2026 seasons
| Season | Dates |
|---|---|
| Ruffed & spruce grouse | Sept. 19-Jan. 3, 2027 |
| Hungarian partridge | Sept. 19-Jan. 3, 2027 |
| Sharp-tailed grouse, northwest zone | Sept. 19-Nov. 30 |
| Sharp-tailed grouse, east-central zone | Closed * |
| Woodcock | Sept. 19-Nov. 2 |
MN 2026 Ruffed Grouse Hunting Seasons and Information
Where to hunt Ruffed Grouse 2026
Currently, over two dozen states maintain active ruffed grouse hunting seasons. They generally fall into four primary geographic regions:
1. The Great Lakes (The Powerhouses)
This region is widely considered the epicenter of modern ruffed grouse hunting, boasting the highest population densities and millions of acres of public, actively logged forest land.
Minnesota: Often ranked as the top state for grouse harvest.
Wisconsin: Features massive national and state forests.
Michigan: Exceptional hunting, particularly in the Upper Peninsula.
2. The Northeast & New England
Often referred to locally as "partridge," grouse have a deep hunting heritage in the dense, secondary-growth forests here.
Maine: Offers sprawling timberlands and massive annual harvests.
New Hampshire
Vermont
New York
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Rhode Island (highly limited populations/seasons)
3. The Appalachian & Mid-Atlantic Mountains
While populations have declined dramatically west of the Appalachians, states with higher-elevation mountain habitats still maintain regulated seasons.
Pennsylvania: The state bird; though regulations have been tightened (like cutting late winter seasons) to protect numbers.
West Virginia
Virginia
Kentucky
North Carolina: Limited primarily to the western mountain counties.
Tennessee
Georgia: The absolute southern tip of their eastern range.
Ohio (Highly restricted/limited zones)
4. The West & Rockies
Western ruffed grouse are often found in aspen groves, river bottoms, and mixed conifer forests. Because they face less hunting pressure here, they are famously less skittish than their eastern counterparts.
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
Washington
Oregon
Utah
Nevada (Small, introduced populations)
California (Limited to the far northwestern coastal timber ranges)
Alaska
5. Isolated Pockets
North Dakota & South Dakota: Both states have highly localized native populations (such as the Turtle Mountains in ND and the Black Hills in SD) that support small-scale seasons.
⚠️ Important Note on Recent Closures: States like Indiana and Illinois have either completely closed their ruffed grouse seasons or listed the bird as endangered due to severe population crashes. Always double-check the current year's digest for the specific state you plan to hunt, as emergency season shorteners are becoming more common to combat West Nile Virus impacts.
Hiring - REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR WESTERN GREAT LAKES (MN, IA) Ruffed Grouse Society
RGS & AWS is seeking an outstanding individual to increase member engagement. This position will include organizing fundraising banquets and events, along with engagement and education events for local chapters in your region. The Regional Engagement Coordinator will empower volunteers to become conservation leaders, working with chapters that engage a larger network across the region for conservation delivery, advocacy and fundraising. The Regional Engagement Coordinator will work directly with RGS & AWS volunteers to engage various stakeholders to increase membership and fundraising opportunities at the local, state, and regional levels. Click here for complete job description…
MN 2026 Ruffed Grouse Counts Down From 2025
The Minnesota DNR coordinates ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) drumming surveys each
spring with the help of wildlife staff and cooperating federal, tribal, and county biologists. Mean
ruffed grouse drums per stop (dps) were 1.7 statewide (95% confidence interval = 1.5 – 2.0) which is down from last year and consistent with the peak in the population cycle occurring in
2024. This declining pattern was observed in the Northeast, Central Hardwoods, and Southeast survey regions, which comprise the majority of survey routes (124 of 129 routes surveyed this
year). However, in the Northwest, dps increased over the last 2 years. Survey effort has been down in this region the last 2 years due to federal staffing reductions; 5 of 8 routes weresurveyed which may not be representative of the region. The ruffed grouse drumming survey
assumes that only the number of grouse varies among years. The drumming survey is useful for monitoring long-term population trends, but interpretation of a few years of data or less can be tenuous.
Statewide ruffed grouse drums were down from last year and averaged 1.7 dps (95% confidence interval = 1.5 – 2.0 dps; Figure 2). Drum counts were 1.9 (1.6 – 2.2) dps in the Northeast (n = 103 routes), 2.4 (1.2 – 3.5) dps in the Northwest (n = 5), 1.0 (0.5 – 1.5) dps in the
Central Hardwoods (n = 13), and 0.3 (0.1 – 0.6) dps in the Southeast region (n = 8; Figure 3a-d). Thus, in the Northeast, Central Hardwoods, and Southeast regions dps are clearly in the
declining phase of the cycle, whereas in the Northwest, dps have increased the last 2 years.
Survey effort has been down in the Northwest the last 2 seasons due to changes in federal staffing, so only 5 of 8 routes were completed this year. This small sample may not be representative of the region so should be interpreted with caution.
ND 2026 Ruffed Grouse Survey / Count
Ruffed grouse survey results indicated an uptick in drums heard in the Turtle Mountains (+40%) and a decrease in the Pembina Hills (-15%) compared to 2025.
“In contiguous forest habitats, ruffed grouse numbers usually rise and fall in cycles, but because habitat in North Dakota is isolated and fragmented, we have not seen these peaks, but the population has been increasing slightly since 2019,” Kolar said.
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