Michigan · Squirrel · 2026–27 Edition
Michigan Squirrel Season 2026–27: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Fox, gray & black-phase squirrel season | Statewide | Sep 15 – Mar 31 |
| Red squirrel season | Statewide | Jan 1 – Dec 31 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily (fox, gray, black phase) | 5 |
|---|---|
| Possession (fox, gray, black phase) | 10 |
| Red squirrel | No daily or possession limit — open year-round, no closed season |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 15, 2026) 06:51 — 20:21
Rule: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset — Michigan's general small-game hunting hours rule. Squirrel is listed under the small-game base-license category with no squirrel-specific exception found (woodcock is the one small-game species called out with different, sunrise-to-sunset hours). Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Michigan sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Squirrel hunters in Michigan need a Michigan hunting license.
Michigan hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in Michigan — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does squirrel season start in Michigan?
The 2026–27 opener is September 15, 2026. See the table above for the full window.
When does squirrel season end in Michigan?
The 2026–27 closing date is March 31, 2027.
Is there a difference between fox and gray squirrel rules in Michigan?
See the bag limit table above — most states run one combined limit across both species, but this is worth confirming against Michigan Department of Natural Resources before you hunt.
How many squirrels can you shoot in Michigan per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Daily (fox, gray, black phase) — 5. Possession (fox, gray, black phase) — 10. Red squirrel — No daily or possession limit — open year-round, no closed season. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting squirrel in Michigan?
On opening day (September 15, 2026) legal light runs 06:51 to 20:21. The rule is: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset — Michigan's general small-game hunting hours rule. Squirrel is listed under the small-game base-license category with no squirrel-specific exception found (woodcock is the one small-game species called out with different, sunrise-to-sunset hours). Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Michigan sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt squirrels on my own land in Michigan without a license?
A Michigan resident, their spouse, and their children may hunt small game without a license on farmland they're actually domiciled on. Deer and turkey aren't covered, and owning land you don't live on doesn't qualify.
Verified · Michigan Department of Natural Resources · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. michigan.gov returns a 403 to automated fetchers on this project, so this page was read via a text-extraction proxy (r.jina.ai) fetched twice for consistency. Both passes agree: 'Squirrel hunting (fox and/or gray; black phase included) | Statewide | Sept. 15 – March 31,' daily limit 5 / possession limit 10; and separately 'Squirrel hunting (red) | Statewide | Year-round' with no bag or possession limit, plus 'Ground squirrel hunting (chipmunk included) | Statewide | Year-round' (not modeled here — out of scope for this file's tree-squirrel focus). An initial general web search had suggested a split fox/gray season (Sept 15–Nov 14, then Dec 1–Jan 1) with a gap during firearm deer season, similar to Illinois — this was checked directly against the DNR page text twice and NOT found: the DNR's own listing gives one continuous Sept. 15–March 31 statewide window for fox/gray/black-phase squirrel with no stated gap. The Sept 15–Nov 14 / Dec 1–Jan 1 split that appeared in an initial search summary matches Michigan's ARCHERY DEER season, not squirrel, and was a misattribution in that intermediate source — discarded. No Upper/Lower Peninsula zone split was found for squirrel dates. Shooting hours: the same DNR page states 'Legal hunting hours for small game (one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset)' and separately confirms squirrel requires the same base license as other listed small game (with woodcock called out as the one exception, using sunrise-to-sunset hours instead) — so the half-hour rule is treated as applying to squirrel with no carved-out exception found.