If you’re like me, you’re not overly fond of the CPW website redesign. Information on the site, particularly the mobile site, seems way harder to find. When you do find it, the interface seems kludgy and unusable. There’s expands where they don’t need to be, when a table of data will do. That said, I’ve got the important dates for the Colorado 2025-26 Big Game Seasons down below for your reference. Nothing fancy, just dates and what they are.
Important Dates
| Primary Draw | Secondary Draw |
| March 1 – Applications are able to be submitted to the draw, and qualifying licenses (small game, fishing, turkey) are available for purchase. | June 19 – Applications accepted |
| April 1 – Application & Correction Deadline 8PM MT | June 30 – Application & Correction Deadline 8PM MT |
| May 27-30 – Draw results posted online | July 7 – Draw results posted online |
| June 2 – Surrender Deadline 11:59PM MT | July 9 – Surrender Deadline 11:59PM MT |
| June 13 – License Payment Deadline 11:59PM MT | July 21 – License Payment Deadline 11:59PM MT |
| June 27 – Licenses in the mail | July 25 – Licenses in the mail |
Also important as you plan for your trip is the 2025 big game season dates for Colorado. Split up by archery, muzzleloader, and rifle we’ve listed them out below for your reference. For the latest, please refer to the CPW Big Game Brochure online, but these dates have been set years in advance by the 5 year planning effort.
Colorado Big Game Seasons 2025
| Archery | Muzzleloader | Rifle | |
| Deer Elk Bear | Sept 2-30 | Sep 13 – 21 | Sept. rifle (bear): Sept. 2–30 1st rifle: Oct. 15–19 2nd rifle: Oct. 25–Nov. 2 3rd rifle: Nov. 8–16 4th rifle: Nov. 19–23 Plains rifle (deer): Oct. 25–Nov. 4 |
| Pronghorn | Aug 15 – Sep 20 | Sep 21 – 29 | Oct 4 – 12 |
| Moose | Sep 6 – 30 | Sep 13 – 21 | Oct 1 – 14 |
Bear in mind that for all the seasons listed above the dates are generalization. Different hunt codes will have different dates.
