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

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

Firearms: September 28, 2026 to January 2, 2027, varying by zone across 6 rows in the agency table. Archery: October 3, 2026 to November 13, 2026. Virginia Department 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: Does Virginia have a spring bear season in 2027?

No. Virginia holds no spring bear season. Every dated bear season the department publishes falls between late September and January 2, and its bear hound training and chase seasons, during which no bear may be taken, run in August and September and again in November and December. 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 Virginia?

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, on its page titled Living with Black Bears in Virginia, which is linked from the agency notice on this page. That page is the agency's own guidance for Virginia 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 Virginia bear hunting rules?

At Virginia Department 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.

September 28, 2026 to January 2, 2027

Firearms

published

October 3, 2026 to November 13, 2026

Archery

published

No season

Spring bear season

no season

June

Busiest reported month

1,541 reports on record

Fall activity

When black bears are most active in Virginia

The department says the black bear is the only bear species in Virginia and that bears are found throughout most of the Commonwealth, occurring in at least 92 of Virginia's 98 counties and cities. The highest concentrations are in the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains and around the Great Dismal Swamp, with bears also in the Piedmont and sporadically along the coast.

The bars count research grade American black bear observations people uploaded to iNaturalist for Virginia, 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.

1,541 research grade American black bear observations have been uploaded to iNaturalist for Virginia across every year the platform holds, and 23 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 Virginia by year, 2016 to 2025: 93 in 2016 and 150 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 Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources says

Fall feeding

Bears may feed up to 20 hours per day, accumulating fat (energy) prior to winter denning. An adult male can gain over 100 pounds in a few weeks when acorn production is heavy.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

Denning

Depending on weather and food conditions, black bears enter their winter dens between October and January. In Virginia, most bears in mountainous areas den in large, hollow trees.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

When conflicts and sightings rise

Residential bear problems may occur at any time of year, but are more common when natural food supplies are limited, usually in the spring or in years when natural nut and berry production is low, but human-related foods are available.

Virginia Department 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

Virginia bear seasons, 2026-27

Virginia Department 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.

Firearms

published

Firearms is OPEN now in the Cities of Chesapeake, Suffolk and Virginia Beach, through January 2, 2027, with 2 zone segments open.

Virginia firearms, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Washington and Wise counties (segment 1)	September 28, 2026	September 30, 2026	The department lists the three day September window here as Early Firearms and excepts Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area from it.
Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Washington and Wise counties (segment 2)	November 23, 2026	January 2, 2027
Arlington, Bland, Caroline, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Craig, Fairfax, Fluvanna, Giles, Goochland, Halifax, Hanover, Henrico, Louisa, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Orange, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince William, Pulaski, Roanoke, Smyth, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Tazewell and Wythe counties	November 23, 2026	January 2, 2027
Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Buckingham, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Frederick, Greene, Highland, Loudoun, Madison, Nelson, Page, Rappahannock, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren counties (segment 1)	November 27, 2026	November 29, 2026	This county group is the one the department splits into a short late November window and a longer window after December 21.
Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Buckingham, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Frederick, Greene, Highland, Loudoun, Madison, Nelson, Page, Rappahannock, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren counties (segment 2)	December 21, 2026	January 2, 2027
Amelia, Brunswick, Campbell, Carroll, Charles City, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Essex, Floyd, Franklin, Gloucester, Grayson, Greensville, Henry, Isle of Wight, James City, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Lunenburg, Mathews, Middlesex, New Kent, Northumberland, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince George, Richmond, Southampton, Surry, Sussex, Westmoreland and York counties	November 30, 2026	January 2, 2027
Cities of Chesapeake, Suffolk and Virginia Beach	October 1, 2026	January 2, 2027	The earliest opener in the state by nearly two months.
Incorporated limits of any town or city that allows bear hunting	October 3, 2026	January 2, 2027	The department notes this season does not supersede local ordinances.

Dates read from Bear Hunting Regulations and Seasons, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

Virginia dates its bear seasons by county group rather than by numbered zone, and the groups differ by more than a month. Accomack and Northampton counties are the exception: the department lists their firearms bear season as closed, while their archery season runs with the rest of the state.

Archery

published

Archery is OPEN now in the Statewide except the Albemarle to Warren county group, through November 13, 2026.

Virginia archery, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide except the Albemarle to Warren county group	October 3, 2026	November 13, 2026	This window covers every county group the department lists other than the one that opens October 17, and it includes Accomack and Northampton, whose firearms season is closed.
Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Buckingham, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Frederick, Greene, Highland, Loudoun, Madison, Nelson, Page, Rappahannock, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren counties	October 17, 2026	November 13, 2026

Dates read from Bear Hunting Regulations and Seasons, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

Virginia's archery bear season is the earliest statewide opportunity in most of the Commonwealth, running from the first Saturday in October to November 13, two weeks later in the central mountain and northern Piedmont county group.

Spring bear season

no season

Virginia holds no spring bear season. Virginia holds no spring bear season. Every dated bear season the department publishes falls between late September and January 2, and its bear hound training and chase seasons, during which no bear may be taken, run in August and September and again in November and December. Source: Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

Other Virginia bear seasons the agency names

Muzzleloader

published

Muzzleloader opens in 28 days, on November 7, 2026 (Statewide except the Albemarle to Warren county group).

Virginia muzzleloader, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide except the Albemarle to Warren county group	November 7, 2026	November 13, 2026
Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Buckingham, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Frederick, Greene, Highland, Loudoun, Madison, Nelson, Page, Rappahannock, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren counties	November 10, 2026	November 13, 2026

Dates read from Bear Hunting Regulations and Seasons, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

A one week window that closes the same day as archery, three days shorter in the central mountain and northern Piedmont county group.

Youth and Apprentice Bear Hunting Weekend

published

Youth and Apprentice Bear Hunting Weekend is OPEN now, through October 11, 2026.

Virginia youth and apprentice bear hunting weekend, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	October 10, 2026	October 11, 2026

Dates read from Bear Hunting Regulations and Seasons, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

A single statewide weekend for hunters 15 and under and for holders of an apprentice licence, accompanied and directly supervised by an adult.

The agency's own season sentence

Archery: October 3 through November 13. Firearms: November 23 through January 2.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source

Current Virginia regulations

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

Virginia Department 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

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

Virginia bear season questions

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

In the observation record for Virginia, research grade black bear reports peak in June and 23 percent of all 1,541 reports fall in September, October and November. Virginia Department 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 Virginia in 2026-27?

Does Virginia have a spring bear season in 2027?

When do black bears go into dens in Virginia?

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources describes the denning timing for Virginia 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 January. 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 Virginia increasing?

The number of research grade black bear reports uploaded for Virginia went from 93 in 2016 to 150 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. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources describes when sightings and conflicts rise in Virginia in the sentence quoted on this page.

Who publishes guidance on living with bears in Virginia?

Where are the rest of the Virginia 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 Virginia Department 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.