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Bear hibernationColorado

When Do Bears Hibernate in Colorado?

Colorado bears are feeding hard before winter, and go into their dens in early November.

Today, October 13

The bears

Fattening up

Bears start going into their dens in early November.

Bird feeders

Keep feeders down until early December

Feeders go back up once bears are in their dens, in early December.

Where these dates come from

Photo: “Black bear on a snowy spring day”, Neal Herbert, National Park Service, Public domain

Dens and feeders in Colorado

By Colorado Parks and Wildlife's den and wake months
Early November
Into the den
per Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Mid March
Out of the den
per Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Mid March
Feeders down
when the first bears wake
Early December
Feeders back up
once the dens are full

Bears go into their dens over several weeks and come out over several more, so each is a span. Feeders come down as the first bears wake and go back up once the dens are full.

The sources

The dates, in the agencies’ own words

Into the den and out

Bears in Colorado go into their dens in early November and come out in mid March.

Most Colorado bears are active from mid-March through early November.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Living with Bears, read October 13, 2026

The bird feeder

Down in mid March, back up in early December. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says to take feeders down while bears are active, in the words below. The dates are when bears start waking and when dens are full, by Colorado Parks and Wildlife's den and wake months.

Leaving attractants, like trash cans and bird feeders (hummingbird, suet and seed), out where they are accessible to bears is a violation of state law, as well as some local city and county ordinance.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Living with Bears, read October 13, 2026
A dark opening dug into a hillside underneath a large grey fallen tree trunk, with green plants around it
A bear den under a fallen tree in Yellowstone, photographed in late May. Under fallen trees is one of the den sites BearWise names, along with hollow trees, dug out mounds and nests under briar patches. “Bear den underneath a fallen tree”, Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service, Public domain
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Month by month

The Colorado bear year

Where the bears are in each month, from the den and wake months above, and where the feeder stands.

  1. January: In the den, feeders up
  2. February: In the den, feeders up
  3. March: Waking up, feeders down
  4. April: Out and hungry, feeders down
  5. May: Out and hungry, feeders down
  6. June: Out and hungry, feeders down
  7. July: Out and hungry, feeders down
  8. August: Out and hungry, feeders down
  9. September: Fattening up, feeders down
  10. October: Fattening up, feeders down, this month
  11. November: Denning now, feeders down
  12. December: In the den, feeders up

Up and Down mark where the feeder stands in the middle of each month. The bar for this month is outlined.

Sightings

When Colorado bears are seen

The months people report black bears in Colorado on iNaturalist, from every year, and the reports from the last 30 days.

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2,085 research grade black bear reports from Colorado on iNaturalist, all years, by the month they were seen. Most come in July, fewest in February. Counted September 19, 2026. The bars count sightings people logged, not bears.

Reading the last 30 days of bear reports from iNaturalist.

Bears out in winter

How easily a denned bear is roused, in the words of NJ Fish and Wildlife:

While in torpor black bears are capable of being easily awakened if disturbed and they may leave their dens on mild winter days in search of food.

NJ Fish and Wildlife, Black Bear Biology and Behavior, read October 13, 2026
A cinnamon brown black bear walking through low shrubs and dry grass
A black bear at Great Sand Dunes, photographed by the park in spring as bears were coming out of their dens, hungry. “Black Bear, Great Sand Dunes National Park”, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Public domain
Questions

Bears in Colorado: questions and answers

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By state

Bear hibernation in the other 41 states

Other guides for Colorado

Bear Season in ColoradoFall activity and hunting dates by state.Hummingbird Migration in ColoradoWhen hummingbirds arrive and leave, and when to take feeders down.Winter Backyard Birds in ColoradoThe top feeder birds by state, December to February.Attic Wildlife in ColoradoWhen you may and may not evict animals from an attic.Bear Hibernation in every stateDen, wake and feeder dates for all 42 states, with the eight that have no dens.

Den, wake and feeder sentences are quoted from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, nearby agencies where named and BearWise, read October 13, 2026. The phase and the feeder verdict are worked out from those months and today’s date. Bear reports are research grade iNaturalist observations of the American black bear, counted September 19, 2026.