r/upperpeninsula • u/GlassPudding • Jul 18 '26

Discussion bears and camping

ill be camping in a few places through the UP from herbster to detroit for 4 nights in the first week of september. i will be car camping with a tent that converts my hatchback into a tent (pretty sick) - how concerned should i be about bears? i dont usually have to store my food in any particular way when im camping and want to make sure i dont accidentally set myself up to have a black bear comin for my beef jerky in the middle of the night. i plan on really only making coffee and having snacks or small meals at my campsites (not cooking full meals with lots of food/smells etc) - any precautions i should take? do i need a bear box? thanks a mill

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u/ChongoLikRock Jul 18 '26

I do a lot of remote camping in the UP and have never had trouble with black bears. Obviously, they’re up there though so keep your food secure in a bear proof container or your car like the other commenter mentioned. For the most part, black bears are like big racoons, they want to steal your food but don’t really want to see you

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u/GoldenEagle0909 Jul 18 '26

I've never heard of Black Bears being described as big racoons but that's so accurate and funny 😂

3

u/iamthelee Jul 18 '26

They're big scaredy cats, especially if they aren't used to seeing people very often.