Colorado yellow-bellied marmot season 2026-27: dates, units and bag limits
Yellow-bellied marmot is open in Colorado from August 10, 2026 to October 15, 2026, statewide. This page has the 2026-27 dates, the daily bag and possession limits, the licences you need and the rules that apply, read from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife brochure.
2026-27 season dates and limits
| Season | Dates | Where | Daily bag | Possession |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marmot season | August 10, 2026 to October 15, 2026 | statewide | 2 | 4 |
Shooting hours: Half an hour before sunrise to sunset.
Licences and stamps
- Colorado small game licence
- Colorado Habitat Stamp
- Harvest Information Program (HIP) number for this season
Rules for yellow-bellied marmot
- Any rifle or handgun, a shotgun holding no more than three shells, bow, crossbow, air gun or slingshot.
- West of I-25 during the regular rifle deer and elk seasons, no centerfire rifle larger than .23 calibre for small game unless you hold an unfilled deer or elk licence for that season.
- Wear gloves to handle and skin it, and cook the meat through. Rabbits, hares and rodents carry tularemia; leave any animal that looks sick.
- Do not shoot from, on or across a public road. No rifle, handgun or bow within 50 feet of the road centre line.
- Orange or pink is not required for small game, but big game seasons are open around you. Wear it.
Do not mistake these for yellow-bellied marmot
- American pika (protected or closed: never shoot): Tiny, no tail, on the same rock slides. It may not be hunted.
- Wolverine and badger (protected or closed: never shoot): A wolverine is bear-like with a bushy tail, very rare, and state endangered. A badger is a furbearer with its own season.
How to hunt yellow-bellied marmot
- Glass boulder fields and meadow edges on sunny mornings. Marmots sun on rocks near the burrow.
- A rifle on rock ricochets. Know what is behind and beyond.
Where to walk for yellow-bellied marmot in your unit
FilledTag finds the patches of the right habitat for your date on public land in the unit you choose, each with legal parking and the walk from the truck.
Check my hunt See a sample planWhat a map cannot tell you
- The planner has no talus or boulder layer; slope and bare ground stand in for it.
- Walk-In Access parcels and private land are not in the planner.
Source
CPW regulations chapter W-3, Furbearers and Small Game (07/16/2026, effective 1 Sept 2026); 2026 Colorado Small Game & Waterfowl brochure, pages 3 to 5 and 9: https://cpw.widen.net/s/kmpdszcx6j/ch03. Read October 2, 2026. Rules change every year, and corrections are issued during the season: read the current brochure before you hunt.