Northern Hunt Rig

Alberta hunting rules for ATVs and side-by-sides

The Alberta hunting regulations that apply when you use an ATV or side-by-side: firearms on vehicles, the WMU 400 to 446 morning restriction, Public Land Use Zones, leases and private land.

An ATV or side-by-side makes a hunt easier, but Alberta's hunting regulations add rules on top of the everyday off-highway vehicle (OHV) rules. This page sums up the hunting-specific ones. For general OHV rules (registration, insurance, helmets, trail etiquette), see our sister site North AB Trails.

Always check the current Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations before you go. Rules change from year to year, and the wording below is a plain-language summary, not the law itself.

Firearms and vehicles

  • No loaded firearm in or on a vehicle. Alberta's general hunting regulations say you can't have a loaded firearm in or on any vehicle, whether it's moving or stopped. An OHV counts as a vehicle. Ammunition can be in a magazine, as long as the magazine isn't attached to the firearm.
  • No shooting from a vehicle. You can't discharge a weapon from a vehicle, moving or stopped, including an ATV or side-by-side.
  • No harassing wildlife with a vehicle. You can't harass, injure or kill wildlife with a vehicle.
  • Roads and buildings. You can't shoot across or along a provincial highway or maintained road, and you can't shoot within 183 metres (200 yards) of an occupied building without the owner's or occupant's permission.

The morning rule in WMUs 400 to 446

In Wildlife Management Units 400 to 446 (much of the eastern slopes), you can't carry a weapon on an OHV on public land from one hour before sunrise until noon while a big-game season is open. It applies to every hunter in those units, including bird hunters. There are limited exceptions, such as travelling directly to or from an isolated campsite with weapons and ammunition out of sight in separate locked containers, and periods when the only open big-game seasons are spring black bear or cougar. We explain it step by step in our guide to the WMU 400 to 446 OHV weapon rule.

Public Land Use Zones, parks and trails

  • Public Land Use Zones (PLUZs) have their own OHV rules. Where a PLUZ has designated OHV trails, you have to stay on them, and that includes when you're retrieving game. Check the specific zone's map before the season.
  • Parks and protected areas. OHVs aren't allowed in most provincial parks and provincial recreation areas. Some wildland parks allow OHVs on designated trails only. Willmore Wilderness Park doesn't allow motorized use at all.
  • Trapline trails. Many Crown-land trails are cut and kept up by trappers. The regulations urge you to avoid motorized use of trails signed "Active Trapline", especially during the November to February trapping season.

Private land and agricultural leases

  • You need permission to hunt on, or drive an OHV onto, private land.
  • On public land leased for grazing or farming, you need to contact the leaseholder first. Alberta's 310-LAND line (310-5263) and the Leased Land Contact Information mapping tool can help you find them.

Quick pre-season check

  1. Download the current hunting regulations and the WMU map for where you're going.
  2. Check whether your area is in a PLUZ, a park or WMUs 400 to 446.
  3. Plan how you'll carry your firearm unloaded and cased on the machine.
  4. Get permission for any private land or lease you'll cross.
  5. Make sure the machine is registered, insured and plated if you'll use it on public land (see Alberta's OHV rules).

Need a machine for this season? Our dealerships carry ATVs and side-by-sides: see the lineups on North AB Trails, or go straight to Borderlands powersports (High Level and La Crete), Frontier Mitsubishi powersports (Grande Prairie) or AODES at Frontier Auto & Imports (Whitecourt).

Sources

Guides in this section

  • Alberta hunting rules for ATVs and side-by-sides

    Alberta's WMU 400 to 446 OHV weapon rule, explained

    In WMUs 400 to 446, you can't carry a weapon on an ATV or side-by-side on public land from an hour before sunrise until noon during big-game season. Here's who it applies to, the exceptions, and how to plan around it.