• Olympic: Three Parks in One

    Olympic

    National Park Washington

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  • Olympic Hot Springs Road Closed

    The Elwha Valley's Olympic Hot Springs Road is closed to public entry beyond the Altair Campground during removal of the Glines Canyon Dam. Olympic Hot Springs is not accessible from the Elwha.

  • Elwha River Closures

    Boating is prohibited on the Elwha River from Upper Lake Mills Trail downstream to the Highway 112 bridge, except for the stretch between Altair Campground and the Highway 101 bridge.

  • Changes to Visitor Services Due to Sequestration

    Due to mandatory, across the board budget cuts, some visitor services at Olympic National Park have changed. See the Plan Your Visit section for more information.

Bear Canisters

Backpacker with bear can

A hiker packs his bear canister in the Olympic high country.

Approved Bear Canisters
How to Pack a Bear Canister

Please do your part to protect yourself, park wildlife and other visitors by properly securing your food.

In many areas, a bear canister is the only good way of securing food.

Bear canisters are required in some areas of the park's wilderness backcountry.

Many people, after using a bear canister for the first time, never go back to hanging food because of the convenience and other benefits of using bear canisters.

 

List of Approved Bear Canisters

These canisters have been approved by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group based on testing and success or failure in the field. Last updated May 12, 2009

Approved Canisters
Full approval is given to any container that has passed visual inspection, an impact test, a zoo test and has been successful during three months of field-trials in the summer.

Approved Panniers

  • DeCarteret Aluminum Stock Panniers
  • Berner Bear Box
    303/343-1998
  • Bear Aware Panniers
    www.bear-aware.com

Conditionally Approved Canisters
Conditional approval is given to any container that has passed visual inspection, an impact test and a zoo test. Conditionally approved containers are approved for use.

Conditionally Approved Panniers

Steel salvage drums with a security lid may be used until panniers are purchased.

Either type of approval may be revoked due to unexpected problems in the field that lead to either failures, injuries, or resource damage.


 
  • Help Protect YOUR Park Help Protect YOUR Park

    Learn more about Leave No Trace Read More

  • Protect Wildlife Protect Wildlife

    Secure your food! Read More

  • Wilderness Trail & Campsite Map Wilderness Trail & Campsite Map

    Read More

Did You Know?

Mt. Olympus in winter

That Mount Olympus receives over 200 inches of precipitation each year and most of that falls as snow? At 7,980 feet, Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Olympic National Park and has the third largest glacial system in the contiguous U.S.