November's full moon
Beaver Moon 2026
The Beaver Moon is November's full moon. In 2026 it is full on Tuesday, 24 November 2026, 14:54 UTC. It is named for the beavers busy shoring up their lodges before the water freezes, and the trapping season that followed.
Beaver Moon meaning
In November the beavers are busy shoring up their lodges and stocking food before the water freezes; this was also the season to set beaver traps, when the pelts were thickest. Either way the name is the Algonquin and Colonial farmers' marker for the start of winter work.
Also called: Frost Moon, Mourning Moon. The names come from the seasonal calendars of Native American, Colonial American and European tradition, as collected in the Old Farmer's Almanac; each one marks what was happening on the land in that month.
When is the Beaver Moon?
- 2026Tuesday, 24 November 2026, 14:54 UTCEvery phase in November 2026
- 2027Sunday, 14 November 2027, 03:26 UTCEvery phase in November 2027
- 2028Thursday, 2 November 2028, 09:17 UTCEvery phase in November 2028
- 2029Wednesday, 21 November 2029, 04:03 UTCEvery phase in November 2029
Times are UTC; your local time is shown in the opening line. A full moon is an instant, but the Moon looks full to the eye the night before and the night after as well.
Best time to see the Beaver Moon
Go out at moonrise on the evening of Tue 24 Nov: look east just after sunset, when the Moon sits on the horizon, looks largest, and takes on its warmest colour. The first properly cold, clear nights of the year: the Beaver Moon is often the crispest, sharpest full moon to photograph.
Tonight's moonrise time for your location is on the live moon page.