Food handling in National Parks

[Trails_And_Tail]

New to RVing and planning a trip to some National Parks. I find all kinds of warnings about food storage and how you can be fined if not stored properly. What I can't find are the requirements so I can comply. We'll be in a Class C and I don't know if I can just store food inside or if I have to put it in the lockers or what. Not going until next spring/summer but I like to know what I'm getting into ahead of time. Any tips/suggestions? TIA

[wa8yxm]

Lockers are for tenters. Inside your RV is acceptable.

If in doubt.. ask the camp host.

[Trails_And_Tail]

The "Plan Your Visit" page on NP websites has a link for this information. Thanks, DownTheAvenue, for the initial link. Also, I believe OutdoorPhotographer was just a little confused as Sequoia NP has food locker at all times rule. Yosemite and Sequoia are 2 of the parks we're planning for. BTW: We should be there in mid to late May. Good timing? Bad timing?

[RoyB]

We was TENT camping at COSBY CAMP in the Smokys one year and the local ranger came around greeting everyone like they love to do ... He said you really have to keep the coolers out of site... The bears there know whats inside the coolers... He also said they like to find the red coca-cola cans and will bite into them and hold up their heads to drink... He said he feels like they like the PEPSI over the COKE drinks taste wise as I guess the PEPSI has more of a sugar taste... I submitted those comments to the Coke commercials with the Alaska Bears that was popular back then but never heard back haha...

We was Tent camping and the only closed door was our 99 JEEP Wrangler with fabric sides pulling an open utility trailer. We was told to use the closed food lockers they had at a couple of places around the camp site for any food items we was keeping...

Never saw any bears but did get the attention of a neighbor camper dog haha... He was really wanting to get some leftovers from our outside cooking... Hamburger patties from local WALMART broken up and stirred into pork-n-beans was too much for him haha...

Roy Ken

[korbe]

We will keep our food in our rig, and put our briquettes and BBQ in the handy bear box.

[DownTheAvenue]

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Yosemite requires all food in bear boxes.

This is not true.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bears.htm

To quote from the link above:
"Food may be stored out of sight in hard-sided trailers and RVs, as long as windows, doors, and vents are closed when you're not there."

[coolmom42]

Great Smokey Mountain NP requires food storage in a hard-side LOCKED vehicle. If you are tent camping, in a pop-up, or hybrid with soft tent ends, all food must be in your locked vehicle or in a bear box.

This is also a requirement in state parks & national forests in East TN, as far west as Cookeville, TN.

Same rule applies in Glacier NP.

I always cover food and coolers in a vehicle, too, just so the bears don't get tempted too badly.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

It depends on the park. Yellowstone allows inside storage in a hard side RV. Yosemite requires all food in bear boxes. I don't remember warnings in the Smokies. Not sure on other areas.

[1L243]

If you have a hard sided camper you can store your food inside. You can't leave anything outside at night or when you leave camp that has anything to do with food or cooking. I have seen rangers even get upset with water containers being left out..

[dcason]

Just store your food in the rv. Some like to store things outside in bins, etc and then the animals get into trouble....