This Saturday, November 14, firearm deer season opens across most of Virginia, and the woods you walk your PUP in will be busy all the way into January.
Virginia has a hunting rhythm all its own. Hound packs run deer through the eastern counties, bear hounds work the mountains, and Sunday is a hunting day too. Before your next walk, put blaze orange on your PUP and yourself, and keep the leash short.
Virginia is #8 in our 10 States Where Dogs Face the Most Hunting Season Exposure. For the basics that apply everywhere, start with our hunting season dog safety guide. Walking in another state? See our Minnesota, Missouri, and Michigan guides.
When is deer season in Virginia, and how long will my walks overlap it?
The general firearm deer season opens Saturday, Nov. 14, across most of Virginia, and it ends on different dates depending on where you walk. The Virginia DWR deer regulations list these 2026-27 dates:
- George Washington and Jefferson National Forest: Nov. 14 to 28.
- Many western counties (Alleghany, Bath, Highland, Augusta, Rockbridge and others): Nov. 14 to Dec. 12.
- Most of central and eastern Virginia, including Northern Virginia: Nov. 14 to Jan. 2, 2027.
- Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Suffolk east of the Dismal Swamp line: Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, so the gun season there is already open.
Bows and muzzleloaders fill in around the gun dates. Early archery runs Oct. 3 to Nov. 13 statewide, early muzzleloader runs Oct. 31 to Nov. 13 outside those three southeastern cities, and late muzzleloader and archery seasons in much of the west run to Jan. 2. A trail ten miles from yours can be on a different calendar, so look up your county before you go.
Either-sex days are the days hunters may take antlerless deer as well as bucks, and they vary by county. The DWR counts does, button bucks, and bucks that have shed their antlers as antlerless, and it notes bucks usually shed in late December or early January. Check your county's either-sex days along with its season dates, and keep blaze orange on your PUP every day of the season.
What makes hound hunting in Virginia different for dog families?
East of the Blue Ridge, many counties allow hunters to run deer with hound packs, and on a walk you'll often hear a pack before you see it. The DWR's hound hunting best practices page says that in counties where hunters use hounds to chase deer or bear, "this tradition has been part of the culture for generations."
The map follows the Blue Ridge. DWR rules keep deer hounds out of the counties west of the Blue Ridge and out of a list of eastern counties that includes Fairfax, Loudoun, Bedford, Franklin, Henry and Patrick. They're also barred on several Wildlife Management Areas, including C.F. Phelps and Amelia, and statewide during archery and muzzleloader seasons and on Sundays. Deer hounds run during general firearms season in the central and eastern counties that allow them.
In the mountains, the hounds are after bear. During Virginia's bear hound training and chase seasons, hunters run bears with dogs without taking any, from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. In Albemarle, Augusta, Bath, Rockingham, Shenandoah and other mountain counties, chase season runs Aug. 1 to Sept. 26 and again Nov. 30 to Dec. 19. Bear firearms seasons in many counties run to Jan. 2.
Here's what that means when a pack crosses your path:
- Shorten the leash and bring your PUP to your side. Step off the trail and let the hounds pass.
- Check the collar if a hound seems lost. Every Virginia hunting dog must wear a collar with its owner's name and phone number. The DWR says to call that number, or animal control if no one answers, and never remove the collar.
- Expect the hunter to follow. Under Va. Code § 18.2-136, a hunter may go onto posted land to retrieve their dogs, unarmed, and must identify themselves if the landowner asks.
Is Sunday a hunting day in Virginia?
Yes. Plan your Sunday walks as hunting days. The DWR's Sunday hunting FAQ says Sunday hunting on private land has been allowed since 2014, and since July 1, 2022, public land agencies may allow it on the land they manage. The DWR's public lands page says the state forests open to hunting, including Appomattox-Buckingham and Cumberland, allow Sunday hunting.
Two Sunday limits stay in place, per the DWR's general regulations: no hunting within 200 yards of a house of worship, and no deer or bear hunting with dogs. So Sunday walks skip the deer hound drives, while still-hunters and bowhunters can be out.
Trapping and some bear hound chase windows run on Sundays too. The DWR's FAQ "strongly encourage[s] all persons utilizing public lands during the hunting season to wear approved blaze-colored clothing." Every day of the week, that's orange for you and orange for your PUP.
Where will I share the trail with hunters in Virginia?
Expect hunters on national forest land, Wildlife Management Areas and state forests. Shenandoah National Park is the big exception.
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forest covers about 1.8 million acres along the Blue Ridge and the Virginia-West Virginia border, and its firearm deer season runs Nov. 14 to 28. Expect busy trailheads through Thanksgiving weekend.
The DWR says its Wildlife Management Areas are bought and maintained with hunting, fishing and trapping license fees and Wildlife Restoration Funds, and many are open to some type of hunting. Treat any WMA walk in season as a walk on hunting land. State forests such as Appomattox-Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward run firearm deer season from Nov. 14 to Jan. 2.
The National Park Service says no hunting is allowed inside Shenandoah National Park. Several of its trails and gravel roads connect to the Rapidan WMA and private land where hunting is allowed, and the park says to wear blaze orange if you hike the surrounding area during hunting season. Inside the park, your PUP must be on a physical leash no longer than 6 feet. Pets are allowed on most of the park's 500-plus miles of trails; the short list of exceptions includes Old Rag and Stony Man.
Northern Virginia has its own long calendar. In Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, an antlerless-only firearm season ran Sept. 5 to Oct. 2 and runs again Jan. 3 to March 28, 2027, and a late archery season follows from March 29 to April 25. Dog families there need orange well into spring.
What does Virginia's blaze color rule mean for my walk?
Virginia hunters, and anyone walking with them, must wear solid blaze orange or blaze pink: a hat or upper-body clothing visible from 360 degrees, or at least 100 square inches of blaze material at shoulder level. Hunters in Virginia's woods are watching for those colors.
For your PUP, blaze orange is protective equipment, the same visibility protection hunters and road crews wear on the job. On a PUP, orange stands out against brown leaves, gray trunks and the dark laurel of the mountains, and that makes them safer. A dark coat can vanish into timber, and a tan coat can read as a deer, which our Black Dog Visibility and Deer-Colored Dogs guides cover.
Legal hunting hours run from a half hour before sunrise to a half hour after sunset, so early and late walks fall inside them. Keep orange on through archery season too; our Bow vs. Firearm Season guide explains why.
Do trapping seasons overlap my winter walks in Virginia?
Yes. Keep your PUP close from mid-November through February. The DWR's furbearer trapping page lists fox, raccoon, bobcat and opossum trapping from Nov. 15 to Feb. 28, and beaver, mink, muskrat, otter and weasel from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28. Coyote trapping is open year-round. In cities, towns, and suburban counties such as Fairfax and Loudoun, raccoon and opossum trapping is open year-round too.
Trapping is allowed every day of the week and on DWR land unless posted rules say otherwise. Traps sit off the trail along game runs and water, right where a curious nose wants to go.
Before your next walk, read the North Dakota Game and Fish Department's guide to releasing dogs from traps, which covers foothold traps, cable devices and body-grip traps, and talk to your vet so you have a plan ready.
If you walk your PUP in Virginia this season
- Look up your county. Season dates and either-sex days change from county to county on the DWR deer page.
- Know whose land it is. National forest, WMAs and many state forests are open to hunting. Shenandoah National Park is closed to it.
- Plan Sundays like Saturdays. Hunting and trapping both run on Sundays.
- Leash up. Six feet or shorter keeps your PUP beside you when a hound pack or a deer crosses the trail.
- Wear orange yourself, and dress your PUP to be seen. Blaze orange goes on before you leave the car.
- Tell someone your route. It matters if a walk goes sideways.
How to gear up your PUP for Virginia's season
My pick is the blaze orange SafetyPUP XD Original Reflective Dog Vest. The orange is for daylight. The retroreflective trim sends light from a flashlight or headlights straight back toward its source, so it helps at dusk and after dark whenever a light shines on it, like a forest road at the end of a late walk. For colder, wetter walks into January, the Soft-Shell Reflective Dog Vest comes in orange and neon yellow. Pair either with the 6-foot SafetyPUP XD Reflective Climbing Rope Dog Leash, whose reflective braided rope keeps your PUP close and adds visibility on the trail.
Frequently Asked Questions About Virginia Hunting Season and Dogs
When does Virginia's 2026 firearm deer season start and end?
It opens Saturday, Nov. 14, across most of Virginia. Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and eastern Suffolk are the exception: their season runs Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. Elsewhere it ends Nov. 28 on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Dec. 12 in many western counties, and Jan. 2, 2027, in most of central and eastern Virginia. Check your county on the DWR deer page.
Can people hunt on Sundays in Virginia?
Yes, on private land with permission and on public land where the managing agency allows it, including the state forests open to hunting. Deer and bear hunting with dogs is prohibited on Sundays. Plan Sunday walks with blaze orange on your PUP.
What should I do if hunting hounds run up to my dog?
Shorten the leash, bring your PUP to your side, and let the hounds pass. Virginia hunting dogs must wear a collar with the owner's name and phone number, so if a hound seems lost, call that number or animal control. Never remove a hound's collar.
Is there hunting in Shenandoah National Park?
No hunting is allowed inside the park, and your PUP must be on a 6-foot or shorter leash. Some trails connect to land where hunting is allowed, so wear orange near the boundary.
Does my dog need blaze orange in Virginia?
Virginia's blaze rule covers hunters, and the DWR strongly encourages everyone on public land in season to wear blaze colors. A blaze orange SafetyPUP XD vest is protective equipment that makes a PUP easier to see, which makes them safer.
Gear up, and keep them visible.