Cooking in Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP

[RUSSELL5000]

We will be staying within Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks for about four weeks this summer (Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone and Colter Bay Village in Grand Teton). Both state that cooking implements and food cannot be left outside. This makes sense to me, but seems to me it will create quite a few chores: haul everything out, fire things up, cook and eat, let everything cool, put everything away.

When we have camped with the travel trailer before, we left the grill, dutch ovens, and assorted other stuff outside.

Just wonder if others have been down this road and wonder what solutions they have come up with.

Thanks!

[Jim_Shoe]

Here's the link to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center located 2 blocks from the West gate. Certainly worth visiting - and donating.
Bears have an incredible sense of smell and if you leave cooking equipment or food scraps outside you will be visited by bears. They aren't neat about what they tear open, including Bear Boxes. RVs are even easier. If you go, you can watch a bear tear a bear box open in a couple of minutes. Testing them is one of the services the center provides. I've watched one pick up a bear box and slam it against a boulder. It opens right up. No key required.
Thanks to donations, they are able to relocate the bears into the wilderness a few hundred miles away or to a zoo. If they return to the "scene of the crime", they have to be put down. And its not the bear's fault. Stupid humans.
Years ago, YNP used to put piles of food scraps from their restaurants out for the bears, but it was a nightmare for the rangers trying to keep stupid humans from getting close enough to touch them so they could take a picture.

[kmbernstein]

My husband and I have spent a huge amount of time in that area...a total of months. I can tell you from experience that eating was kind of a non issue and second to enjoying the area. We learned to have quick and easy things ready. Our best investment has been our vacuum sealer. We have found that by making meals ahead of time, freezing them and vacuum sealing them, we have quick, nutritious meals in minutes. Even if you don't have a sealer, you can still do the freezer bags that are available, such as ziplock. Roast and potatoes, BBQ beef, chili, meatballs, taco or burrito mixes, etc. You may have issues with crockpot cooking, due to the strong food odors. Pasta is great, too. Baked potatoes, stuffed with chili, cheese, brocolli, etc. is one of our favorites. I premake breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches for quick and easy mornings. Premade waffles warmed in the toaster and precooked bacon or sausage, frozen and quickly reheated are good too. Sandwiches or cold fried chicken with pasta salad or potato salad with fruits for lunch on the road, taken in a cooler. We never really thought about doing a lot of outdoor cooking, either. We usually came back to the trailer, cleaned up, ate a quick dinner, and headed to the ranger meetings. Even when we are not at the National Park, we tend to put things away each night. Too many wild critters! Son't worey about it, just go and enjoy. With a little preplanning, its simple and fun.

[DeanRIowa]

We are planning 6 nights at Fishing Bridge this summer as well. I have planned cooking breakfast outside, lunch on the road(picnics, cold or grilled) and dinner either crock pot or grilled.

[RUSSELL5000]

OK, thanks to all.

It sounds like maybe the best strategy is to have breakfast in the camper and focus on crock-pot type of meals at night.

I will give some thought to some type of a box that can contain all of the items that can go in and out.

[pawatt]

Rangers will confiscate your cooking stuff if you leave it out.

[littlemo]

Agree with SkipnChar. When in YNP most of our time was spent "touring" and seeing the sights. FB is a good central location and we always camp here due to this but it is not a great "campsite". We eat a quick breakfast and take off then when we get back to MH we are tired and usually have a frozen casserole prepared ahead of time.
Given the territory YNP is in (bear country) this is just one of the things you have to deal with. I say this because I also love to cook outside but when in YNP not really here long enough to camp so I just enjoy sightseeing.
Seeing as how you are going to be in area for that long I would and have plenty of time to "camp" I would just have days you just hang around camp and cook out and enjoy and then put it all up at the end of the day. That is awesome that you have that much time to enjoy the area.

Make sure to go to the "boiling springs" area in Yellowstone to soak in the water here! And enjoy the Beartooth highway in your toad.

Have a great time!

[Super_Dave]

It sounds like some prepared foods in vacuum sealed bags that could be heated in warm water or a bag in crock pot could minimize a lot of wrestling with outdoor cooking items.

[Itchey_Feet]

Have witnessed Rangers packing up items left out for animals to get into, (pack it out, pack it back)JMHO

[naturist]

You need to be aware that Ma Nature does not operate with any consideration whatever for your convenience.

The huge number of people who visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton each year make it completely impossible to prevent people-wildlife interaction. You WILL be camping near those critters, and if you leave stuff outside that smells like food, they will come to get it. And they will completely ruin your stuff to get at it.

What's worse is that people can get hurt in the process. Besides which, it contributes to a need to hunt down and kill some of that wildlife because they've become too enamored with raiding campsites.

So, yes, there is extra work involved in visiting these places, but they are worth it. And please, either do the extra work so you and others CAN enjoy those places, or don't go there.

The thing that attracts the bears is the SMELL of food. It is said that bears' sense of smell is to dogs, what dogs' sense of smell is to humans. But several strategies are helpful. Use a Bear Box. Put things that have touched food inside a tightly sealed airtight container, inside a sealed plastic bag. Hang stuff 15 feet in the air by a rope over a tree limb.

[skipnchar]

ONE of the reasons we put a covered, lockable tonneau cover on all our tow vehicles. Box up odorous items and after cleaning them, stash them in the bed of the truck in rubber made containers. NO system is perfect and the main line of defense against animals in the campground is a joint effort by all campers taking reasonable precautions. The fact is that probably MOST campers in those regions don't do extensive cooking as most of their time is spent touring the areas rather than just spending days around the camp site which is so great for weekend camping, which leaves less time for intrecant cooking and meal prep.

Just keep in mind that there is practically NOTHING that can totally protect food from a hungry bear but what you're wanting is to prevent ATTRACTING them to an area. Following guidelines posted in the area is generally quite adequate considering the job the parks are doing jointly in animal control.

Good luck and enjoy the trip / Skip

[bgum]

The bugs will be so bad that you won't want to cook outside. We spent several days at fishing bridge but don't recall cooking.

[sremsing]

The bears in Yellowstone would love for you to leave food out, fellow campers not so much.