Last Updated on April 3, 2024 by ETC Team
Keeping your food safe and fresh while camping or backpacking is essential. Following some simple food storage advice best practices can make for a safe, happy, and healthy trip. All kinds of animals can get into your food wherever you camp. Mice and other rodents, not to mention bears, will gnaw right through a tent or backpack to get at crumbs or tasty treats left inside.
It’s our responsibility as campers to prevent wild animals from graining access to any human food. This disrupts their natural diet and makes them dependent on people. An animal that seeks out human food can also become a safety threat. Bears who become accustomed to humans and a nuisance may end up being killed.
In addition to avoiding problems with animals, your health and enjoyment of your outdoor adventure relies on following proper food handling techniques. If you want to spend your time on the trail, not the outhouse, be sure to follow the guidelines below.
General Food Storage Tips
Keeping human food (and other aromatic items such as toiletries) away from animals requires similar practices in both a campground and backcountry campsite. Here are some general tips:
Never leave food, trash or other scented products inside your tent.
Never leave your food unattended. Birds, squirrels and chipmunks can quickly snatch food in broad daylight, and other animals may come foraging during the night.
Food Storage In A Campground
During the day, keep all your food secured in your cooler or car. Even if you’re sitting nearby or on a short jaunt to the outhouse. This is especially important if you’re away on a hike.
At night, place any loose food inside a cooler if you have one. These should go inside a metal bear box if there is one. Storing food inside a car can also be an option in certain areas. You will need to check with local land managers first. This is because some areas—where bears have become adept at breaking into vehicles—prohibit the practice.
Raccoons and bears are adept at opening coolers left in the open. Some cooler manufacturers claim certain models are bear-proof, though padlocks might be required. As a last resort, you can also hang a bag of food from a high tree branch or use a bear canister, if bears are a known nuisance in the campground.
Food Storage In The Backcountry
If you’ll be in the bear-inhabited backcountry of a national park or national forest, or on a national scenic trail such as the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail, follow its regulations and recommendations for food storage carefully.
If you’re backpacking in an area where there are no defined regulations, you can choose between three methods to secure your food supply. You can use the metal food locker—if provided—to protect the food. Opt to bring a bear canister or bear bag to use. You can also hang your food from a tree or a pole.
There are pros and cons to the various bear-proof food storage methods you can use while in the backcountry.
Metal Food Lockers
Some campgrounds as well as designated backcountry campsites provide large metal bear-proof boxes in which you can stash your food, trash and toiletries. These are sometimes communal, so there’s no guarantee there will be room for your stuff. Also, it’s important to secure the latch properly so bears can’t get in. Otherwise, you can bet they will.
Bear Canisters
These hard-shell plastic cylinders have lids that humans can screw on and off—some require a coin or screwdriver to lock and unlock. They are designed to fit into most backpacks and come in different sizes, so if you’re traveling solo, you can choose a smaller one.
If you’re backpacking in areas where canisters are required, be sure to use one. If a ranger stops you on the trail and you don’t have one, you could be issued a substantial fine. In some national parks, rangers loan or rent bear canisters. However, during peak summer weekends they may run out of canisters before you get there, so have a backup plan. Canisters also prevent raccoons from getting into your food and garbage—another reason they may be required on your adventure.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Bears have rarely been known to open a canister | Can be heavy and bulky—most weigh 2-3 pounds |
| You can leave them on the ground instead of hanging | Limited storage capacity |
| With lid on they make a good camp seat | Can be a costly investment for a large family |
| Some are clear so you can see contents |
Food storage advice for using a bear canister:
- add reflective tape to the exterior. That way, if you hear a disturbance at night, you can more easily spot what is going on.
Bear Bags
If a bear canister is not specifically required but you still need to protect your food from bears, then a bear bag is a good choice. These are made of a high-density polyethylene that a bear cannot tear open. An aluminum liner is available separately that fits inside the smaller model to keep a bear from crushing or puncturing the contents.
Odor-proof plastic bags—that are also waterproof, unlike the bear bag itself—are available separately to put your food and garbage into first to further add bear deterrence.
Some models are designed to deter marmots, mice and other rodents, but if you’re in bear country, choose a bag model that is specifically for bears and has passed the test of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC).
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Lightweight and compact for carrying | Requires some skill to properly hang food |
| Flexible and easier to store when empty | Not 100% bear-proof and therefore may not be accepted at all parks |
| Typically more affordable than bear canisters | A bear could crush it(without aluminum liner) or even carry the bag away |
Food storage advice for using bear bags:
- Be sure to cinch the drawstring tight and tie the knot exactly to manufacturer specifications.
- While these bags can be left on the ground, you should hang from a tree or hang from a bear pole.
- Use a canister for your most important food and a bear bag for your trash and less crucial food items.
Hanging Your Food
When it comes to food storage advice, hanging your items to avoid them being disturbed by bears and other critters, is about as basic as it gets. This technique can be great for limiting your impact on your surroundings. There are a few methods you can choose when hanging your food.
You can suspend your food from a high, sturdy tree branch. You will need to search for a tree near your camp that has branches that are not only the suitable height but also strong enough to hold your gear.
At some backcountry campsites you’ll find bear poles, which are a major improvement over tree branches. With this system, you’ll find a tall metal pole or metal frame with large hooks at the top from which you can hang your food bag or entire backpack. A long metal lifter pole is provided for hoisting your food bag up onto one of the hooks.
You may also find a horizontal metal cable that will be strung very high between two poles, which is usually easier to hang your food bag from.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| No need for specialized equipment | Not an option if camping above tree line or area without trees |
| A rope and bag take up minimal space and don’t weigh much | Hanging food from a tree takes practice and can be time consuming |
| Minimize environmental impact | Some bears can figure out how to get to hanging bag |
Food storage advice for hanging your food
- Tie a 50- to 100-foot rope to a weight (use a hand-size rock or fill your tent-stake bag with local rocks) and toss it over the tree limb or cable. It may take a few tries to get it over.
- Once over and back on the ground, untie the rock or tent-stake bag, and attach your food bag.
- Hoist your bag 10 to 15 feet high so a standing bear can’t reach it, and make sure it’s at least four feet out from the trunk or pole.
- Tie the other end of the rope to a tree trunk or pole to secure it.
Food Handling Basics
At this point, your camping adventure is humming along. You’ve found the a great location and built the perfect campsite. You’ve followed the food storage advice and your supplies are safe from wildlife. Now it’s time to prepare a meal and eat but afterwards you don’t want to spend time rushing to the outhouse.
There are three common ways you can become sick from improper hygiene and food handling while camping:
- Transmission of pathogens to your hands and mouth after going to the bathroom (fecal-oral transmission)
- Eating spoiled food from a cooler
- Improper handling of raw meat
Food Storage Advice – How to avoid fecal-oral germ transmission
- After going to the bathroom, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water (away from camp and away from a fresh-water source).
- Dry hands with a towel not used for drying dishes.
- If you can’t wash, use hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes.
- Wash or sanitize your hands again before preparing a meal.
- If you plan to share a bag of trail mix with others, shake the food from the bag into their hand.
- Do not let unwashed hands reach into a bag of food.
Food Storage Advice – How to keep food in a cooler from spoiling
Chances are you’ll have a cooler if you’re car camping. In it you’ll want to keep any perishables, such as meat(especially raw), cheese, eggs and milk, at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder so they don’t spoil.
- Pre-chill the cooler with ice or ice blocks for an hour before you put in any food.
- Fill large polycarbonate water bottles with water, juice or milk and freeze (leave room at the top of the bottle for expansion). These keep your cooler colder longer than fast-melting ice cubes, and you can drink the liquid once you don’t need the ice.
- Double-bag any raw meat so it doesn’t leak onto other foods; freeze ahead of time whatever you’ll be eating after the first day.
- Put the food you’ll eat first near the top. Put frozen raw meat on the bottom, where the cooler is coldest.
- Use a thermometer inside the cooler to check how cold it’s staying.
Food Storage Advice – How to handle raw meat in camp
It’s a good idea to do some of your food prep at home before your leave for your camping trip. You can cut your raw meat into bite-size pieces and place in a zip-loc bag. That way you have less to wash in camp.
Here are additional tips:
- As you would at home, be especially careful about handling raw meat. After you cut raw meat in camp, place the meat pieces into your cookware and immediately wash the cutting board, knife and your hands with soap and hot (if possible) water before you touch anything else.
- Never cut veggies or cheese on a surface that has raw meat residue on it.
- Any plastic wrap from raw meat needs to be double-bagged and stored in your cooler or trash bag until you get home; or dispose it in a campground-provided trash bin.
Food Storage Advice – Extra food handling tips
- You’ll want to keep food odors at a distance and away from your camp as much as possible. Cook food and wash dishes (and hands) well away from your tent so odors don’t attract animals near the location where you will be sleeping. Use only a tiny bit of liquid unscented soap.
- You should take extra care when disposing of your dishwater. Strain out any food scraps and put them in your trash. Whenever possible, disperse the rinse water over a rocky area. This should be done well away from your campsite.
