North Carolina Bear Season 2026-27: Fall Activity & Hunt Dates

Q: When does bear season open in North Carolina in 2026-27?

Bear Seasons: October 3, 2026 to January 1, 2027, varying by zone across 10 rows in the agency table. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission publishes these dates and the full zone tables on this page were read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Does North Carolina have a spring bear season in 2027?

No. North Carolina's bear seasons all fall between October and New Year's Day; the Commission's 2026-27 season dates sheet lists no spring bear season. Spring bear seasons are mostly a western pattern, and the national page lists the states that hold one in 2027.

Q: Who publishes guidance on living with bears in North Carolina?

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, on its page titled Bearwise, which is linked from the agency notice on this page. That page is the agency's own guidance for North Carolina residents on attractants, encounters and who to call, and its sentence on fall activity is quoted verbatim beside the link, read on September 19, 2026.

Q: Where are the rest of the North Carolina bear hunting rules?

At North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, whose regulations page is linked on this page. Those rules are legally binding, change annually and vary by zone and land ownership; the permit and tag system, zone maps, methods and reporting requirements are all published there. This page carries the season windows themselves, with the source page and read date attached.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 19, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.

October 3, 2026 to January 1, 2027

Bear Seasons

published

No season

Archery bear season

no season

No season

Spring bear season

no season

June

Busiest reported month

3,697 reports on record

Fall activity

When black bears are most active in North Carolina

The Commission's species page says black bears are found on approximately 60% of the total land area of North Carolina, common in the coastal and mountain regions and uncommon in the Piedmont, where most bears are transient.

The bars count research grade American black bear observations people uploaded to iNaturalist for North Carolina, by calendar month, across every year the platform holds. The busiest month in the record is June, and reports drop below 40 percent of that peak by November. The drop into winter reflects bears denning and fewer people outdoors in equal measure, which is why the agency’s sentences below, not the curve, carry the timing.

3,697 research grade American black bear observations have been uploaded to iNaturalist for North Carolina across every year the platform holds, and 25 percent of them fall in the three shaded fall months. The busiest month in the record is June, and reports drop below 40 percent of that peak by November. These are counts of what people reported, so they measure observers as well as bears; they are not a population, not a survey and not a statement about this autumn. See the records on iNaturalist.

Research grade black bear reports uploaded for North Carolina by year, 2016 to 2025: 54 in 2016 and 719 in 2025. Most of the climb is the platform itself growing, and every species on it shows the same shape, so this is a record of reporting rather than a population trend.

What North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says

Fall feeding

Bears put on additional weight in autumn to prepare for winter denning.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

Denning

In North Carolina, den entry can occur as early as November or as late as January, though male bears in the coastal plain region may be active throughout the winter.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

When conflicts and sightings rise

Reports of bear sightings spike from Memorial Day weekend through early summer.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

A young black bear resting its chin on a bare dead branch in a green hardwood forest, ears forward, looking at the camera — A young black bear on a dead limb in the hardwoods. In the eastern forests the fall feeding season runs on acorns and beechnuts, which is why the agency sentences quoted on these pages talk about hard mast and mast years. Photo: Courtney Celley, USFWS. “Black Bear (20083897724)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

Hunting dates

North Carolina bear seasons, 2026-27

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission dates American black bear seasons under its own names, and each is below under that name with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them, the source page linked beside each table, and the date it was read.

Bear Seasons

published

Bear Seasons is OPEN now in the Mountain Bear Management Unit (in and west of Surry, Wilkes, Caldwell, Burke, and Cleveland), through November 21, 2026.

North Carolina bear seasons, as published by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Zone	Opens	Closes
Mountain Bear Management Unit (in and west of Surry, Wilkes, Caldwell, Burke, and Cleveland) (segment 1)	October 3, 2026	November 21, 2026
Mountain Bear Management Unit (in and west of Surry, Wilkes, Caldwell, Burke, and Cleveland) (segment 2)	December 12, 2026	January 1, 2027
Piedmont Bear Management Unit: Franklin, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Moore, Richmond, Scotland, Vance, Wake, and Warren	October 17, 2026	January 1, 2027
Piedmont Bear Management Unit: Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Durham, Granville, Guilford, Lee, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Orange, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Stanly, and Union	November 14, 2026	January 1, 2027
Piedmont Bear Management Unit: Alexander, Catawba, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Stokes, and Yadkin	November 21, 2026	January 1, 2027
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 1: Dare, Hyde, and Tyrrell (segment 1)	November 14, 2026	November 29, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 1: Dare, Hyde, and Tyrrell (segment 2)	December 12, 2026	December 27, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 2: Currituck, Gates, and Perquimans (segment 1)	November 14, 2026	November 22, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 2: Currituck, Gates, and Perquimans (segment 2)	December 12, 2026	December 27, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 2: Camden, Chowan, and Pasquotank (segment 1)	November 13, 2026	November 22, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 2: Camden, Chowan, and Pasquotank (segment 2)	December 12, 2026	December 27, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 3: Beaufort, Bertie, Craven, Hertford, Jones, Martin, and Washington (segment 1)	November 14, 2026	November 22, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 3: Beaufort, Bertie, Craven, Hertford, Jones, Martin, and Washington (segment 2)	December 12, 2026	December 27, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 4: Edgecombe, Greene, Halifax, Lenoir, Nash, Northampton, Pitt, Wayne, and Wilson	November 21, 2026	December 20, 2026
Coastal Bear Management Unit Zone 5: Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Robeson, and Sampson	November 9, 2026	January 1, 2027

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Season Dates for July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, accessed 2026-09-19.

North Carolina dates its bear season by Bear Management Unit. The Mountain unit runs a split fall and December season, the Piedmont unit opens on three different dates by county group, and the Coastal unit is cut into five zones with windows from a two week November opener to a season that runs to New Year's Day.

Archery bear season

no season

North Carolina holds no separately dated archery bear season. The Commission's 2026-27 season dates sheet lists one bear season per Bear Management Unit and no separately dated archery bear season anywhere in the state. Source: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Spring bear season

no season

North Carolina holds no spring bear season. North Carolina's bear seasons all fall between October and New Year's Day; the Commission's 2026-27 season dates sheet lists no spring bear season. Source: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The agency's own season sentence

Mountain Bear Management Unit In and west of Surry, Wilkes, Caldwell, Burke, and Cleveland: Oct. 3 – Nov. 21, 2026 and Dec. 12, 2026 – Jan. 1, 2027

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

Current North Carolina regulations

Permit and tag requirements, zone maps, permitted methods, tagging and reporting, and everything else a bear hunter is bound by for North Carolina are set by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: current regulations

A black bear track pressed into wet grey mud, five rounded toes in an arc above a broad pad, with a second fainter print beside it — A black bear track in mud in Shenandoah National Park. Tracks, scat, turned over logs and claw marks on smooth beech bark are the sign most people meet in the fall woods, weeks before they meet the bear. Photo: M. Punches, NPS. “Black Bear Track in Mud (44654784885)”, ShenandoahNPS, Public domain

Bear season in other states

North Carolina deer seasonArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.North Carolina small game seasonPheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel openers, read from the same agency.North Carolina foraging calendarThe acorns, beechnuts and berries the agency names as fall bear food are the same mast a forager follows.

An adult black bear standing on a broken limb high in a hardwood tree above two small cubs, all three looking down — A mother black bear and two cubs of the year in a hardwood tree. The denning sentences quoted on the state pages describe when family groups like this one go to ground, and it moves by weeks between a Gulf Coast winter and a northern one. Photo: Courtney Celley, USFWS. “Black Bear Family (20083894064)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

North Carolina bear season questions

When are black bears most active in North Carolina in the fall?

In the observation record for North Carolina, research grade black bear reports peak in June and 25 percent of all 3,697 reports fall in September, October and November. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission describes the fall feeding period in its own words, quoted on this page with a link to the page it came from. Reports count people as well as bears, so the shape of the curve is the useful part and the exact numbers are not.

When does bear season open in North Carolina in 2026-27?

Does North Carolina have a spring bear season in 2027?

When do black bears go into dens in North Carolina?

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission describes the denning timing for North Carolina in the sentence quoted on this page, read on September 19, 2026 from the page linked beside it. In the observation record, reports fall below 40 percent of the June peak by November and reach their low in February. That drop reflects bears denning and fewer people outdoors in equal measure, which is why the agency's sentence, not the curve, is the denning answer.

Are black bear sightings in North Carolina increasing?

The number of research grade black bear reports uploaded for North Carolina went from 54 in 2016 to 719 in 2025. Most of that rise is the platform itself growing, since every species on iNaturalist shows the same climb, so the year bars on this page are a record of reporting rather than a population trend. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission describes when sightings and conflicts rise in North Carolina in the sentence quoted on this page.

Who publishes guidance on living with bears in North Carolina?

Where are the rest of the North Carolina bear hunting rules?

A brown wooden Bear Country sign with a white bear pictogram and a red band, on two posts at the edge of a lodgepole pine campground in low sun — A Bear Country sign at Indian Creek Campground, Yellowstone. The land manager writes the rules on the board, and they change by campground and by season: food storage orders, closed drainages, and whether a soft sided tent is allowed at all. “Bear Country Sign for Indian Creek (14457698423)”, Yellowstone National Park from Yellowstone NP, USA, Public domain

A snow covered track running between pines bent low under heavy snow, with a strip of blue sky above — Midwinter at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine. This is denning season in the north; each agency's own sentence on when its bears enter and leave their dens is quoted on the state pages, and the month bars show the reports thinning to match. “Winter at Moosehorn (11714166893)”, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with agency data read on September 19, 2026 and an iNaturalist record to September 19, 2026. Every sentence about bear behaviour is North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s own, quoted exactly with a link to its page; every season window is republished from the agency page linked beside it, and windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. The month bars count what members of the public reported and are not a population. See also the national bear season guide.