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Virginia · 2026-27 season year

Virginia Small Game Season 2026-27

Squirrel: September 5, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Rabbit: October 31, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Every date below was read from Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’s own published page, linked beside it, on September 19, 2026.

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.
November 7, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Pheasant
published
November 7, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Quail
published
October 24, 2026 to February 13, 2027
Grouse
published
October 31, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Rabbit
published
September 5, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Squirrel
published
2 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

Virginia small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources dates grouse, quail and pheasant, rabbit, and gray, red and fox squirrel separately, so each species is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Pheasant

published

Pheasant runs November 7, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

Virginia pheasant, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 7, 2026January 31, 2027

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, Virginia Hunting, Trapping, and Migratory Game Bird Seasons July 2026 to June 2027, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

DWR dates quail and pheasant together on one row, the first Saturday in November through the end of January. The guide prints no zone qualifiers for pheasant.

Opening day, the daily limit and the full season calendar are on the Virginia pheasant season page.

Quail

published

Quail runs November 7, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

Virginia quail, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 7, 2026January 31, 2027Closed on all public lands west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and on Flippo-Gentry WMA in Sussex County

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, Virginia Hunting, Trapping, and Migratory Game Bird Seasons July 2026 to June 2027, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

Bobwhite quail runs the first Saturday in November through the end of January. The season is closed on all public lands west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and, until further notice, on Flippo-Gentry WMA in Sussex County.

Grouse

published

Grouse runs October 24, 2026 to February 13, 2027 across all zones.

Virginia grouse, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
West of I-95October 24, 2026February 13, 2027

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, Virginia Hunting, Trapping, and Migratory Game Bird Seasons July 2026 to June 2027, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

Ruffed grouse is open only west of I-95, from the fourth Saturday in October to mid February; the guide lists a continuous closed season east of I-95.

Rabbit

published

Rabbit runs October 31, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Virginia rabbit, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOctober 31, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, Virginia Hunting, Trapping, and Migratory Game Bird Seasons July 2026 to June 2027, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

Rabbit opens the last Saturday in October and runs through the end of February statewide.

Squirrel (Gray, Red, Fox)

published

Squirrel (Gray, Red, Fox) runs September 5, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Virginia squirrel (gray, red, fox), as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Gray and Red Squirrels, statewideSeptember 5, 2026February 28, 2027
Fox Squirrels, designated areas onlySeptember 5, 2026January 31, 2027Counties west of the Blue Ridge and the counties of Albemarle, Bedford, Culpeper, Fauquier, Franklin, Greene, Henry, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, Patrick, Prince William and Rappahannock

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, Virginia Hunting, Trapping, and Migratory Game Bird Seasons July 2026 to June 2027, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

Gray and red squirrels open the Saturday of Labor Day weekend statewide and run through February; fox squirrels share the opener but close at the end of January and are open only in the designated counties. A separate June spring squirrel season is listed in otherSeasons.

Gray and Red Squirrels: September 5 through February 28
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
A rooster ring-necked pheasant with a red face, iridescent green head and white neck ring striding through dry pale crop stubble
A rooster in harvested crop stubble in North Dakota. Most pheasant openers land in October and November, once the fields are cut. Photo: Courtney Celley, USFWS. “Ring-necked pheasant (54120901581)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain
The rest of the calendar

Other Virginia small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources dates one further season on the same small game pages. They are reproduced here under the agency’s own names, because a hunter reading a calendar needs to know which window a licence or stamp actually covers.

Spring Squirrel

published

Spring Squirrel runs June 5, 2027 to June 19, 2027 across all zones.

Virginia spring squirrel, as published by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide, unless otherwise postedJune 5, 2027June 19, 2027Closed on National Forest lands; open on the WMAs the guide lists

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, Virginia Hunting, Trapping, and Migratory Game Bird Seasons July 2026 to June 2027, Virginia DWR, accessed 2026-09-19.

A two week spring squirrel season in June. Gray and red squirrels may be taken statewide unless otherwise posted and on the WMAs the guide lists; fox squirrels only in counties with an open fall fox squirrel season and on the WMAs named; closed on National Forest lands.

Rules

Virginia small game hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Virginia regulations

Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and stamp requirements, and youth or special season rules 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
Close view of an eastern cottontail rabbit in green grass, ears up, dark round eye and white chin catching the light
An eastern cottontail. Rabbit is usually the last small game season to close, running into February in most of the East and Midwest. Photo: Grayson Smith, USFWS. “Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (48935527872)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

Small game season dates in other Southeast states

Every state’s pheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel dates are on the national small game season page.

A pair of northern bobwhite quail standing together in a carpet of purple violets, the male with a bold white throat and eye stripe, the female buff faced
A bobwhite pair. Quail seasons run from late autumn into winter across the South and Midwest; several western states date scaled, Gambel's and California quail on the same row. Photo: Steve Maslowski, USFWS. “Colinus virginianus USFWS”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Public domain
Virginia pheasant seasonOpening day, the daily limit and the full Virginia pheasant calendar, read from the same agency.Virginia deer seasonArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer dates for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Virginia turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, read from the same agency.Virginia duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.Virginia fall foliagePeak color and the first grouse and squirrel weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

Virginia small game season questions

A fox squirrel with a grey back and rust orange belly crouched on a lichen covered branch against bare winter trees and blue sky
A fox squirrel in bare winter woods in Ohio. Squirrel is the earliest small game opener in many states, from mid August or September, and runs to January or February. “Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger vulpinus) (13255025953)” by Andrew C, CC BY 2.0

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 19, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources page linked beside it, read on September 19, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours and licence rules are set by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.