2026 Colorado Big Game Season Dates

Colorado Hunting · Season Dates

Elk River Sports · Steamboat Springs, Colorado · Checked against CPW September 2026

This season at a glance

Archery deer and elk and September rifle bear run September 2 to September 30. Rifle seasons run October 14 through November 22. Full dates below.

Every date below is taken from Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s published season structure. Archery and muzzleloader dates apply west of I-25 and in GMU 140 — that covers all of Northwest Colorado, including the units around Steamboat.

Deer and elk

Blaze orange, before you leave the truck. Colorado requires 500 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange or pink on an outer garment above the waist, plus a hat of the same color visible from all directions. Camouflage orange doesn’t qualify. It applies to deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and bear on any firearm license — including muzzleloader hunters and archers during rifle seasons. We wrote up exactly what counts, and what 500 square inches actually looks like: Colorado’s blaze orange rule.

Bear

Moose and pronghorn

Plains deer — east of I-25

Mountain lion

Lion licenses are over the counter, but they require the standard hunter education certificate plus a separate mountain lion education exam. Do that part early — people turn up in November having missed it.

What else is open this fall

• Dusky (blue) grouse opened September 1 — the day before archery. Almost nobody plans for it, and it’s some of the most pleasant hunting in the high country.
• Fall turkey west of I-25 runs September 1 to October 4.
• Cottontail, snowshoe hare and squirrel open October 1.
• Pheasant and quail open November 14.
• Coyote is open year round with no furbearer permit required.

Waterfowl dates are set by flyway zone and we’re confirming which zone covers Routt County before publishing them here. We’d rather leave them off than get a zone boundary wrong.

Season reminders, and the 2027 dates when CPW confirms them

A note before each rifle season opens, and one in February when the next brochure lands. Nothing else.

Before you go

• Colorado’s blaze orange rule — what the 500 square inches means, and what doesn’t count
• Are trail cameras legal in Colorado? — the regulation quoted in full
• 2027 Colorado big game season dates — already fixed by CPW, so you can plan now

Last stop before the trailhead

We’re in Steamboat Springs, the last real supply town between the Flat Tops and the Wyoming line. If something didn’t make it into the truck, we’re open.

Blaze OrangeVests, hats, hoodies that count
Game CallsElk, predator and turkey
Game CamerasTrail and cellular
BinocularsGlassing optics
Range FindersKnow the distance
Packs & Gear BagsDay packs to haul frames
Boots & FootwearWet feet ends hunts
Coats & JacketsFourth season weather
First AidCamp kits and blowout kits
Lights & HeadlampsDark walks in, dark walks out
GlovesField dressing to glassing
Food & SurvivalCamp food and emergency gear

Sources. Season dates from Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s 2025–2029 Big Game Season Structure, with small game and mountain lion dates from the current CPW brochures.

We re-check this page against CPW each February and after any Commission action. Always confirm against the current CPW brochure before you buy a license or hunt. Spot an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it.