Learning how to keep food safe from bears protects you and it protects the bear, which is worth remembering when the routine feels like extra work at the end of a long day. A bear that successfully raids a campsite once will try again, and a bear that keeps succeeding eventually becomes a bear that has to be relocated or destroyed. The habits below exist because they genuinely work, not as bureaucratic caution.
The underlying principle is simple even where the specific method varies by location. A bear’s sense of smell is extraordinary, and anything with an odor is a target, food included but also far more than food. Manage the smell and you manage almost the entire risk.
The short answer
Store all food, trash and anything scented at least three metres up and two metres out from any trunk or post, or in a certified bear canister, or in a provided storage locker where one exists. Never store food in your tent, ever, regardless of how sealed the packaging looks. Cook and eat well away from where you sleep. Pack out every scrap of trash rather than burning or burying it. Check local regulations, since many parks mandate a specific method rather than leaving it to choice.
Storage methods, and which one applies where
The right method depends entirely on where you are, and using the wrong one is both risky and, in many parks, against the rules.
- Bear canisters. Hard sided, bear resistant containers, required in many high use backcountry areas. They also double as a stool and protect food from rodents, which makes them useful even where they are not mandated. Our roundup of the best bear canisters for backpacking covers weight and capacity trade offs.
- Bear hangs. The traditional method where canisters are not required. Food goes in a bag suspended at least three metres up, two metres from the trunk, and a metre below the branch it hangs from. Properly executed, it is effective. Poorly executed, which is common, it is not.
- Provided lockers. Many campgrounds and popular backcountry sites now have metal storage boxes. Always use them when available rather than your own method, since they are what the local bear population has learned not to bother with.
- Bear resistant containers built into a vehicle or rooftop box. Standard practice for car camping in bear country, but only where the container is actually rated bear resistant rather than merely sturdy.
Check the specific requirement for wherever you are heading before you leave, since regulations vary by park and by season and the wrong method can mean a fine as well as a real risk.
What actually needs to be stored, and it is more than you think
Food is the obvious one. The list of things that also need to be secured is longer than most people expect, because bears investigate anything with a smell, not just things that are edible.
- All food, including anything sealed, canned or in the original packaging
- Trash, every scrap, since it smells like the food it contained
- Cooking equipment, unwashed pots and utensils
- Toiletries: toothpaste, sunscreen, deodorant, soap
- Anything scented, including lip balm and hand sanitizer
- Clothing you cooked in, which absorbs food smell even without visible stains
- Pet food, if you are camping with a dog
The clothing item surprises people most often. A shirt worn while cooking bacon carries enough scent to interest a bear, and it should go into storage with the food, not into the tent with you.
Where you cook matters as much as where you store
Cooking and sleeping in the same spot concentrates every food smell exactly where you will be lying unconscious for eight hours. The standard practice in bear country is to separate the two by a meaningful distance.
- Cook and eat at least sixty metres from where you sleep, and store food a further distance from both if possible, forming a rough triangle.
- Wash dishes well away from the tent too, and strain grey water so food particles do not sit on the ground near camp.
- Never eat inside the tent, even a small snack. It is the single habit most associated with problem encounters.
- Change out of cooking clothes before bed if you can, and store them with the food rather than wearing them to sleep.
This layout takes a little more planning than a single central campsite, and it is one of the details worth working into your evening routine from the first night rather than treating as optional. Our guide to how to plan a weekend camping trip covers building this kind of routine into a trip from the start.
Trash and leftovers get the same treatment as food
An empty wrapper or a rinsed can still carries enough scent to draw attention. Burning food waste in a campfire does not eliminate the smell and often makes it worse, since partially burned food residue is highly attractive and fire rings themselves become a known attraction site.
Pack out everything, every time, in a sealed bag stored with your food. Do not bury scraps either, since bears dig, and buried food teaches them to dig at other campsites too. The rule that works reliably is that if it went in your mouth or touched something that did, it gets stored like food until it leaves the backcountry with you.
Common mistakes
- Storing food in a car with soft sides or open windows. A car is not automatically bear resistant, and bears have learned to open unlocked doors in areas with frequent human contact. Use provided lockers or a rated container instead where bears are habituated to vehicles.
- A poorly executed bear hang. Too low, too close to the trunk, or hung from a branch a bear can reach by climbing. If you are relying on a hang, do it properly or use a canister instead.
- Sleeping in the clothes you cooked in. A quiet habit that carries real scent into the tent with you. Change before bed whenever you can.
- Assuming a quiet area means low risk. Bears range widely and a site with no recent sightings is not the same as a site with no bears. Store properly regardless of how the area feels.
Frequently asked questions
How high should food be hung to keep it from bears?
At least three metres up, two metres from the trunk, and a metre below the branch it hangs from. This is harder to achieve correctly than it sounds, which is a major reason bear canisters are now required in many areas instead of relying on a hang.
Do bear canisters actually work?
Yes, certified canisters are extremely effective, which is why many parks require them. A bear may roll or bat at one out of curiosity but cannot open it, and canisters remove the guesswork of finding a suitable tree that a proper hang requires.
Can I keep food in my tent if it is sealed?
No. Sealed packaging does not contain scent well enough to matter to a bear’s sense of smell, and food in a tent is one of the most reliable ways to have a serious encounter. Store all food outside the tent regardless of how it is packaged.
What smells attract bears besides food?
Toiletries, sunscreen, deodorant, lip balm and hand sanitizer all carry enough scent to draw interest. Store these with your food rather than in the tent, along with any clothing worn while cooking.
Wrapping up
How to keep food safe from bears comes down to controlling scent completely, not just controlling food. Use the storage method required where you are, cook and sleep in separate areas, pack out every scrap of trash, and treat toiletries and cooking clothes with the same caution as the food itself.
None of this is about fear. It is a routine that takes a few extra minutes each evening and genuinely protects both you and the bear population in an area you are only visiting.
For the rest of the backcountry fundamentals, see our guide to leave no trace principles explained, and campsite skills and camp craft covers the wider skill set.
