Mountain BMU bear season, 2026-27

The 2026-27 bear calendar for this unit.

Bear unitsBear page

25Counties

1,4622025 harvest

920Taken with dogs

Photo: MarkDoliner (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Mountain BMU county list

This page sets out the Mountain BMU segments, county harvest and dog rules for 2026-27.

Alleghany · Ashe · Avery · Buncombe · Burke · Caldwell · Cherokee · Clay · Cleveland · Graham · Haywood · Henderson · Jackson · Macon · Madison · McDowell · Mitchell · Polk · Rutherford · Surry · Swain · Transylvania · Watauga · Wilkes · Yancey

In and west of Surry, Wilkes, Caldwell, Burke and Cleveland counties.

NCWRC bear seasons, checked October 25, 2026.

When bears are open in the Mountain BMU

Segment	Counties	Opens	Closes	Days
Mountain BMU (segment 1)	25 counties	Oct 3, 2026	Nov 21, 2026	50
Mountain BMU (segment 2)	25 counties	Dec 12, 2026	Jan 1, 2027	21

NCWRC bear seasons, checked October 25, 2026.

Mountain BMU harvest table

County	2025	2024	2020	Still hunt 2025	Dogs 2025
McDowell	151	99	144	42	109
Buncombe	148	94	121	116	32
Haywood	139	154	139	31	108
Madison	83	148	97	29	54
Macon	82	106	77	6	76
Burke	69	69	41	23	46
Caldwell	68	58	46	6	62
Henderson	68	69	46	47	21
Yancey	68	43	94	15	53
Jackson	66	98	78	11	55
Transylvania	65	63	53	22	43
Clay	57	50	38	3	54
Rutherford	53	29	23	35	18
Cherokee	49	51	47	4	45
Avery	48	37	57	11	37
Mitchell	45	31	37	24	21
Ashe	34	42	38	26	8
Graham	34	111	81	0	34
Swain	30	46	42	4	26
Polk	27	22	18	19	8
Wilkes	26	62	46	21	5
Watauga	20	25	20	18	2
Surry	15	31	23	14	1
Alleghany	13	31	23	13	0
Cleveland	4	5	0	2	2

NCWRC bear harvest, 2025 harvest by method, checked October 25, 2026.

Bear dogs and management areas, Mountain BMU

Bear hounds are legal throughout the Mountain BMU in season.

Area	Bear hunting	Game land
Daniel Boone	by permit only	Pisgah
Fires Creek	closed	Nantahala
Flat Top	closed	Pisgah
Harmon Den	closed	Pisgah
Mount Mitchell	by permit only	Pisgah
Panthertown – Bonas Defeat	by permit only	Nantahala
Pisgah	by permit only	Pisgah
Rich Mountain	closed	Pisgah
Sherwood	closed	Pisgah
Standing Indian	by permit only	Nantahala
Thurmond Chatham	closed	Thurmond Chatham
Wayah	closed	Nantahala

NCWRC general regulations and digest bear management areas, checked October 25, 2026. All designated bear management areas.

Mountain BMU game lands for bear

12 game lands listing bear.

Game land	Days	Acres	Counties in unit
Nantahala	7 days	527,696	Macon · Graham +4
Pisgah	7 days	517,774	Transylvania · McDowell +10
South Mountains	7 days	22,583	Rutherford · Burke +2
Green River	6 days	15,224	Polk · Henderson
Buffalo Cove	7 days	7,030	Caldwell · Wilkes
Headwaters State Forest	6 days	6,208	Transylvania
Toxaway	7 days	5,633	Transylvania
Needmore	7 days	5,237	Swain · Macon
Pisgah	7 days	4,829	Burke · McDowell +3
Pond Mountain	7 days	3,701	Ashe
Cold Mountain	7 days	3,630	Haywood
William H. Silver	7 days	2,030	Haywood

Game land records from NCWRC, checked October 25, 2026.

Black bear sow feeding in a cherry tree in the southern AppalachiansPhoto: kdwood2 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Black bear feeding in a mountain meadow below autumn ridgesPhoto: sarahstierch (CC BY 2.0)

Mourning dove on snowy groundPhoto: Rob Bixby (CC BY 2.0)

Questions about the Mountain BMU

Dogs for bears in the Mountain BMU?

Bear hounds are legal throughout the Mountain BMU in season.

Counties in the Mountain BMU?

Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.

When can bears be hunted in the Mountain BMU?

Mountain BMU (segment 1): Oct 3–Nov 21; Mountain BMU (segment 2): Dec 12–Jan 1.

How big is the Mountain BMU harvest?

1,462 in 2025.