Bardenas Reales closures: hunting and military exercises

Closures calendar, 2026-27 season

This season the park has announced 10 hunting-drive days since 20 Sep, all on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. The rules also allow hunting on Thursdays, but there has not been a single drive from Monday to Friday, public holidays aside.

Each red square is a day when the park has announced tracks closed for a hunting drive; hatched squares are drives already set by the official hunting calendar but not yet announced; purple ones are air exercises; amber ones, races and events. Tap or click a day to open its official notice (in Spanish). This page updates twice a day from the park notices.

The hunting calendar for December to February has not been published yet: empty months do not mean there will be no drives. Last season there were drives on 3, 6, 8, 13, 20 and 27 December, including the public holidays on the 3rd and the 8th; in January and February there were only access recommendations.

Nothing shown here is guaranteed: a notice can appear tomorrow. Always check the notices the day before, or use the “Open today?” planner, which checks the closures against your route.

Upcoming closures, announced and expected

• Sat 14 Nov · Expected drive, no notice yet Official hunting calendar (ES)
• Sat 21 Nov · Expected drive, no notice yet Official hunting calendar (ES)

Announced days come with the area and the times. Expected days come from the official drive calendar of the hunting ground (South zone, ordinary drives, in Spanish) and do not say where: the exact area is chosen two working days before.

Hunting drives: when they happen and why notice is so short

• Season. In Navarre, wild boar is hunted in drives from 15 August to 28 February, on Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (Navarre hunting leaflet 2025-2026, published by the park, in Spanish; according to the hunting press, the 2026-2027 hunting order keeps the same dates and days).
• In the Bardenas, wild boar is hunted only in drives organised by authorised hunting groups (cuadrillas). The order is decided by a draw, and the park publishes a calendar of dates by zone (North and South).
• Why notice comes only 2 to 4 days ahead. The group whose turn it is must report the chosen area (the «mancha») before 13:00 on the penultimate working day. Until then you know at best that there will be a drive, not where.
• Times. Drives do not start before 8:00 and end at 14:00, plus the time needed to recover dogs or wounded game. That is why the notices say “8:00 to 14:00”.
• On the ground. Signs reading «Atención batida de caza mayor» (warning: big-game hunt) are placed at the entrance of the main tracks into the hunting area. If you see one, do not go in.

A drive does not close the whole park: it closes the tracks in its area. The route and notice map shows whether your route crosses it. If you go on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday between mid-September and December, assume there may be one.

Last season’s pattern

In 2025-26 drives were announced for 20, 21 and 28 September; 5, 11, 12, 19 and 26 October; 8 and 15 November; and 3, 6, 8, 13, 20 and 27 December. From 31 December to 30 January the park published only access recommendations, with no tracks closed. Almost all were weekends; the exceptions were public holidays (3 and 8 December). This season is following the same rhythm: 20 and 27 Sep; 3, 4, 10, 11, 18, 25 and 31 Oct; 7 Nov.

Air exercises at the firing range (Polígono de Tiro)

In the middle of the Bardena Blanca lies the Spanish Air Force firing range, the Polígono de Tiro. Its grounds are always off limits (article 27 of the park ordinance, in Spanish). On scheduled exercise days the Guardia Civil also closes the southern branch of the Perimetral, the track that runs around the range, between the access to the military base and the Carcastillo junction. The notices give the times: sometimes 7:30 to 19:30, sometimes afternoon into the night.

In 2026 the closures were all on weekdays: 11, 12 and 27 February; 23 to 26 March; 10 and 13 to 16 April; 20 to 24 April; 4, 12, 13 and 18 to 21 May; 7 and 8 September; some of the days between 28 September and 8 October; and 27 to 29 October. None fell at a weekend, and there were none in June, July or August. That is our observation, not a rule: the park announces each round a few days ahead.

Bird reserve (ZEPA) closure: late January to September

To protect breeding steppe birds and raptors, the park closes the El Plano and Blanca Alta Special Protection Area for birds (ZEPA) every year: La Ralla, the Rallón, the Pisquerra, La Gorra and the Zapata pond (balsa de Zapata), among others. The ban is total: no entry by any means. The closure comes by resolution in late January and lasts until a technical report declares the critical breeding period over.

• 2024: 1 February to 8 September.
• 2025: closed from late January; reopened on 3 September, on foot only along the authorised paths (no mountain bikes, horses or motor vehicles).
• 2026: closed by a resolution of 26 January (official notice, in Spanish); reopened on 16 September, again on foot only.

There is no date for 2027 yet: expect the closure from late January. More on this area in the park zones.

Races, rain and closures with no end date

• Races and events. The park announces each one; they usually do not close the park, but they affect access and routes. In 2026: Extreme Bardenas (28 June), BTT Bardena Negra (12 September), Santxikorrota and Escape the Rutina (3 October), Spain Classic Raid (23 October) and Blue Rally (22, 23, 29 and 30 October).
• Rain. After persistent rain the park advises against entering, and it can ban traffic on damaged tracks, as it did on 2 May 2026. See when to visit and the weather in the planner.
• Closures still in force. The track between the Perimetral and El Paso has been closed since summer 2026 because of storm damage, and the path to the Cabezo de Cortinillas has been closed since 2021 because of the risk of rockfalls. Neither has an end date.
• Exceptional closures. The ordinance allows the park, or some zones, to be closed on specific days. The last full closure was for the eclipse: first announced from 18:00, then brought forward to 0:00 on 12 August, until 7:00 on 13 August 2026 (notice, in Spanish).

Opening hours and public holidays

The park is open from 8:00 until one hour before nightfall, every day of the year (article 3 of the ordinance, in Spanish). We have found no closure for public holidays: Christmas, New Year and Easter are normal days, with hunting drives if they fall in the season. The information centre keeps its own hours: 9:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 17:00 until 19 March 2027, and until 18:00 from 20 March to 31 August, with no midday break during Holy Week, 25 to 29 March (park services, in Spanish). If you go at Christmas, call first on +34 948 830 308. Exact leaving time for each day: hours and rules.

Add the calendar to your phone

You can follow this calendar in the calendar app on your phone or computer. It includes the hunting-drive days, the expected drives, the air exercises and the season’s events, each with a link to its official notice, and it updates twice a day.

• iPhone, iPad and Mac: tap “Subscribe” and confirm.
• Google Calendar: the button opens Google Calendar with the calendar ready to add. On a computer you can also go to “Other calendars” → “From URL” and paste https://vivebardenas.com/calendario/bardenas-cierres-en.ics.
• Outlook: “Add calendar” → “Subscribe from web”, with the same address.

Each app decides how often it refreshes the calendar: it can take a few hours, and up to a day in Google. For the day of your visit, the official notice is still what counts.

Frequently asked questions