The snowshoe hare is a beloved small-game quarry of the northern forests, offering one of the most accessible and affordable winter hunts in North America.
Coming soon. Subscribe to the newsletter to get notified when this video drops.
The snowshoe hare is a beloved small-game quarry of the northern forests, offering one of the most accessible and affordable winter hunts in North America. Famous for its seasonal color change from brown to white and its enormous, snowshoe-like hind feet, this hare provides classic action-packed hunting — especially behind a pack of beagles whose music echoing through snowy woods is one of hunting's great traditions. Snowshoe hare hunting is a wonderful entry point for new hunters: it is inexpensive, the seasons are generous, the cover is reachable, and a single hare makes a fine meal.
For beginner-to-intermediate hunters, snowshoe hares offer a long season, lots of shooting opportunity, and a chance to learn woodsmanship in winter conditions. Whether hunted with hounds, with a small group jumping hares from cover, or quietly still-hunting thick conifers, the snowshoe hare rewards patience, sharp eyes, and an appreciation for cold, quiet northern woods.
The snowshoe hare is a medium-sized hare, weighing 2 to 4 pounds, smaller than a jackrabbit but larger than a cottontail rabbit. Its most distinctive feature is its large, heavily furred hind feet, which act like snowshoes and let the hare travel easily over deep snow. The ears are shorter and more rounded than a jackrabbit's.
The hare's defining trait is its seasonal molt. In summer the coat is grizzled brown, helping it blend with forest litter. As days shorten in fall, the coat turns white, leaving only the ear tips dark, providing camouflage against snow. In spring it molts back to brown. This timing is fixed by daylight, so in years with little snow, a white hare can be strikingly visible against bare brown ground. Compared with the cottontail, the snowshoe hare is larger, longer-legged, and uniquely tied to deep northern forest.
Snowshoe hares occupy the northern forests of the United States. Their range includes New England, New York, the upper Great Lakes states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota), the northern Rockies (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming), parts of Washington and Oregon, and the Appalachian highlands as far south as the high elevations of Virginia and West Virginia. They are absent from the warmer lowlands.
Habitat is the key. Snowshoe hares depend on dense young coniferous and mixed forest with thick low cover — areas that provide both food and protection from predators. Prime habitat includes young spruce and fir stands, cedar swamps, alder thickets, regenerating clearcuts, brushy logging slash, and the dense edges of conifer bogs. Mature open forest with a clean floor holds few hares; the thicker and younger the cover, the better. Cover near a food source — buds, twigs, and bark of young woody plants — is ideal.
Snowshoe hares are most active from dusk through the night into early morning, spending the day resting in a sheltered spot called a form — a shallow depression under dense cover, beneath a low conifer branch, or in a brush pile. They are not true burrowers. When jumped, a hare bursts away in a zigzag dash and often circles back through familiar cover, which is why hounds can run them in a loop back to a waiting hunter.
Hares feed on green vegetation in summer and on the buds, twigs, and bark of young woody plants in winter. Sign is abundant and easy to read in snow: distinctive tracks showing the large hind feet landing ahead of the front feet, well-worn runways packed through thick cover, round droppings concentrated at feeding and resting areas, and clipped twigs with a clean angled cut. Snowshoe hare populations famously cycle, rising and falling over roughly ten-year periods, so hunting quality varies year to year.
Snowshoe hare seasons are generally long and generous, typically opening in early fall and running through the winter into late February or March, depending on the state. Daily bag limits are usually liberal. Always confirm the current dates and limits with the state wildlife agency.
Winter is the prime time. Snow makes tracking easy, reveals runways and forms, and concentrates hares in the thickest cover. Hunting after a fresh snowfall is excellent because tracks are fresh and easy to interpret. Cold, calm mornings are productive, and the dawn and dusk periods overlap with hare activity. Late season, when snow is deep, hares stay tight in heavy conifer cover. Hunting in white winter coat against snow also makes a still hare hard to spot — sharp eyes are rewarded.
The traditional and most popular method is hunting with beagles or other small hounds. The dogs strike a hare's trail and run it in a circle while hunters position along the runways and openings in the thick cover, waiting for the hare to circle back. The running hare typically moves at a steady, predictable pace, giving a hunter a chance for an ethical shot in an opening.
A second method is group jump-shooting: two or more hunters walk slowly and zigzag through dense cover, kicking brush piles and conifer thickets to flush resting hares, with hunters spaced to cover escape routes. A third method is solo still-hunting — moving very slowly and quietly through prime cover, scanning ahead for a resting hare or a bit of movement, and watching the runways. After fresh snow, tracking individual hares to their forms can also be effective. All methods reward thorough coverage of the thickest cover.
Read the woods for dense, young, low cover. The best spots are young spruce and fir thickets, cedar swamps, alder runs along streams, regenerating clearcuts five to fifteen years old, and brushy logging slash. The denser and more tangled the cover, the more likely it holds hares.
In snow, let the sign guide you: follow tracks and runways into the heart of the cover, and look for concentrations of droppings and clipped twigs that mark feeding and resting areas. Hares often stay near the transition between thick escape cover and a winter food source. North-facing slopes and low, damp ground often hold the heaviest conifer cover. When you find an area webbed with runways and tracks, slow down and hunt it carefully — that is the core of the hare's home range.
Snowshoe hare hunting needs little specialized gear. A 12, 20, or 28 gauge shotgun with an improved cylinder or modified choke and size 6 or 7.5 shot is ideal for hares jumping or circling through brush. A .22 rimfire rifle is also popular for hares sitting still in their forms, where a careful, precise shot is possible — choose the firearm to match the hunting style and always know your backstop.
Dress in warm, layered winter clothing with waterproof boots, as hunts take place in cold, snowy, often wet cover. Snowshoes themselves can be genuinely useful for traveling through deep snow in hare country. A blaze orange hat and vest are required in most states and important for safety, especially when hunting in a group. Gaiters keep snow out of boots, and a small game vest carries harvested hares. Optics are not essential, though a compact binocular can help pick a still white hare out of snowy cover.
Take only clean, certain shots within effective range, and be sure of your target and what lies beyond it — this is especially important in dense cover and when hunting with a group or hounds. Never shoot toward a dog or another hunter. The goal is always a quick, ethical harvest.
Field-dress the hare promptly. Many hunters field-dress in the field and then skin and clean the hare at home. The skin pulls off easily once started. As with all hares and rabbits, wear gloves when cleaning game as a sensible hygiene practice, and cook the meat thoroughly. Cool the meat quickly; winter temperatures make this easy. Inspect the animal during cleaning, and if anything about the animal looks abnormal, do not consume it. Cooling and clean handling preserve good eating quality.
Snowshoe hare provides good, lean, dark meat with a mild flavor that is richer than cottontail rabbit but not strong. The meat is low in fat, which makes it easy to overcook and dry out, so moist cooking methods work best.
The classic preparation is a slow braise, stew, or hasenpfeffer-style dish, simmering the hare with vegetables and liquid until the meat is tender and falls from the bone. Browning the pieces first adds flavor. Because the meat is lean, slow, moist cooking is far superior to dry, fast heat. Always cook hare thoroughly. A snowshoe hare or two makes a satisfying winter meal and a fine reward for a cold day in the woods.
The most common mistake is hunting cover that is too open — snowshoe hares live in thick, young, tangled growth, and hunters who stick to easy walking in mature forest find few hares. Another error is moving too fast, whether still-hunting or jumping cover; slow, thorough movement flushes more hares.
When hunting with hounds, a frequent mistake is not understanding that the hare circles — hunters should hold a position on the runways rather than chasing the dogs. Other mistakes include poor target identification in dense cover, not dressing warmly enough for long cold sits, overcooking the lean meat, and forgetting that hare numbers cycle, so a slow year is not a sign of doing something wrong.
Snowshoe hares are a stable, well-managed small-game species across most of their northern range, and regulated hunting has little effect on their famous ten-year population cycle, which is driven by food and predator dynamics. Seasons are generally long and bag limits liberal because the resource is abundant where good young-forest habitat exists.
Hunters should buy the proper small-game license, follow current season dates and bag limits, and respect private land and access rules. The greatest long-term factor for snowshoe hares is habitat — young, regenerating forest. Supporting forest management that creates early-successional habitat benefits hares and many other species. At the southern edge of their range and at high elevations, hare populations can be more vulnerable to a warming climate that shortens snow cover and leaves white hares exposed; conservation-minded hunters should be aware of and support habitat and climate stewardship. Practice fair chase, take ethical shots, and recover every animal.
Snowshoe hare hunting is ideal for beginning hunters and for anyone who wants an affordable, accessible winter hunt with plenty of action. It is especially rewarding for hunters who enjoy working a pack of beagles and the tradition of hound music in snowy woods, as well as for small groups who like jumping cover together. It suits hunters comfortable with cold weather and thick cover, and it is a great way to build winter woodsmanship and tracking skills. Families and new hunters will find it a friendly, classic introduction to small-game hunting.
Why do snowshoe hares turn white in winter? Snowshoe hares molt to a white coat as days shorten in fall, providing camouflage against snow, then molt back to brown in spring. The timing is controlled by daylight length. In years with little snow, a white hare can be very visible against bare ground.
Do I need dogs to hunt snowshoe hares? No. While hunting with beagles is the most popular and traditional method, you can also jump-shoot hares by walking thick cover in a small group, or still-hunt slowly and quietly on your own. After fresh snow, you can even track individual hares to their resting forms.
What is the best time to hunt snowshoe hares? Winter is prime, especially after a fresh snowfall when tracks and runways are easy to read. Cold, calm mornings near dawn overlap with hare activity. The season is generally long, often running from fall through late winter.
What gun should I use for snowshoe hare? A shotgun in 12, 20, or 28 gauge with size 6 or 7.5 shot is ideal for hares jumping or circling through brush. A .22 rimfire works well for still hares sitting in their forms. Always be sure of your target and backstop, especially in dense cover.
Why are some years much better than others for hare hunting? Snowshoe hare populations naturally cycle, rising and falling over roughly ten-year periods due to food supply and predator dynamics. A slow hunting year often just means the cycle is at a low point, not that you are doing anything wrong.