Keeping your campsite clean and bear proof is a must while camping in areas that have active bears. By law, you must keep every campsite clean in order to avoid attracting any wildlife to your site – this includes actively encouraging chipmunks and birds to visit your site.

No person shall maintain or store potential wildlife attractants, including food or beverages, food preparation or storage equipment, cooking devices or utensils, garbage or recycling products, scented products or any other item in a manner likely to attract wildlife. Violators are subject to $125 fine.

~ Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act Section 3(1)

Bears can forage up to 20 hours a day in the late summer and early fall. So, unlike raccoon, bears can visit your campsite any time of the day. Most bears are shy of humans and will avoid contact whenever possible, but some have become habituated and have therefore lost their fear if they find food at campsites. These bears become a nuisance and can destroy property when searching for food.

Any campground, especially national and provincial parks, will post if bears are actively in the area and if you need to take precautions. For car camping this means storing any bear attractants in your vehicle, preferably your trunk. Never store these items in your tent or tent trailer because bears can easier gain access through the cloth.

If you are hiking through or do not have an appropriate vehicle to store your food and other items in, many parks now offer bear boxes that you can rent from the park office. Call ahead if you know you’ll need one.

• Never leave bear attractants in your tent, tent trailer, or anywhere around your site unless they are in a bear proof container. Always store these items in a vehicle or a hard-sided trailer. A tent trailer is just like a tent when it comes to bears. Bear attractants can be any food or beverages, cooking equipment, toiletries, garbage, recycling, or any other item that has a scent. Some people say that the smell of toothpaste for bears is like candy to children. When in doubt, always store items that have a scent in your vehicle or a bear proof box.
• Never cook in your tent or tent trailer. It is always best to keep your sleeping area separate from your cooking area. In very active areas, or backcountry camping, it is also recommended to never sleep in the clothes you cooked in.
• Never eat or store food in your tent – this includes toothpaste, gum, deodorant, candy, etc.
• Get rid of your trash. Never leave garbage or recycling around your site. Make a habit of disposing of it regularly in an appropriately designated receptacle.
• Keep your campsite clean. Before leaving your campsite, even for a short time, make sure everything is cleaned up and stored properly.
• Coolers are not bear proof. Even if you have never had food in a cooler or container, it should always be stored in your vehicle when you aren’t at the site. Bears actually know what a cooler is and what they might find inside, so store it in your trunk and if its visible in the back seat of a car or SUV, you can even cover it with a blanket.
• Bears are very smart and learn our behaviours and patterns. They know we sometimes hang food from trees, store food in cardboard boxes, plastic boxes and in coolers. If they have had success with one or more of these containers in the past, bears will check out other ones they find, even if you have never had food stored in them before.
• Do not leave dog dishes out. This includes food dishes and water dishes. It is best to store them away like anything else that is used for food.