Hunting Season in Ski Towns: Blaze Orange & Powder Jackets

In Colorado their second rifle season runs from October 24 through November 1. This is right around the same time when Keystone and Arapahoe Basin are racing to be the first resort in North America to open. Hunting season in ski towns offer the same bars just a different argument. Half the room is arguing about lift ticket prices, the other half is arguing about where the elk are hiding after the first storm. 

Let me be upfront. I have never hunted. My closest brush with the wilderness was watching my St. Bernard kill a rat in our yard by stomping on it. Despite this, I have spent a lot of time at mountain town bars in the fall, and I can tell you, shoulder season is not dead. It is just dressed in a different color jacket. 

Tools for Surviving Shoulder Season

Booking.com for lodging, because shoulder season rooms in hunting towns fill fast on opening weekends.

DiscoverCars because most of these places are a drive, not a flight, and you'll want an exit plan.

Viator for the thing to do when you'd rather not be on a trail wearing a hat that doubles as a traffic cone.

RovR for a cooler that handles the road trip, the tailgate, and the long drive home.

Akova Gear for layers, since October mornings in the mountains do not care about your plans.

Liquid I.V. because altitude, a long drive, and a rowdy opening weekend bar are a combination.

Clipstic for when you're carrying your rifle in one hand and your skis and poles in the other. 

Ryze Mushroom Coffee for the early start, because everyone else in town is already up, get it here.

When Is Hunting Season in Ski Towns?

Just when you thought it was time to hike, skin or bike the quiet trails, that's when hunting season kicks off. Here is a quick calendar of dates that everyone needs:

• Colorado: 2nd rifle Oct 24 to Nov 1, 3rd rifle Nov 7 to 15, 4th rifle Nov 18 to 22
• Montana: general season Oct 24 to Nov 29, straight through Thanksgiving weekend
• Vermont: rifle deer season Nov 14 to 29, right as Killington fires up the snow guns
• Maine: firearms season Nov 2 to 28, with no Sunday hunting, which makes Sunday the one day a Mainer can ski without guilt

Meanwhile, resort opening dates are highly weather dependent so be sure to crosscheck them with this when you travel. 

The Second Uniform: Blaze Orange Is the Original Neon

Every ski town already has a uniform. I call it mountain chic. Puffy jacket, beanie, shades worth more than your first car, you know the look. Rifle season adds a second and completely separate look. This one is blaze orange and worn with total conviction and ZERO irony. 

I don't wear it. But, I respect it. Montana actually requires big game hunters to wear a minimum of 400 square inches of orange above the waist and visible form all sides. That's a whole lot of orange. By comparison, ski fashion took decades to get to neon. Hunting got there in 1959. That's the year a study found that orange was the only color that nobody mistook for anything else. Even those who struggle with colors can identify it. Function over fashion every time, or at least when there's a chance of you getting shot. 

Funny thing is, the gear overlaps. Merino base layers, puffer jackets, GPS apps, beacons...it's all the same. Both groups shop at the same outdoor store. buy the same wool socks and then nod at each other like two people who just realized they both drive a Tacoma

Is It Safe to Hike or Ski During Hunting Season?

Yes, it's safe to hike and ski during hunting season, just be sure to wear orange. Whether it's a hat, a vest, or something on your backpack, while not legally required for hikers, it could be the different between you ending up with a round in you or you buying a round that afternoon. A bright inexpensive layer may be the best fashion decision you can make all fall. 

It's also good to know if the land you are hiking on is open to hunting. Most national forest outside of resort boundaries is. So it's probably best to look it up before going. 

Back From the Woods: Taxidermy, Saloons, and $1B Economies

Skiing, as you know, has its famous après ski traditions. Get out on the mountain and earn it, then find someplace fun and warm to have some beers while sharing stories with friends. Turns out, hunting has the same structure, just with more taxidermy. 

In Meeker, Colorado you'll find the Meeker Hotel. Built in 1896 there are still elk and mule deer trophies in the lobby that have been there since Teddy Roosevelt stayed there way back in 1901. It's pretty much a museum that serves breakfast. In Ketchum, Idaho, you'll find the Pioneer Saloon. This Sun Valley fixture is adorned with buffalo and elk mounts and has even earned a James Beard America's Classic nod in 2025. If you are looking to eat game while at either confirm the menu options before you go as that is subject to change. 

Honestly, the wall mounts are the best part. While I do love a ski bar filled with a wall of retro lift tickets, there is something about a very serious looking elk staring down at you while you eat a plate of elk nachos. It's judgy and you will feel it, but that's the point. 

Is That "Wild" Elk Burger Actually Wild?

No, the elk and bison on the restaurant menus is almost never actually wild. While researching for this post, this fact actually surprised me the most. USDA guidance does not allow legally hunted wild game to be sold in restaurants. So that elk burger that you love so much is raised on a farm, not in the wild. 

One exception appears to be local community and church suppers. Game that is donated adheres to different rules. In Vermont, the Bradford Wild Game Supper is often referred to as the Super Bowl of church suppers. Think bear sausage and roast beaver color coded with toothpicks so you know which is which. Gotta love a good tooth pick color coding legend. 

If you're looking to attend check the church website as the date has not yet been confirmed. 

The Local Tension Nobody Mentions

Despite all of this good beer and good game, let's not pretend that everyone involved is wearing a happy happy (orange, of course) about sharing. Nonresident hunters inject some serious cash in the local economies. A recent pro hunting think tank claims that in Colorado alone, hunting contributes well over a billion dollars a year to their economy. However, crowding has become a real issue and is the reason Colorado ended over the counter bull elk tags in the Gunnison Basin for 2026, making local outfitters extremely nervous.

At the same time, mountain bikers and hunters are trading jabs over who gets the trails and when. This all comes to a head on November 3 (Election Day) when Colorado votes on a ballot measure to enshrine the right to hunt and fish. So if you though that the only debate in ski towns during the fall was whether the early season base is deep enough ski on, you clearly have not sat in the right bars. 

Hunting Season in Ski Towns: The Last Barstool

Here are my big takeaways. By the fourth rifle season, orange vests start to get replaced with ski jackets, and usually on the same person. In ski towns the blaze orange jacket isn't the opposite of a powder jacket. It's just the one you wear first. That said, if you see someone at the bar rocking either one, buy them a beer. Chances are, they've earned it.