Bear and Food Storage Policy in the National Parks

[Sarah Bennett]

Companion forum thread to: Bear and Food Storage Policy in the National Parks

America’s National Parks each have different food storage requirements for backpackers. This article discusses the requirements, various options, and focuses on what bear canisters are exemplary options, and why.

[Scott Chandler]

I’m going to add that it was just announced that any overnight stays within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit now requires bear canisters. This now essentially includes most of the Tahoe Rim Trail.

[tkkn c]

In the table Saguaro NP has a “No” for bears.   It is a two section park.  The east section does not have bears.  The West section has a bear population.

[Vance P]

Sarah –

For the Channel Islands – Santa Cruz entry notes: the camping locations, including the backcountry Del Norte location has lockers primarily for the protection of Island Fox, but also the hanta-virus-carrying rodents.

[Sylvain C]

In the east coast you also have the Adirondacks park( not a national park ) that requires bear can in some sections.

[Drew Smith]

Sarah, thanks for a well-written and informative article.
The RMNP entry has a typo – says that canisters are required May 30 to June 1.

[Terran Terran]

I’d like to see standardized wording in the individual orders from park to park. While they each have their own requirements according to bear activity, the orders are often confusing even to park personal. When orders aren’t clearly understood it leads to violations.

[Charlie Brenneman]

For those of us in canister country, and who like to carry them horizontally, do we want to crowdsource which packs accommodate the most common models and sizes? (especially since bear vault now offers something between a 450 and 500). It is often difficult to find this info on brand spec pages or online pack reviews. You can often guess based on circumference measurements but sometimes frames get in the way such that it doesn’t fit or is too tight against the pack materials. It would be nice to get confirmation from actual users when deciding between multiple packs.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vh8kOFh5wet1oxEVZRzAtiUeVmalJa8gbbK_vlTRlZE/edit?usp=sharing

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