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The CPW 2026 small game brochure, and waterfowl
The 2026 CPW Small Game and Waterfowl Brochure sets Colorado's 2026-27 dates: dusky grouse opens September 1, greater sage-grouse and white-tailed ptarmigan September 12, cottontail rabbit, jackrabbit, fox and pine squirrel and greater prairie-chicken October 1, pheasant and quail November 14, and Abert's squirrel November 15. Duck seasons open by zone on October 3, October 17 or October 28. Upland closing dates run from September 13 for North Park sage-grouse to January 31, 2027 for the first pheasant and quail seasons, rabbits and fox and pine squirrels run to the end of February, and coyote is open year-round. Every date below carries its brochure page. You also need a Harvest Information Program (HIP) number before you can legally hunt, separately from your licence. CPW 2026 Small Game & Waterfowl Brochure
2026-27 small game season dates
| Species and season | 2026-27 dates | Area | Brochure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, white-tailed and black-tailed jackrabbit | OCT 1 – END OF FEB | Statewide | p. 9 |
| Fox squirrel, pine squirrel | OCT 1 – END OF FEB | Statewide | p. 9 |
| Abert's squirrel | NOV 15 – JAN 15 | Statewide | p. 9 |
| Coyote | YEAR-ROUND | Statewide | p. 9 |
| Dusky (blue) grouse | SEP 1 – NOV 22 | West of I-25 | p. 10 |
| Mountain sharp-tailed grouse | SEP 1 – SEP 20 | Only GMUs 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 23, 131, 211, 214 and 441 | p. 10 |
| Greater sage-grouse, Season 1 | SEP 12 – SEP 18 | GMUs 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, 27, 37, 181, 201, 211, 301 and 441, and parts of 18 and 28 | p. 10 |
| Greater sage-grouse, Season 2 | SEP 12 – SEP 13 | North Park only: GMUs 6, 16, 17, 161 and 171 | p. 10 |
| Greater prairie-chicken | OCT 1 – JAN 31 | Only the GMUs and areas listed in the brochure | p. 10 |
| White-tailed ptarmigan, Season 1 | SEP 12 – OCT 4 | Statewide except GMUs 44, 45, 53, 54, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74-81, 444 and 751 | p. 11 |
| White-tailed ptarmigan, Season 2 | SEP 12 – NOV 22 | Only the GMUs excepted from Season 1 | p. 11 |
| Pheasant, Season 1 | NOV 14 – JAN 31 | East of I-25 | p. 11 |
| Pheasant, Season 2 | NOV 14 – JAN 3 | West of I-25 | p. 11 |
| Quail (northern bobwhite, scaled, Gambel's), Season 1 | NOV 14 – JAN 31 | East of I-25 and south of I-70 and Hwy. 36, plus the parts of Pueblo, Fremont, Huerfano, El Paso and Las Animas counties west of I-25 | p. 11 |
| Quail, Season 2 | NOV 14 – JAN 3 | East of I-25 and north of I-70 and Hwy. 36 | p. 11 |
| Quail, Season 3 | NOV 14 – JAN 3 | West of I-25, except those five county areas | p. 11 |
Every date above is from the 2026 CPW Small Game and Waterfowl Brochure, printed pages 9 to 11, read from the PDF in September 2026. The opening dates also match CPW's small game page. Seasons open at 12:01 a.m. on the date shown, and dates from January on fall in 2027. The Area column shortens CPW's wording in places; the brochure's full area descriptions and maps govern, so read them before you hunt a season limited to named units. CPW 2026 Small Game & Waterfowl Brochure, pp. 9-11
What the CPW small game brochure covers
Colorado's small-game list runs from rabbits and squirrels to upland birds, pheasant, quail, several grouse species, ptarmigan, plus prairie dogs and coyote. Seasons, bag limits and fees for all of them are published in one place, and for 2026 that place is the Colorado Small Game and Waterfowl Brochure: this year the two subjects share a single publication rather than sitting in two. It is reissued every year, and the current edition is linked from CPW's small game page in English and Spanish. CPW · Small game
2026-27 duck season dates by zone
Ducks and geese are migratory birds, so Colorado sets their seasons within federal frameworks under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and prints them by zone. East of the Continental Divide is the Central Flyway, with three duck zones; west of it is the Pacific Flyway, with two. Two zones split their season into segments with a gap in the middle, and both Pacific zones stop scaup before the season ends. CPW 2026 Small Game & Waterfowl Brochure, p. 12
| Zone | 2026-27 dates | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Central Flyway: Northeast | OCT 17 – NOV 29; DEC 11 – JAN 31 | East of I-25 and north of I-70 |
| Central Flyway: Southeast | OCT 28 – JAN 31 | East of I-25 and south of I-70, plus all of El Paso, Pueblo, Huerfano and Las Animas counties |
| Central Flyway: Mountain/Foothills | OCT 3 – NOV 29; DEC 25 – JAN 31 | West of I-25 and east of the Continental Divide, except El Paso, Pueblo, Huerfano and Las Animas counties |
| Pacific Flyway: Western | OCT 3 – OCT 20; NOV 6 – JAN 31 | West of the Continental Divide, outside the Eastern Zone. No scaup after Jan. 12, 2027. |
| Pacific Flyway: Eastern | OCT 3 – JAN 15 | Routt, Grand, Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties, plus parts of Saguache, San Juan, Hinsdale, Mineral, Gunnison and Moffat counties. No scaup after Dec. 27, 2026. |
| September teal (teal only) | SEP 12 – SEP 20 | Lake and Chaffee counties, and all areas east of I-25 |
2026-27 goose season dates
Goose zones are not the same as duck zones east of the Divide: North Park, the San Luis Valley and South Park run their own goose seasons, and dark and light geese have different dates. Where a goose zone does share a duck zone's name, the dates still differ. In the Pacific Western Zone the first goose segment closes October 11, while the first duck segment runs to October 20. CPW 2026 Small Game & Waterfowl Brochure, p. 14
| Season | 2026-27 dates | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Central Flyway regular, dark geese | NOV 2 – FEB 14 | East of the Continental Divide, except North Park, San Luis Valley and South Park |
| Central Flyway regular, light geese | OCT 31 – FEB 14 | Same as above |
| Light goose conservation order | FEB 15 – APR 30 | East of I-25 |
| North Park, dark geese | OCT 3 – JAN 15 | Jackson County |
| North Park, light geese | OCT 31 – FEB 14 | Jackson County |
| San Luis Valley, dark geese | OCT 3 – OCT 21; NOV 21 – FEB 14 | Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties, and the parts of Archuleta, Hinsdale, Mineral, Saguache and San Juan counties east of the Divide |
| San Luis Valley, light geese | OCT 31 – FEB 14 | Same as above |
| South Park, dark geese | OCT 3 – JAN 15 | Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Lake, Park and Teller counties |
| South Park, light geese | OCT 31 – FEB 14 | Same as above |
| Pacific Flyway early Canada goose | SEP 1 – SEP 9 | West of the Continental Divide |
| Pacific Flyway Western Zone | OCT 3 – OCT 11; NOV 6 – JAN 31 | Same area as the Western duck zone |
| Pacific Flyway Eastern Zone | OCT 3 – JAN 6 | Same area as the Eastern duck zone |
Youth, veteran and active military waterfowl days
CPW sets one weekend per zone aside for youth, veteran and active military waterfowl hunters. Who qualifies, and the bag limits, are on the same brochure page. CPW 2026 Small Game & Waterfowl Brochure, p. 16
| Zone | 2026 dates |
|---|---|
| Central Flyway: Northeast | OCT 10 – OCT 11 |
| Central Flyway: Southeast | OCT 17 – OCT 18 |
| Central Flyway: Mountain/Foothills | SEP 26 – SEP 27 |
| Pacific Flyway: Western | OCT 24 – OCT 25 |
| Pacific Flyway: Eastern | SEP 26 – SEP 27 |
Waterfowl stamps
To hunt waterfowl, hunters 16 years or older need both a federal migratory bird stamp (the duck stamp) and a Colorado waterfowl stamp, on top of a small-game license, and the age threshold is easy to miss: it means a younger hunter needs neither. The state stamp is printed on your licence and is only valid once you have signed it in ink. One 2026 change CPW has noted is that the pintail daily bag limit increased to three. CPW 2026 Small Game & Waterfowl Brochure
The HIP number: mandatory, and separate from your licence
A small-game licence on its own is not enough. CPW requires that hunters "planning to use their small game license to hunt small game, coyote and migratory birds will need to obtain their Harvest Information Program (HIP) number ... before they can legally hunt." It is a separate step from buying the licence, done at CPWShop, at a CPW office or sales agent, or by phone, and because it is a step people do not know exists, it is a common way to be technically unlicensed on opening morning. Note the scope: it is not a waterfowl-only requirement, it reaches small game and coyote too. CPW · Small game
Licenses
The annual small-game license is also the standard qualifying license big-game applicants use, so many hunters buy it regardless. See the fee tables for pricing, and the season calendar for how the fall lays out overall.
Gear this season actually calls for
Small game and waterfowl gear is lighter and cheaper than big game gear, and most of it lasts for years.
- Upland game vest on AmazonShell loops, a game pouch, and the blaze orange the rules ask for.
- Waterfowl decoys on AmazonColorado's waterfowl seasons run into January, when the decoy spread matters most.
- Waders on AmazonEastern plains reservoirs and river bottoms are cold by the late season.
- Duck and goose calls on AmazonPracticed before the season, not learned on the water.
Gear links go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we list. More.
Common questions
When do Colorado small game seasons open in 2026?
On staggered dates through the fall. Dusky grouse and mountain sharp-tailed grouse open September 1, 2026; greater sage-grouse and white-tailed ptarmigan September 12; cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, jackrabbit, fox and pine squirrel and greater prairie-chicken October 1; pheasant and quail November 14; Abert's squirrel November 15. Coyote is open year-round. Closing dates are in the table above, each with its page in the CPW brochure.
When does pheasant season open in Colorado in 2026?
November 14, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. Season 1, east of I-25, runs to January 31, 2027; Season 2, west of I-25, runs to January 3, 2027. The three quail seasons for northern bobwhite, scaled and Gambel's open the same day and close on one of those two dates, depending on area.
Where do I get the CPW small game brochure for 2026?
From CPW's small game page, which hosts the 2026 Small Game and Waterfowl Brochure as a PDF in English and Spanish. Small game and waterfowl are in one brochure this year. Buying the licence is not the same step as getting your HIP number, and you need both before you hunt.
When is duck season in Colorado in 2026?
It depends on the zone. East of the Continental Divide, the Northeast Zone runs October 17 to November 29 and December 11 to January 31, 2027; the Southeast Zone October 28 to January 31, 2027; and the Mountain/Foothills Zone October 3 to November 29 and December 25 to January 31, 2027. West of the Divide, the Western Zone runs October 3 to October 20 and November 6 to January 31, 2027, and the Eastern Zone October 3 to January 15, 2027. The dates are on page 12 of the CPW brochure, and hunters 16 and older also need a federal duck stamp and a Colorado waterfowl stamp.