Backcountry Opens in Time for Hunting Season

Off Road Vehicle ban lift comes in time for early hunting openers in the southern interior

August 28 2026 - Friday’s lift of the recreational off-road vehicle ban on Crown land lands less than two weeks before the main fall hunting openers in the same regions.

In the Okanagan (Region 8), bow-only and youth deer seasons start Sept. 1. The general opener follows on Sept. 10 for 4-point mule deer bucks, white-tailed bucks and grouse.

The Thompson–Kamloops country (Region 3) follows the same pattern: youth and archery windows in the first week of September, then the Sept. 10 mule deer and grouse rush across most units.

The Kootenays and the Cariboo units that were under the ban, including 100 Mile House, stack similar early-September dates.

The prohibition, in place since Aug. 10 in the Kamloops and Southeast fire centres and in parts of the Cariboo and Coastal centres, never banned hunting.

It did ban ATVs, dirt bikes and side-by-sides used for recreation on Crown land, the machines many hunters use to reach cutblocks and trails.

Leaving it in place through opening weekend would have shut off that access.

Campfires and other open fires remain banned. Officials say wildfire risk can still force new restrictions.

Hunters are being told to confirm the current synopsis and any local closures for their management unit before they go.

Backcountry Opens in Time for Hunting Season