Utah Bear Season 2026-27: Fall Activity & Hunt Dates

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

Fall limited-entry hunts: August 1, 2026 to November 8, 2026, varying by zone across 2 rows in the agency table. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources publishes these dates and the full zone tables on this page were read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Who publishes guidance on living with bears in Utah?

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, on its page titled Safety in black bear country, which is linked from the agency notice on this page. That page is the agency's own guidance for Utah 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 Utah bear hunting rules?

At Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, 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.

August 1, 2026 to November 8, 2026

Fall limited-entry hunts

published

No season

Archery bear season

no season

Not published yet

Spring limited-entry hunts

not yet published

July

Busiest reported month

224 reports on record

Fall activity

When black bears are most active in Utah

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says black bear populations are hard to gather specific numbers for, so its biologists use population models built on harvest data to provide trend estimates, and based on those trends there are more bears in Utah than there were 30 years ago. Its 2023 to 2035 Black Bear Management Plan manages the species by bear management unit across the state's mountain ranges.

The bars count research grade American black bear observations people uploaded to iNaturalist for Utah, by calendar month, across every year the platform holds. The busiest month in the record is July, and reports drop below 40 percent of that peak by October. 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.

224 research grade American black bear observations have been uploaded to iNaturalist for Utah 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 July, and reports drop below 40 percent of that peak by October. 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 Utah by year, 2016 to 2025: 2 in 2016 and 42 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 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says

Fall feeding

Bears feed heavily on hard and soft mast in the fall, prior to denning, and are physiologically capable of immense weight gains in a few weeks.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

Denning

Female denning typically peaks in late October while male denning peaks in mid-November.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

When conflicts and sightings rise

As a result, bears have been seeking alternate food sources in other areas this year, which has led them to migrate into lower-elevation areas, including several neighborhoods across Utah.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, 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

Utah bear seasons, 2026-27

Utah Division of Wildlife 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.

Fall limited-entry hunts

published

Fall limited-entry hunts opens in 4 days, on October 2, 2026 (Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South).

Utah fall limited-entry hunts, as published by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes
Fall limited-entry units: Beaver, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, Diamond Mtn/Vernal/Bonanza, Dolores Triangle, Fillmore Pahvant, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, Kamas/North Slope Summit, La Sal Mtns, Manti North, Manti South/San Rafael North, Mt Dutton, Nebo, Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Panguitch Lake/Zion, Paunsaugunt, San Juan, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, Wasatch Mtns West-Central, Yellowstone (segment 1)	August 1, 2026	August 31, 2026
Fall limited-entry units: Beaver, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, Diamond Mtn/Vernal/Bonanza, Dolores Triangle, Fillmore Pahvant, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, Kamas/North Slope Summit, La Sal Mtns, Manti North, Manti South/San Rafael North, Mt Dutton, Nebo, Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Panguitch Lake/Zion, Paunsaugunt, San Juan, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, Wasatch Mtns West-Central, Yellowstone (segment 2)	November 2, 2026	November 8, 2026
Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South (segment 1)	August 1, 2026	August 14, 2026
Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South (segment 2)	October 2, 2026	November 8, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Utah Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook, Black Bear Hunt Tables, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, accessed 2026-09-19.

Utah's fall bear hunting is limited entry by unit. Every fall limited-entry unit in the 2026 hunt tables except Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South runs August 1 to 31 and again November 2 to 8, 2026; Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South runs August 1 to 14 and October 2 to November 8. Unit by unit hunt numbers are in the tables on pages 75 and 76, and the over the counter harvest-objective fall hunts are listed separately below.

Archery bear season

no season

Utah holds no separately dated archery bear season. Utah dates no archery-only bear season. Its 2026 hunt tables list spring, summer and fall limited-entry hunts, a spot-and-stalk hunt, multiseason permits and harvest-objective hunts, so bear hunting with a bow happens inside those windows rather than in a season of its own. Source: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Spring limited-entry hunts

not yet published

Utah spring bear season: not yet published as of September 19, 2026

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources had not posted these dates when this page was last checked. Utah runs spring limited-entry bear hunts, dated March 28 to May 25, 2026 in twenty units in the 2026 guidebook, with a spring pursuit season on the same dates. The Utah Wildlife Board approves a three-year bear guidebook with 2025 as the first year of the cycle, but the 2027 edition carrying the spring 2027 calendar dates had not been posted as of September 19, 2026; the DWR guidebooks page lists only the 2026 Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook. They will appear first on the agency page linked below.

Watch for them at Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Other Utah bear seasons the agency names

Summer limited-entry hunts

published

Summer limited-entry hunts has closed for the season year; the last segment ended June 28, 2026.

Utah summer limited-entry hunts, as published by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
All summer limited-entry units listed in the 2026 hunt tables (Beaver, Book Cliffs Bitter Creek/South, Book Cliffs Little Creek Roadless, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich, Diamond Mtn/Vernal/Bonanza, Dolores Triangle, Fillmore Pahvant, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, Kamas/North Slope Summit, La Sal Mtns, Manti North, Manti South/San Rafael North, Monroe, Mt Dutton, Nebo, Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Panguitch Lake/Zion, Paunsaugunt, San Juan, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, Wasatch Mtns West-Central, Yellowstone)	May 25, 2026	June 28, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Utah Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook, Black Bear Hunt Tables, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, accessed 2026-09-19.

A single statewide window for every summer limited-entry unit in the 2026 hunt tables, May 25 through June 28, 2026; the guidebook notes the first day overlaps the last day of the spring limited-entry season. The DWR guidebooks page carries this correction notice: Some season dates have been updated since the guidebook was initially published. The summer season dates for black bear pursuit are: July 6-31, 2026 for units not designated as restricted July 6-16, 2026 for early summer hunts on restricted pursuit units Important: These hunts do not start on Sunday, July 5, as was initially presented in the RAC packet. The digital edition of this guidebook has been updated with this information.

Limited-entry spot-and-stalk hunts

published

Limited-entry spot-and-stalk hunts is OPEN now in the Book Cliffs, Little Creek Roadless, through November 8, 2026.

Utah limited-entry spot-and-stalk hunts, as published by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Book Cliffs, Little Creek Roadless	September 1, 2026	November 8, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Utah Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook, Black Bear Hunt Tables, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, accessed 2026-09-19.

One limited-entry spot-and-stalk bear hunt on the Book Cliffs, Little Creek Roadless unit, as printed on page 77 of the 2026 guidebook.

Harvest-objective hunts

published

Harvest-objective hunts is OPEN now in the Harvest-objective units with a fall season: Beaver, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich, Diamond Mtn/Vernal/Bonanza, Fillmore Pahvant, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, Kamas/North Slope Summit, La Sal Mtns, Manti North, Manti South/San Rafael North, Mt Dutton, Nebo, Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Panguitch Lake/Zion, San Juan, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, Wasatch Mtns West-Central, Yellowstone, through October 25, 2026, with 2 zone segments open.

Utah harvest-objective hunts, as published by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes
Harvest-objective units with a fall season: Beaver, Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich, Diamond Mtn/Vernal/Bonanza, Fillmore Pahvant, Fishlake/Thousand Lakes, Kamas/North Slope Summit, La Sal Mtns, Manti North, Manti South/San Rafael North, Mt Dutton, Nebo, Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Panguitch Lake/Zion, San Juan, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, Wasatch Mtns West-Central, Yellowstone	September 1, 2026	October 25, 2026
Book Cliffs, Bitter Creek/South	August 15, 2026	October 1, 2026
Summer harvest-objective window: Boulder/Kaiparowits, Cache/Ogden, Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich, Kamas/North Slope Summit, Manti North, Nebo, Wasatch Mtns West-Central	July 6, 2026	July 31, 2026
Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich (additional windows) (segment 1)	March 28, 2026	May 25, 2026
Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich (additional windows) (segment 2)	August 1, 2026	August 31, 2026
Chalk Creek/East Canyon/Morgan-South Rich (additional windows) (segment 3)	November 2, 2026	November 8, 2026
Spring harvest-objective window: Nine Mile, North Slope Three Corners/West Daggett, Wasatch Mtns Avintaquin/Currant Creek, Yellowstone	March 28, 2026	May 25, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Utah Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook, Black Bear Hunt Tables, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, accessed 2026-09-19.

Over the counter harvest-objective hunts by unit from pages 79 and 80 of the 2026 guidebook; a unit stays open only until the DWR closes it, and the guidebook tells hunters to check wildlife.utah.gov/bearharvest each day. Rows group the units that share a date.

Bear pursuit seasons

published

Bear pursuit seasons opens in 35 days, on November 2, 2026 (Units not designated as restricted).

Utah bear pursuit seasons, as published by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Units not designated as restricted (segment 1)	March 28, 2026	May 25, 2026	Spring, summer and fall pursuit seasons
Units not designated as restricted (segment 2)	July 6, 2026	July 31, 2026
Units not designated as restricted (segment 3)	November 2, 2026	November 8, 2026
Restricted pursuit units: Book Cliffs, La Sal, San Juan (segment 1)	March 28, 2026	May 25, 2026	Spring, early summer and late summer pursuit seasons
Restricted pursuit units: Book Cliffs, La Sal, San Juan (segment 2)	July 6, 2026	July 16, 2026
Restricted pursuit units: Book Cliffs, La Sal, San Juan (segment 3)	July 18, 2026	July 31, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Utah Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook, Black Bear Hunt Tables, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, accessed 2026-09-19.

The DWR's pursuit season dates from the Key dates page of the 2026 guidebook. The Book Cliffs, La Sal and San Juan units are Utah's only restricted pursuit units.

The agency's own season sentence

Season dates vary by unit. See the hunt tables that begin on page 73.

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

Current Utah regulations

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

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: 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

Utah deer seasonArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Utah small game seasonPheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel openers, read from the same agency.Utah 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

Utah bear season questions

When are black bears most active in Utah in the fall?

In the observation record for Utah, research grade black bear reports peak in July and 25 percent of all 224 reports fall in September, October and November. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 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 Utah in 2026-27?

Does Utah have a spring bear season in 2027?

Utah holds a spring bear season, and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources had not published the 2027 dates as of September 19, 2026. Utah runs spring limited-entry bear hunts, dated March 28 to May 25, 2026 in twenty units in the 2026 guidebook, with a spring pursuit season on the same dates. The Utah Wildlife Board approves a three-year bear guidebook with 2025 as the first year of the cycle, but the 2027 edition carrying the spring 2027 calendar dates had not been posted as of September 19, 2026; the DWR guidebooks page lists only the 2026 Black Bear, Cougar and Furbearer Guidebook. The dates will appear first on the agency page linked on this page.

When do black bears go into dens in Utah?

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources describes the denning timing for Utah 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 July peak by October 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 Utah increasing?

The number of research grade black bear reports uploaded for Utah went from 2 in 2016 to 42 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. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources describes when sightings and conflicts rise in Utah in the sentence quoted on this page.

Who publishes guidance on living with bears in Utah?

Where are the rest of the Utah 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 Utah Division of Wildlife 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.