Bears and food storage rules for Estes Park & RMNP campers

In park campgrounds

Store all food items in the food storage lockers. "Food items" means food, drinks, toiletries, cosmetics, pet food and bowls, and anything with a scent; coolers (even "bear-proof" ones), dirty stoves, grills and cookware count too. Lockers are about 3×4×3 ft, shared with other campers and can't be locked; every park campground has them, marked on campground maps. [NPS]

If the lockers are full, use a closed, locked vehicle trunk; in a vehicle without a trunk, keep items low in the passenger compartment, covered from sight, with windows closed and doors locked. NPS encourages people with soft-sided vehicles, convertibles or motorcycles to use the lockers. Storage in tents, pop-up campers, sleeping bags or under tarps is prohibited, and hummingbird and bird feeders aren't allowed in campgrounds. [NPS][NPS]

At trailheads

Overnight parking in the Wild Basin area and on Fern Lake Road requires using the trailhead food storage lockers — leaving food or garbage in the vehicle is prohibited there. Lockers are at the Wild Basin, Longs Peak, Finch Lake, Fern Lake and Sandbeach Lake trailheads. At other trailheads, day and overnight, keep food in the trunk or low and out of sight with doors and windows closed. [NPS][NPS]

Backcountry (wilderness) sites

From May 1 through October 31, wilderness campers below treeline and in the Boulder Field on Longs Peak must keep all food and garbage in a commercially made, hard-sided bear-resistant canister, stored 200 feet from the campsite when not in use; you bring your own, and having one is a condition of the permit. Hanging food isn't allowed in that period. [NPS]

National forest campgrounds south of town

At Olive Ridge, Camp Dick and Pawnee, every campsite with a tent pad has a bear locker; Peaceful Valley lists a bear locker among its facilities. [USDA Forest Service][USDA Forest Service][USDA Forest Service][USDA Forest Service]