Bears Happy To Join Campfire Feast In Yosemite Even If Not Invited

Published Sep 11, 2026 3:54 pm

A bear and cubs enjoying a picnic lunch thanks to visitors—Photo by Sean Crom

Yosemite, CA—With the Labor Day holiday over, Yosemite National Park officials relay that as summer winds down, bears still have a ferocious appetite and can ruin campfire fun.

Given that black bears have an incredible sense of smell, several times greater than bloodhounds, and a voracious hunger, the fragrance of cooking food tempts them to seek out high-calorie foods, which are frequently found in picnic areas and campers. Park officials say they search for any food with a fragrance, regardless of packaging, rather than only hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and cookies.

“This includes items that we as people do not consider food, like baby wipes and unwashed pots and pans. At the end of the day, bears don’t know the difference between strawberries and strawberry-scented hand lotion until they’ve broken into a car or taken over a picnic table,” stated park officials, who gave these tips when it comes to keeping bears from crashing visitors’ camping sites:

• Throw away all trash (including stray crumbs and wrappers) into bear-resistant trash cans and dumpsters. Leaving a bag by a trash can or in a food locker is not throwing it away. If trash cans are full, take the bag with you to the next trash can or dumpster. Most picnic areas have dumpsters large enough for bags of trash.
• If you are picnicking, always keep your food within arm’s reach; never turn your back on it or leave it unattended. If a bear approaches you, act immediately to scare it away by yelling as loudly and aggressively as possible.
• During the day, it is okay to store items in your car with the windows rolled up. But at night, all food, drinks, toiletries, and trash, including coolers, must go into food lockers located at every campsite, trailhead, and overnight parking lot, or in your hard-sided hotel room.
• Bears that routinely get our food may become aggressive in their search for food and sometimes have to be killed as a result. By storing food properly, throwing away trash, and scaring a bear away if it approaches, you can prevent a bear’s unnecessary death.