Bears are inquisitive creatures and will often sniff out food when camping groups roll around. This is why it’s important to learn how to store food when camping in bear country.
If you don’t plan ahead, you are going to get stuck in a dicey situation with no food!
Remember, bears might not attack (unless threatened!) but they are certainly going to be eager to get into the food that’s lying around.
So, what do you do about the food with bears around?
Key foods bears love eating:
- Fish
- Berries
- Honey
If you are carrying one or more of these foods, it’s certainly time to figure out how to keep your camping food away from bears in the woods!
Otherwise, you are going to see bears roaming around and they will dig into the food.
This little guide is going to teach you how to store food when camping in bear country, what to think about, and what to use.
Table of Contents
Best Bear-Proof Bag for Storing Food (EDITOR’S CHOICE)
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Tips on How To Store Food When Camping in Bear Country
Tip #1: Find a Bear-Proof Bag
A bear-proof bag is essential.
You can’t have a situation where the bag is easy to dig into as soon as the bear gets its hands on it. This happens with conventional bags and they tear right through them.
As a result, you have to be alert and make sure to invest in a purposeful bag.
There are high-end bear-proof camping bags that are designed to store food. These are the ones that you should be investing in.
Stay careful when you are looking at the different options in front of you. The bag should be robust, easy to use, and perfect for the amount of food you’re going to be carrying to the campgrounds.
The bag should offer:
- Complete Durability
- Usability
- Ample Space
If the bag doesn’t have one of these qualities, it won’t work out as well as you want. It’s essential to think about these details as much as you can.
When you have the bear-proof bag, make sure it’s able to keep the smell inside the bag.
The more it represses the smell, the better it’s going to be for you outdoors. Otherwise, a bear has a great nose and it can sniff out food quickly.
Focusing on this is essential when it comes to feeling confident in what you are using.
Tip #2: Find a Large Tree
Even with a good bag, you can’t lay the bag on the ground.
You want to protect the food and that’s only going to happen by having it higher up in the air. How are you going to do this without magical powers?!
Well, you are going to find the biggest and sturdiest tree in the area. There are often a few when you are going to wooded campgrounds.
Once you find this tree, you are going to want to hang the bag around the branch.
What are you going to use to do this?
You will want a sturdy rope to tie around the bag and then hang it up. Even a strong cord will do depending on what you have available with you.
Make sure to take something like this, so you do have the ability to hang the food in bear country.
As you learn how to store food when camping in bear country, this is the most important tip of them all. Find a high spot and then hang the bear-proof bag.
Tip #3: Stay at Least 100m Away From the Food
This is a common and dangerous mistake.
Even when you have hung the food, you will need to get away from it. This is going to keep you safe when you are the most open to getting hurt (i.e. when you’re snoozing!).
As a result, your goal should be to stay at least 100m away from the food.
This is a rough estimate, but it’s a good number to focus on when camping.
As you learn how to store food when camping in bear country, you will realize how important it is to store food the right way and stay safe too.
Don’t sleep right next to the hanging bag!
You still need to create distance and 100m is a good rule of thumb to follow.
Tip #4: Secure the Food
The food will have to be secured.
What does this mean?
The idea is to make sure the food is in containers even when it doesn’t have to be. The idea is to suppress the smell as much as possible.
As mentioned before, if you are not securing the food, you are going to have major issues to deal with.
Final Thoughts
What do you need to know on how to store food when camping in bear country?
The goal is to do things the right way and make sure you are seeing tangible results. This means finding a bear-proof bag, storing the food as high up as possible, and making sure it’s secure.
These are the little things that will go a long way for you.
It’s not easy to learn how to store food when camping in bear country, but it comes down to having the right equipment by your side.
Here’s more on camping in bear country – how to find a good tent for hiking, good tarp for camping, how to keep the water out when camping, and how to go camping in warm weather.
