved bans); a leashed dog may trail a wounded big-game animal in general, but this exception explicitly does not apply to black bear. Mandatory inspection — Hunters must personally present the unfrozen bear head and hide to any CPW office for a free inspection, harvest check, and sealing within five working days of harvest; a premolar tooth is extracted at inspection; an unsealed hide after the five-day window is illegal and becomes state property. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting bear in Colorado?
On opening day (September 2, 2026) legal light runs 06:03 to 20:02. The rule is: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset — Colorado's general big-game shooting-hours rule stated in the 2026 Big Game brochure, with no bear-specific exception found. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Colorado sun times for any other date.
Verified · Colorado Parks and Wildlife · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. Official '2026 Colorado Big Game Hunting' brochure PDF (downloaded directly from CPW's Widen document host and read with pdftotext after a direct WebFetch failed on file size), Bear section pages 62-67, cross-checked against cpw.state.co.us/hunting/big-game/bear and the general prohibitions/legal-hunting-hours pages of the same brochure. Colorado runs bear as an either-sex, all-methods season with an enormous number of GMU-level date variations across five license categories: Archery (Sept. 2-30, OTC add-on + limited draw, statewide), Muzzleloader (Sept. 12-20, OTC add-on + limited draw, statewide), a 'September Rifle' limited-draw window (Sept. 2-30) that runs in most GMUs alongside deer/elk archery, a four-segment fall Rifle season (Oct. 14-18 / Oct. 24-Nov. 1 / Nov. 7-15 / Nov. 18-22) available as both limited-draw and OTC licenses layered on top of the September options in most western-slope and mountain GMUs, a 'Sept. Plains Rifle' OTC season (Sept. 2-Nov. 22) for eastern-plains GMUs, a one-week OTC rifle add-on (Oct. 1-7) valid only in GMU 61 for hunters holding rifle elk hunt code E-E-061-E1-R, and a private-land-only rifle option (new for 2026 in GMUs 3, 11, 211, 301) running Oct. 1-Nov. 22. GMU 851 (Bosque del Oso SWA) runs its own split September window (Sept. 2-15 then Sept. 16-30) requiring an average of six-plus preference points for residents. Given the sheer number of individual GMU groupings (over 80), the methods list below groups by identical date pattern rather than listing every unit number — consult cpw.state.co.us/bear or the brochure's own hunt-code tables (pages 63-67) for the exact GMU-to-hunt-code mapping. Colorado's 1992 and 1996 voter-approved bans on baiting and hound/dog hunting for bear are confirmed directly in the brochure's general big-game prohibitions list: hunting over bait is illegal for all big game (scent sticks that smell like food are explicitly called out as illegal for bear), and using dogs is prohibited except a leashed dog to trail a wounded animal — explicitly NOT permitted for black bear even under that exception. Legal hunting hours (one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset) are the brochure's general big-game rule; no bear-specific exception was found. Not independently confirmed this round: the exact current-year bear license fee schedule beyond the figures already surfaced (resident bear license ~$64.01 adult / $19.93 youth, Habitat Stamp $12.76) — confirm current pricing directly with CPW before budgeting a hunt.