Colorado prairie dog season 2026-27: dates, units and bag limits
Prairie dog is open in Colorado from June 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie dogs on public land | June 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027 | statewide | No limit | No limit |
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 prairie dog
- Contests with money or prizes are prohibited.
- Do not handle prairie dogs or let a dog near them: they carry plague. A town that has gone quiet, or several dead animals, is a warning. Use repellent against fleas.
- 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 prairie dog
- Black-footed ferret (protected or closed: never shoot): A slim weasel with a black mask and black feet, living in prairie dog towns. Federally endangered. There are release sites in Moffat, Rio Blanco, Baca, Prowers, Pueblo and Larimer counties.
- Burrowing owl (protected or closed: never shoot): A small owl standing on a prairie dog mound. It nests in the burrows.
- Other ground squirrels and chipmunks (protected or closed: never shoot): Only prairie dogs and the Wyoming ground squirrel are open. Striped or spotted ones are not.
How to hunt prairie dog
- Find the town first: mounds, bare ground and clipped grass show on the aerial picture.
- A flat-shooting rifle carries for miles over flat ground. Shoot only with a safe backstop, and never toward roads, stock, buildings or oil and gas equipment.
Where to walk for prairie dog 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 does not know where the towns are. It shows flat, open public ground where one could be.
- Some public land is closed to prairie dog shooting (ferret release sites, refuges, some BLM and county land). Those closures were not read and are not masked.
- A ban on prairie dog shooting was proposed in 2026. Check the current rules.
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.