Safety

Wildlife encounters and food storage on dispersed land

How to store food, what to do about bears, and the smaller animals that cause more practical problems than the big charismatic ones.

Bears

In black-bear country (almost all of forested North America), the rule is simple: nothing scented stays in your tent. Food, drinks, toiletries, sunscreen, scented chapstick, dog food, and trash all live in your locked vehicle or in a hard-sided container. In some grizzly-country jurisdictions (parts of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and most of Alaska), an IGBC-certified bear canister or a hard-sided container is the legal minimum; soft coolers and grocery bags do not count.

In the unlikely event of a bear in camp, make yourself big and loud. Do not run. Black bears almost always retreat from a confident human. Grizzly behavior is more variable; carry bear spray, know how to deploy it, and read the local NPS or USFS guidance for the unit you're in.

Rodents are the real problem

Statistically, the wildlife most likely to ruin your dispersed-camping trip is a mouse. Mice will chew through soft-sided coolers, backpacks, and tent floors to get to food crumbs. The defense is the same: locked vehicle or hard-sided container for all food and trash. If you cook in a tent vestibule, sweep crumbs out before bed.

In the rural West, deer mice can carry hantavirus, which is rare but serious. Don't sweep up mouse droppings dry; wet them with a bleach solution first.

Snakes, spiders, scorpions

In the desert Southwest, shake out shoes and sleeping bags before getting in them. Use a flashlight after dark when walking around camp. Most rattlesnake bites occur on hands and feet because someone reached or stepped without looking. Scorpion stings are painful but almost never serious in the species you'll encounter; spider bites are similarly overstated.

Dogs

If you camp with a dog, leash it in wildlife habitat. Dogs that chase deer, elk, or pronghorn can fatally exhaust them, especially in winter. A loose dog that runs into a porcupine, skunk, or coyote pack is a multi-hour problem you'd rather avoid. Most dispersed-camping conflicts involving dogs trace to a dog left to bark in a vehicle while the owner is on a hike — don't be that camper.

Related guides

• What "dispersed camping" actually means — A working definition of dispersed camping on U.S. public lands, how it differs from developed campgrounds, and the unwritten etiquette that keeps it legal.
• BLM vs. USFS vs. state trust land — what actually changes — A side-by-side comparison of the three big public-land managers most dispersed campers will encounter, with the practical rules you need to know.
• Fire rules, fire pans, and the difference between Stage I and Stage II — How seasonal fire restrictions actually work on federal public land, and what each stage means for your camp stove, generator, and campfire.
• Water, waste, and the gallon-a-day rule — How much water to carry, how to handle gray water and human waste, and the small habits that keep dispersed sites usable for everyone.