California · Elk · 2026–27 Edition
California Elk Season 2026–27: Archery, Muzzleloader & Rifle Dates
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone note | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | Various Roosevelt/Rocky Mountain/Tule zones (Central Coast, La Panza, Fort Hunter Liggett, Lone Pine, Northeastern, Owens Valley, Siskiyou, Tinemaha, Whitney) | Aug 1 – Sep 30 |
| Apprentice (junior hunters, all methods) | Bishop, Cache Creek, Fort Hunter Liggett, Grizzly Island, La Panza, Marble Mountains, Northeastern | Aug 11 – Jan 3 |
| General Methods — Tule elk | Bear Valley, Bishop, Cache Creek, Central Coast, East Park Reservoir, Fort Hunter Liggett, Gabilan, Goodale, Grizzly Island, Independence, La Panza, Lake Pillsbury, Lone Pine, San Luis Reservoir, Tinemaha, West Tinemaha, Whitney | Aug 11 – Jan 3 |
| General Methods — Rocky Mountain elk | Northeastern, Tehachapi | Sep 5 – Nov 22 |
| General Methods — Roosevelt elk | Marble Mountains, Northwestern, Siskiyou | Sep 2 – Oct 18 |
| General Methods — Roosevelt/Tule elk | Mendocino | Sep 23 – Oct 4 |
| Muzzleloader — Tule elk | Bishop, Independence | Sep 12 – Sep 27 |
| Muzzleloader/Archery — Roosevelt elk | Marble Mountains | Oct 31 – Nov 8 |
California elk hunting is organized into roughly 50 named hunt zones grouped by elk population/subspecies (Roosevelt elk in the far north/northwest, Rocky Mountain elk in the northeast, and Tule elk across the Central Valley, Central Coast and Owens Valley) rather than a single statewide GMU grid — each zone carries its own hunt code, dates, weapon type and tiny tag quota, so success depends entirely on which specific hunt code a hunter draws.
02 — Tags & bag limits
| All hunt codes | One elk per drawn tag; the tag specifies bull, antlerless, spike-bull, or either-sex per the specific hunt code drawn |
|---|---|
| Tag quotas | Extremely limited statewide — most individual hunt codes award between 1 and 34 tags per year; 2026 quotas summed across all ~50 hunt codes total roughly 360-380 tags statewide |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (August 1, 2026) 05:33 — 20:33
Rule: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, statewide, for all big game including elk (T14 CCR §352) — no elk-specific exception found. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local California sun times for any other date.
04 — License & tags
Elk hunters in California need a California hunting license plus an elk tag. Both residents and nonresidents may apply, but nonresidents cannot apply as a party (residents may pair up to two applicants) and only one nonresident total may be drawn for an elk tag statewide per year, making nonresident odds substantially worse than resident odds. 2026 tag fees: Resident $610.20, Nonresident $1,871.80.
California hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in California — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — Scouting gear
Scouting a unit before California's opener usually means glassing basins and running a trail camera through summer.
- 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 elk season start in California?
The earliest 2026–27 opener is August 1, 2026 (Archery). See the table above for every method.
When does elk season end in California?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is January 3, 2027. Individual seasons close earlier — see the table above.
Do I need to enter a draw to hunt elk in California?
Every elk tag in California, in every zone and for every weapon type, is allocated through a 100% preference-point draw lottery — there is no over-the-counter elk tag anywhere in the state. Total statewide tag numbers are extremely low (roughly 360-380 tags across all ~50 hunt codes combined for 2026), several zones award only one or two tags per year, and some units (e.g. those entirely on private land such as Mendocino or Gabilan) are effectively unhuntable without a landowner access arrangement even if drawn. Many applicants carry the maximum 24 preference points and still are not drawn every year; CDFW even sells a dedicated 'Preference Point Only' application (hunt code 499) for hunters who apply purely to accumulate points toward a future year.
How many elk can you shoot in California?
2026–27 bag limits: All hunt codes — One elk per drawn tag; the tag specifies bull, antlerless, spike-bull, or either-sex per the specific hunt code drawn. Tag quotas — Extremely limited statewide — most individual hunt codes award between 1 and 34 tags per year; 2026 quotas summed across all ~50 hunt codes total roughly 360-380 tags statewide. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting elk in California?
On opening day (August 1, 2026) legal light runs 05:33 to 20:33. The rule is: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset, statewide, for all big game including elk (T14 CCR §352) — no elk-specific exception found. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local California sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt elk on my own land in California without a license?
No — California requires a hunting license regardless of land ownership. The one landowner-specific carve-out is a narrow depredation-permit process for wild pigs causing damage, which is not a general hunting license.
Verified · California Department of Fish and Wildlife · Last verified 2026-08-15
Publisher's note. Season dates read directly from the '2026 California Big Game Hunting Digest' PDF (updated 4/17/2026), CDFW's authoritative current-year regulations document, in its Elk Hunt Zones / 2026 Elk Hunts tables (pp. 44-53). California elk hunting is entirely a 100%-draw lottery system across all ~50 individual hunt codes (Roosevelt, Rocky Mountain, and Tule elk populations) — there is no over-the-counter elk tag anywhere in the state, and the digest itself lists a dedicated 'Preference Point Only' hunt code (499) for applicants who only want to accrue points. Each of the ~50 hunt codes (e.g. Marble Mountains General Methods Bull, Grizzly Island Apprentice, Fort Hunter Liggett Period 3) has its own specific date range and its own tiny tag quota (many are 1-10 tags statewide); the methods[] rows below group these into their weapon-type/population categories and give the earliest-to-latest date span found within each category, rather than reproducing all ~50 individual rows — hunters must check the digest's hunt-code table for the exact dates of the specific zone/hunt they draw. Total statewide elk tag quota is in the low hundreds (2026 quotas per hunt code sum to roughly 360-380 tags across the entire state), corroborating third-party reporting of ~362 tags statewide. Tag fees confirmed from the same digest page 42: Resident $610.20, Nonresident $1,871.80. Shooting hours (T14 CCR §352) confirmed from the digest's general 'Hunting Hours' section, which applies uniformly to all big game including elk — no elk-specific exception found.