Wilderness Food Storage - Olympic National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (original) (raw)
Please do your part to protect park wildlife and yourself by properly securing your food.
Bears and other wildlife can be active 24 hours a day, year round, parkwide. Because of this, all food and scented items must be secured at all times. Following these and other Leave No Trace guidelines help protect people and animals.
All food, trash, toiletries, and scented items such as: toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, chapstick, etc. must be stored either:
- In bear canisters
- On park bear wires, where provided
- 12 feet high and 10 feet out from the nearest tree trunk, where allowed
Bear canisters are required in the following areas of the park:
- Enchanted Valley
- Sol Duc River/High Divide/7 Lakes Basin Loop including all camps adjacent to and enclosed by the Deer Lake Trail, High Divide Trail, and Sol Duc River Trail (High Divide Loop), and adjacent camps along the Mink Lake Trail, East High Divide Trail, and Cat Basin area.
- Royal Basin area - including Royal Lake and Upper Royal Basin
- All other areas where food cannot be hung at least 12 feet high and 10 feet out from the nearest tree trunk, including the Bailey Range and other high elevation areas where trees are not suitable for hanging food.
- The entire Wilderness Coast.
We highly encourage wilderness users to provide their own bear canisters, though, bear canisters are available for loan from Wilderness Information Centers during business hours. While we do have a large supply of canisters, we occasionally run out over exceptionally busy weekends. We do not reserve canisters in advance.
Stock
Stock users should be prepared to secure their own as well as any stock feed from bears and other wildlife. All food, garbage, and any other scented items such as toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, etc. should be stored in bear proof containers or panniers. Animal feed must also be secured from wildlife.
If your food is not being stored in bear resistant panniers, it must be hung from park bear wires or hung at least 12 feet high and 10 feet out from the nearest tree trunk.