November is a fine month on the Katy Trail: cool air, bare bluffs, the river running low and clear. It’s also deer season, and the country around Rocheport is good deer country. None of that should keep you home. It’s just worth knowing the dates, the rules and a couple of habits.
The dates this year
The Missouri Department of Conservation set the 2026-27 deer seasons this spring. The big one is the November portion of firearms season, Nov. 14 through 24. Archery season runs Sept. 15 through Nov. 13 and picks up again Nov. 25 through Jan. 15. There are also youth weekends on Oct. 24–25 and Nov. 27–29, a late antlerless portion Dec. 5–13 in counties open to it, and an alternative-methods portion from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. Check MDC’s site for the fine print.
On the Katy Trail
The trail itself is not a hunting ground. Missouri State Parks’ rules for the Katy Trail say plainly that no hunting or discharging of firearms is allowed, and the trail is open only from sunrise to sunset. But the trail is a narrow strip of park running through private farms, woods and conservation land, and hunting goes on all around it. You may hear shots, especially early in the morning. That’s normal in November.
A few habits help. Wear something bright; hunter orange is the obvious choice, and a blaze-orange vest or hat costs little. Put an orange vest or bandana on the dog, and keep it on the leash state parks already require. Stay on the trail, and skip the side paths into the woods and fields during the November portion.
In the conservation areas
The two big public areas near town are open to hunters as well as walkers. At Diana Bend, just west of town along the trail, MDC allows deer hunting with both archery and firearms. At Eagle Bluffs near McBaine, deer hunting is archery only, but there’s waterfowl hunting, and portions of the area close from Oct. 15 to March 1 to protect waterfowl. Both are open 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Read the signs at the parking lot, wear orange, and in firearms season consider saving the long walks for a Sunday afternoon or after Nov. 24.
MDC’s own hunter-orange rule applies to hunters: an orange hat plus an orange shirt, vest or coat, visible from all sides, during the firearms portions. Nobody requires it of walkers. Wear it anyway.
On the road
The bigger November danger around here isn’t in the woods. It’s on Highway BB and I-70 at dusk. The Missouri Department of Transportation says most deer strikes happen in October and November, with the worst hours 6 to 7 a.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. MDC deer biologist Jason Isabelle told MoDOT that deer move more in breeding season, which starts in October and peaks in mid-November. In 2023 Missouri recorded 3,591 crashes involving deer, with four people killed and 420 injured.
MoDOT’s advice: where there’s one deer there are usually more, so slow down after you see the first. Scan both shoulders, and watch for eye-shine. And never swerve to miss one. Losing control of the car is what hurts people.
If you hunt
If you’re the one in the tree stand, the rules and permits are on MDC’s deer page. Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it. The Katy Trail runs through a lot of this country, and so do the people walking it.
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