Bear Country · Safety guide · Reviewed July 14, 2026
Bears, food storage, and camp safety
What counts as bear food, when to use a locker or canister, why car rules vary, and what to do when a black bear appears.
The short version
The storage rule belongs to the exact place
In bear country, food can include trash, drinks, pet food, soap, sunscreen, toothpaste, wipes, coolers, and cooking gear. Store every scented item in the locker, car, or approved canister named by the park or forest.
What changes the answer: A car may count in one place and fail the rule in another. A bear-proof cooler may not be an approved backcountry canister.
California's wild bears are black bears, even when their fur looks brown or cinnamon. They learn fast when a campsite, car, or trash bag gives them a meal.
The safe rule is simple: do not let a bear get a reward. Store food and scented items before you sleep, walk away, or turn your back on the picnic table.
The legal storage method is not the same everywhere. A campground may require its metal locker. A trail may require an approved canister. A car may be allowed at one park but banned after dark at another.
Read the page for the exact campground, trailhead, or wilderness zone. Pack to that rule before leaving home.
How it works
Bear food is more than dinner
Treat anything with a smell as food. That includes sealed cans, drinks, trash, wrappers, pet food, toothpaste, soap, sunscreen, lip balm, wipes, medicine, coolers, grills, dishes, and clothes with food on them.
A clean-looking cooler or stove can still smell like a meal. Store it right away when it is not in use. Close and latch the locker or canister each time, even when people are still around camp.
A locker, car, and canister are not the same
A developed campground may require the metal food locker at the site. Some places allow food out of sight in a hard-sided car. Others do not allow car storage at night because bears know how to break in. The campground rule settles that choice, so follow its location-specific instructions.
In the backcountry, the manager may require a named bear canister. Yosemite generally requires an approved container throughout its wilderness and does not allow a tree hang. Sequoia and Kings Canyon require canisters in named areas and use different rules elsewhere. One park's method does not carry across the boundary.
A bear that gets food learns the wrong lesson
Do not feed a bear on purpose or by leaving food open. A bear that gets human food may return, push closer to people, damage cars or tents, and become dangerous. The bear can end up paying for that meal with its life.
Keep a clean camp. Wash dishes, clean the grill, put trash in a bear-safe bin, and never leave a full bag beside a locked dumpster. If a bear reaches your food, do not try to take it back. Tell a ranger or the land manager.
A black bear encounter has a calm first move
Keep your distance and back away slowly. Do not run. Let the bear know you are there, keep small children and pets close, make yourself look larger, and make noise. Leave the bear a clear way out.
If a black bear makes contact, California wildlife officials say to fight back and then call 911. For a bear that is not an immediate threat, use the park's report path or the California Wildlife Incident Reporting system.
First moves
- 1
Name the exact campground, trailhead, picnic area, or wilderness route.
- 2
Read that manager's current food-storage rule and approved-container list.
- 3
Pack all food, drinks, trash, pet food, toiletries, medicine, and cooking items so they fit in the required storage.
- 4
At camp, latch the locker or canister whenever the items are not in active use. Keep tents and sleeping gear free of food and scented items.
- 5
If a bear appears, give it room, keep children and pets close, and follow the manager's encounter and reporting steps.
Watch for
- 1
A bear-resistant cooler is not always the container the manager approves.
- 2
An empty cooler, dirty grill, wrapper, baby seat, or scented wipe can still draw a bear.
- 3
Car storage can change by park, campground, time of day, and vehicle type.
- 4
Hanging food is illegal in Yosemite and is not a substitute where another place requires a canister.
- 5
Never approach a bear, crowd a cub, block the bear's way out, or try to win food back from it.
Official sources
Where to confirm this
Use the source that matches the part you need. Current forms, fees, deadlines, maps, and local decisions can change after this guide is reviewed.
Food-storage and encounter rules change by park, campground, trailhead, wilderness zone, season, vehicle, container, and current order. The exact manager page, approved-container list, permit terms, and posted sign control.