Skip to content
Maryland · 2026-27 season year

Maryland Turkey Season 2026-27

Spring 2027: April 19, 2027 to May 24, 2027. Fall 2026: October 31, 2026 to January 23, 2027. Every date below was read from Maryland Department of Natural Resources’s own published page, linked beside it, on the date shown.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
April 19, 2027 to May 24, 2027
Spring 2027
published
October 31, 2026 to January 23, 2027
Fall 2026
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Source
read 2026-09-01
The flagship

Spring 2027 turkey season in Maryland

Spring 2027 season

published

Spring 2027 season opens in 186 days, on April 19, 2027.

Maryland spring 2027 season, as published by Maryland Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideApril 19, 2027May 24, 2027Includes Sundays in certain counties

Dates read from Turkey Seasons and Limits, 2026-2027 Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping (eRegulations), accessed 2026-09-01.

Junior turkey hunt days also exist in mid April 2027. Daily start and end times shift partway through the season; the DNR page carries the detail.

Close view of a strutting male wild turkey with fanned tail in California grassland
A western tom in strut. Merriam’s and Rio Grande birds carry the western seasons. “Male wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) strutting” by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
Advertisement
The other half

Fall 2026 turkey season in Maryland

Fall 2026 season

published

Fall 2026 season opens in 16 days, on October 31, 2026 (Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties).

Maryland fall 2026 season, as published by Maryland Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Allegany, Garrett and Washington countiesOctober 31, 2026November 8, 2026Includes Sundays in hunt area counties
Statewide (winter season)January 21, 2027January 23, 2027Maryland's separate winter turkey season, labeled 2027 on the agency page

Dates read from Turkey Seasons and Limits, 2026-2027 Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping (eRegulations), accessed 2026-09-01.

The agency manages the fall 2026 and winter 2027 seasons as one combined harvest; its page carries the detail.

Trail camera photo of a wild turkey flock feeding through green woods
A fall flock on a trail camera at Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge. Fall seasons, where held, hunt birds grouped like this. “Wild turkey flock” — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters — Public domain
Why the window sits where it does

Spring seasons are built around the breeding season

Spring turkey seasons exist because of a biological coincidence that favors the hunter and protects the flock at the same time: gobblers are at their most vocal and callable in the weeks when hens are being bred and beginning to nest. Agencies set their windows so that most hens are already on nests while gobblers are still responsive, which is why the opener sweeps north with spring itself, from the Gulf states in March to the northern tier in May.

The dates are an annual regulatory decision, not a fixed calendar, which is why this page reads them from Maryland Department of Natural Resources each season year and states the year it covers.

Wild turkey hen crossing a path with three well grown poults
A hen with poults. Spring season structures exist to protect nesting hens while gobblers are still callable. “Wild turkeys (hen with poults)” — ShenandoahNPS / Luca Pfeiffer — Public domain
Rules

Maryland turkey hunting regulations

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

Current Maryland regulations

Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and permit requirements, and youth or special season rules for Maryland are set by Maryland Department of Natural Resources, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources: current regulations

Turkey season dates in other states

Maryland duck seasonThe other 2026-27 season calendar: duck and goose dates by zone and flyway.Maryland deer rutWhen deer actually breed, from the conception studies agencies publish.Maryland fall foliageFall turkey weeks and peak color often overlap. Plan the same trip.

Maryland turkey season questions

Advertisement
Three wild turkey toms displaying side by side in late winter brush
Toms displaying in late winter. By the time most spring seasons open, flocks like this have broken up. “Leader Of The Pack” by Paul VanDerWerf, CC BY 2.0

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources page linked beside it, read on the date shown; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours and license rules are set by Maryland Department of Natural Resources, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national turkey season guide.