Yellowstone Holiday offers West Yellowstone camping and lodging at Hebgen Lake. Offering a spectacular Yellowstone vacation destination, they understand the importance of keeping the public updated with lifesaving tips for hiking and camping in bear country.
While many people worry and become fearful of entering bear country, it’s important to remember that bears generally avoid people. Yes, there is a minimal risk of being injured by a bear, but visitors need to remind themselves that risk is small, especially if they follow the advice and tips presented in this article.
By simply learning more about bears and educating oneself, people can learn how to properly react if they should, in fact, encounter a grizzly or black bear. In fact, someone’s chances of being mauled by a bear are less than being struck by lightening or being involved in a car accident.
The following points offer helpful tips to avoid any potential bear encounters when exploring Yellowstone’s vast wilderness.
- Keep all bear attractants, garbage and food away from campgrounds. Bears become particularly aggressive when searching for food, so by removing this attractant, peoples’ risks of encountering a bear are dramatically reduced. Keep in mind that bears are intensely attracted to human food, pet food, livestock feed, garbage, cooking utensils and pots, cooking oils, lantern and stove fuels, canned beverages, insect repellents, cosmetics, toothpaste, lotions, hummingbird feeders and even bird seed.
- To protect oneself, it’s important to properly store the aforementioned items so they are well out of reach of a bear. Campers can invest in bear resistant food storage boxes, a hard-sided vehicle or a bear-resistant backpack. Food should be suspended 10 to 15 feet in the air, at a minimum of four feet from vertical supports.
- Additionally, the following tips may help save a life:
- Never sleep in the clothes used to cook.
- Always keep bear spray and a flashlight in the tent.
- Pets should always remain leashed.
- In the backcountry, sleeping areas should be a minimum of 100 yards from any food or cooking areas.
- Avoid foods such as fish and bacon, as these smells attract bears.
- Food should never be stored inside a tent.
- Never sleep in the open, but always in a tent.
- Camp away from areas that have signs of bears, carcasses, bear trails or berry patches.
- Never bury food but pack all food and garbage out of the site.
- If a bear should enter camp, immediately retreat to a safe area and report the bear sighting to authorities.
By following these simple tips, campers and hikers can avoid running into a dangerous bear.