Utah · Bear · 2026 Edition
Utah Bear Season 2026: Dates, Zones & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Limited-entry — spring (no bait) | Statewide — ~19 drawn units (e.g. Beaver, Book Cliffs, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, La Sal Mtns, Manti, Nebo, San Juan, Wasatch Mtns West-Central, and others) | Mar 28 – May 25 |
| Limited-entry — summer (no dogs; baiting allowed with a bait-station COR) | Statewide — ~20 drawn units | May 25 – Jun 28 |
| Limited-entry — fall, segment 1 (no bait) | Most drawn units statewide (excludes Boulder/Kaiparowits and Book Cliffs Little Creek Roadless) | Aug 1 – Aug 31 |
| Limited-entry — fall, segment 2 (no bait) | Most drawn units statewide (excludes Boulder/Kaiparowits and Book Cliffs Little Creek Roadless) | Nov 2 – Nov 8 |
| Limited-entry — fall (no bait) | Boulder/Kaiparowits unit only | Oct 2 – Nov 8 |
| Limited-entry — spot-and-stalk | Book Cliffs, Little Creek Roadless unit only | Sep 1 – Nov 8 |
| Harvest-objective — spring (no bait, OTC) | Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich, Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, Yellowstone | Mar 28 – May 25 |
| Harvest-objective — summer (no bait/no dogs, OTC) | Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich, Kamas/North Slope Summit, Manti North, Nebo, Wasatch Mtns West-Central, Yellowstone | Jul 6 – Jul 31 |
| Harvest-objective — fall (no bait/no dogs, OTC) | Most harvest-objective units statewide (e.g. Beaver, Diamond Mtn/Vernal/Bonanza, Fillmore-Pahvant, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, La Sal Mtns, Manti South/San Rafael North, Mt Dutton, Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Panguitch Lake/Zion, San Juan, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, plus the summer-season units above) | Sep 1 – Oct 25 |
| Harvest-objective — fall (no bait/no dogs, OTC) | Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South unit only | Aug 15 – Oct 1 |
| Harvest-objective — fall, segment 1 (no bait, OTC) | Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich unit only | Aug 1 – Aug 31 |
| Harvest-objective — fall, segment 2 (no bait, OTC) | Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich unit only | Nov 2 – Nov 8 |
02 — Bag limits & check-in
| Statewide | 1 bear per permit; may not be a cub or a female accompanied by cub(s) |
|---|---|
| Harvest-objective units | Each unit has a biologist-set harvest quota; the unit closes once the quota is met, effective the day after 30 minutes before sunrise — verify a unit is still open at wildlife.utah.gov/bearharvest before hunting |
| Mandatory harvest reporting | Contact DWR within 48 hours of harvest and present the unskinned, unfrozen carcass or pelt with the skull and evidence of sex still attached for a mandatory in-person check-in and permanent tag; DWR extracts one or two teeth at check-in for aging |
| Dog limits | Maximum 16 dogs in a single pursuit while hunting or pursuing bear during spring/fall seasons; maximum 8 dogs during the summer pursuit season — limits are cumulative across an entire hunting party |
| Methods | Baiting requires a bait-station certificate of registration and is legal only where the hunt table does not mark a season 'no bait'; the same applies to dogs and 'no dogs' — baiting before a season's start date is prohibited statewide |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (March 28, 2026) 06:45 — 20:17
Rule: 30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset during the spring, summer and fall bear hunting and pursuit seasons (Utah Admin. Rule R657-33-5) — the summer pursuit-only season additionally allows pursuit (not harvest) starting at 5 a.m. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Utah sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Bear hunters in Utah need a Utah hunting license — a limited-entry permit (resident $93 / nonresident $600, drawn via utahdraws.com, application window Feb. 10-24, 2026, results Mar. 5), a multiseason limited-entry permit (resident $183 / nonresident $889, also drawn), or a harvest-objective permit (resident $93 / nonresident $600, purchased over the counter starting Mar. 10, 2026, no draw); baiting on a summer limited-entry hunt additionally requires a $10 bait-station certificate of registration Check-in or reporting a harvest is typically mandatory; see the row above for Utah's specific rule.
Where to hunt public land in Utah — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — Scouting gear
Patterning bear activity before Utah'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 →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are category links, not a single named pick — we run no product tests of our own.
06 — FAQ
When does bear season open in Utah?
The earliest 2026 opener is March 28, 2026. See the table above for each method and zone.
When does bear season end in Utah?
The latest 2026 closing date is November 8, 2026. Individual segments and zones can close earlier — see the table above.
Do I need a separate bear license or tag in Utah?
a limited-entry permit (resident $93 / nonresident $600, drawn via utahdraws.com, application window Feb. 10-24, 2026, results Mar. 5), a multiseason limited-entry permit (resident $183 / nonresident $889, also drawn), or a harvest-objective permit (resident $93 / nonresident $600, purchased over the counter starting Mar. 10, 2026, no draw); baiting on a summer limited-entry hunt additionally requires a $10 bait-station certificate of registration
How many bears can you shoot in Utah?
2026 bag limits: Statewide — 1 bear per permit; may not be a cub or a female accompanied by cub(s). Harvest-objective units — Each unit has a biologist-set harvest quota; the unit closes once the quota is met, effective the day after 30 minutes before sunrise — verify a unit is still open at wildlife.utah.gov/bearharvest before hunting. Mandatory harvest reporting — Contact DWR within 48 hours of harvest and present the unskinned, unfrozen carcass or pelt with the skull and evidence of sex still attached for a mandatory in-person check-in and permanent tag; DWR extracts one or two teeth at check-in for aging. Dog limits — Maximum 16 dogs in a single pursuit while hunting or pursuing bear during spring/fall seasons; maximum 8 dogs during the summer pursuit season — limits are cumulative across an entire hunting party. Methods — Baiting requires a bait-station certificate of registration and is legal only where the hunt table does not mark a season 'no bait'; the same applies to dogs and 'no dogs' — baiting before a season's start date is prohibited statewide. 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 Utah?
On opening day (March 28, 2026) legal light runs 06:45 to 20:17. The rule is: 30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset during the spring, summer and fall bear hunting and pursuit seasons (Utah Admin. Rule R657-33-5) — the summer pursuit-only season additionally allows pursuit (not harvest) starting at 5 a.m. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Utah sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt bear on my own land in Utah without a license?
No — Utah requires a license, permit, or tag to hunt protected wildlife regardless of land ownership. Utah's 'Landowner Permit' program grants qualifying landowners priority access to big-game tags — that's an allocation benefit, not a license exemption, and applicants must still be able to lawfully hold a hunting license.
Verified · Utah Division of Wildlife Resources · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. Official '2026 Utah Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook' PDF (version 2026.3, published Jan. 15, 2026), read directly with pdftotext -layout; bear content spans the general field-regulations sections plus the Black Bear Hunt Tables (guidebook pages 73-80). As flagged in prior scoping for this state, bear regulations for this cycle live inside a combined bear/cougar/furbearer guidebook rather than a standalone bear book — confirmed directly from the PDF's own title and table of contents. Utah runs three lethal bear-permit types with very different date structures: (1) Limited-entry permits (drawn) — spring (Mar. 28-May 25, any legal weapon, no bait, statewide across ~19 units), summer (May 25-June 28, any legal weapon, no dogs; baiting is allowed with a required bait-station certificate of registration, but not before the season starts), and fall, which runs in two segments (Aug. 1-31 and Nov. 2-8, any legal weapon, no bait) on most units except Boulder/Kaiparowits (a single Oct. 2-Nov. 8 fall window) and the Book Cliffs Little Creek Roadless unit (a spot-and-stalk-only Sept. 1-Nov. 8 season); (2) Multiseason limited-entry permits (drawn, higher fee) — valid for 'all open seasons' on the drawn unit, i.e. whichever of the spring/summer/fall limited-entry windows and any open harvest-objective windows apply to that unit, using the weapon/method required for each window; not given its own date row here since its dates are simply the union of the other rows for that unit. (3) Harvest-objective permits (purchased over the counter, no draw) — biologist-set quota hunts that close the moment the unit's harvest objective is met; date patterns vary by unit (spring-only Mar. 28-May 25 no-bait on five units; summer+fall combined July 6-31 & Sept. 1-Oct. 25 no-bait/no-dogs on eight units; fall-only Sept. 1-Oct. 25 no-bait/no-dogs on twelve units; a unique Aug. 15-Oct. 1 no-bait/no-dogs window on Book Cliffs Bitter Creek/South; and a fall-segment no-bait pattern mirroring the limited-entry Aug. 1-31/Nov. 2-8 dates on the Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich unit specifically) — hunters must check wildlife.utah.gov/bearharvest daily, since closures take effect the following day 30 minutes before official sunrise. Separate from all of the above, Utah also issues non-lethal pursuit permits and restricted pursuit permits (Book Cliffs, La Sal, San Juan units only) that allow chasing/treeing a bear but never killing it — these are not included in the methods table below since they are not harvest seasons, but the dog-count limits they share with hunting permits (16 dogs per pursuit in spring/fall, 8 in summer, cumulative across a hunting party) are noted under bagLimits. Baiting and hound use are legal in Utah but only within the specific seasons/units the guidebook marks 'bait allowed' or does not mark 'no bait' / 'no dogs' — this is the opposite default from ballot-ban states like Colorado. Not independently confirmed this round: whether every one of the ~20 limited-entry and ~20 harvest-objective unit names maps 1:1 to a distinct GMU boundary versus a grouped-unit boundary — consult hunt.utah.gov for exact unit maps before applying.