US Forest Service · CA
Ansel Adams Wilderness: bear canister rules
Ansel Adams Wilderness requires a bear canister in parts of the area.
Short answer
Canister or counterbalance per Sierra NF order; Inyo portions follow Inyo order. Yosemite NP (adjacent) requires an allowed canister.
The written rule asks for a bear-resistant container (or similar wording) but names no approved list. Hard canisters on a recognised list are the safest reading; the agency has the final say. Of the 30 canisters we cover, 18 are confirmed matches and 10 more are likely legal here.
Heads-up before you rely on this
- Source page shows no date. The official page does not show a "last updated" date we could capture. We record the day we read it instead.
- Partly verified. Some part of this rule (a date, a boundary, a list or a wording detail) is not fully confirmed from official text. See the notes below for what is missing.
Rules change. Confirm with the land manager (sources below) before you go.
Is my canister legal in Ansel Adams Wilderness?
Legal
BearVault BV500 Journey in Ansel Adams Wilderness: accepted here.
Area text names no approved list. SIBBG-approved hard canister meets a 'bear-resistant container' standard.
Area rule Canister or counterbalance per Sierra NF order; Inyo portions follow Inyo order. Yosemite NP (adjacent) requires an allowed canister.
Read the full answerChecked 2026-10-26. Always verify with the land manager before you go.
The rule, as written
- Requirement
- Canister or counterbalance per Sierra NF order; Inyo portions follow Inyo order. Yosemite NP (adjacent) requires an allowed canister.
- Accepted
- No list named
- Dates
- Order 05-04-50-23-03 (text: effective 2025-06-18 to 2027-06-18; page header alert start 2023-06-18); Sierra NF Order 05-15-00-26-03
- Source updated
- alert pages (dates not captured)
- Checked
- 2026-10-26 · partly verified
- Our notes
- Derived from the two orders.
Detailed answers for Ansel Adams Wilderness
Every canister we cover, in Ansel Adams Wilderness
- BearVault BV450 Jaunt
- BearVault BV500 Journey
- BearVault BV250
- BearVault BV300
- BearVault BV350
- BearVault BV400
- BearVault BV110B
- BearVault BV200
- Wild Ideas (Bearikade) Weekender MKII
- Wild Ideas (Bearikade) Expedition MKII
- Counter Assault Bear Keg
- Garcia Backpackers' Cache 812
- Bare Boxer Contender 101
- Bare Boxer Champ 202
- Lighter1 Big Daddy
- Lighter1 Lil' Sami
- UDAP No-Fed-Bear
- Purple Mountain Engineering Tahoe
Arrows mark models with a detailed answer page for this area. Others link to the canister's page, which lists every area.
Quick answers
Do I need a bear canister in Ansel Adams Wilderness?
Ansel Adams Wilderness requires a bear canister in parts of the area. Canister or counterbalance per Sierra NF order; Inyo portions follow Inyo order. Yosemite NP (adjacent) requires an allowed canister.
Which canisters are accepted in Ansel Adams Wilderness?
No list named In our data: BearVault BV450 Jaunt, BearVault BV500 Journey, BearVault BV250, BearVault BV300, BearVault BV350, BearVault BV400, BearVault BV110B, BearVault BV200, Wild Ideas (Bearikade) Weekender MKII, Wild Ideas (Bearikade) Expedition MKII, Counter Assault Bear Keg, Garcia Backpackers' Cache 812, and more.
How current is this information?
We checked Ansel Adams Wilderness's official source on 2026-10-26. Source page shows no date. Partly verified. Confirm with the land manager before you go.
Nearby and related rules
- Inyo NF - Bishop Pass / Treasure Lakes Canister required for food/refuse in this order area (one of eight designated areas). Canister required
- Inyo NF - Cottonwood Lakes Canister required for food/refuse in this order area (one of eight designated areas). Canister required
- Inyo NF - Duck Pass / Purple Lake Canister required for food/refuse in this order area (one of eight designated areas). Canister required
- Inyo NF - Fish Creek Canister required for food/refuse in this order area (one of eight designated areas). Canister required
- Inyo NF - Kearsarge Pass Canister required for food/refuse in this order area (one of eight designated areas). Canister required
- Inyo NF - Little Lakes Valley Canister required for food/refuse in this order area (one of eight designated areas). Canister required
Sources and date checked
Checked . We link the official pages so you can read the rule yourself.