South Carolina Bear Season 2026-27
Finally, late fall marks the time when bears are searching for food to create fat stores to last them through the winter.
South Carolina Department of Natural ResourcesStill Hunt: October 11, 2026 to October 30, 2026. People report black bears in South Carolina most in June, and 28 percent of all reports fall in September, October and November. Everything below is South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’s own words and dates, read on September 19, 2026, beside the record of what people reported.
When black bears are most active in South Carolina
SCDNR's species page says South Carolina has two resident black bear populations, one in the mountains and upper piedmont and one in the coastal plain, and that dispersing juvenile bears turn up in many other counties as transients that do not stay long.
The bars count research grade American black bear observations people uploaded to iNaturalist for South 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 September. 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.
164 research grade American black bear observations have been uploaded to iNaturalist for South Carolina across every year the platform holds, and 28 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 September. 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 South Carolina by year, 2016 to 2025: 1 in 2016 and 47 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 South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says
Fall feeding
Finally, late fall marks the time when bears are searching for food to create fat stores to last them through the winter.South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
Denning
Gestation is 235 days and cubs are born in January or February while the female is hibernating.South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
When conflicts and sightings rise
Most bear problems in residential areas are temporary and usually occur in the spring, summer, and late fall months.South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
South Carolina bear seasons, 2026-27
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources 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.
Still Hunt
publishedStill Hunt is OPEN now in the Game Zone 1, through October 23, 2026.
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Zone 1 | October 11, 2026 | October 23, 2026 | |
| Game Zone 2 (private land in Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens counties south of Game Zone 1 and all of Anderson and Spartanburg counties) | October 17, 2026 | October 30, 2026 | |
| Game Zone 4 (Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, and Williamsburg counties) | October 17, 2026 | October 30, 2026 |
Dates read from 2026-2027 South Carolina Hunting & Fishing Guide, SCDNR, accessed 2026-09-19.
SCDNR dates its bear seasons by Game Zone under the heading Bear Seasons on Private Lands. Game Zone 1 in the mountain counties runs a still hunt followed by dog hunts, while Game Zone 2 in the upper piedmont and Game Zone 4 on the coast run still hunts only; Wildlife Management Area bear hunting has its own rows in the guide's WMA tables. The 2026-2027 guide prints the Game Zone 1 still hunt as Oct. 11-23 and the dog hunts as Oct. 17-30, so the two Game Zone 1 windows overlap in this edition.
Bear archery season
no seasonSouth Carolina holds no separately dated archery bear season. The 2026-2027 guide dates no separate archery bear season in any Game Zone; the only bear archery rows are Wildlife Management Area rows that fall inside the Game Zone 1 still hunt window, so the still hunt dates are the statewide answer. Source: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Spring bear season
no seasonSouth Carolina holds no spring bear season. South Carolina's bear seasons all run in October on private lands; the 2026-2027 guide lists no spring bear season in any Game Zone. Source: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Other South Carolina bear seasons the agency names
Dog Hunts
publishedDog Hunts opens in 4 days, on October 17, 2026 (Game Zone 1).
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Zone 1 | October 17, 2026 | October 30, 2026 |
Dates read from 2026-2027 South Carolina Hunting & Fishing Guide, SCDNR, accessed 2026-09-19.
Game Zone 1 is the only zone with a dated dog hunt window; the guide prints it as Oct. 17-30 following the Game Zone 1 still hunt.
The agency's own season sentence
Game Zone 1 Still Hunt (No Dogs): Oct. 11-23South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
Current South Carolina regulations
Permit and tag requirements, zone maps, permitted methods, tagging and reporting, and everything else a bear hunter is bound by for South Carolina are set by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: current regulations
Bear season in other states
South Carolina bear season questions
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 South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’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.