Final week, officers with the White River Nationwide Forest placed a temporary ban on tent tenting and using different soft-sided shelters after a scary incident with a black bear at Tough Campground close to Aspen, Colorado. The camp host told local news {that a} bear attacked a tent in a single day on the campground, and there have been two younger youngsters inside. This, together with a latest uptick in bear exercise, prompted the Nationwide Forest Service to restrict the forms of shelters campers may use on the campground for over every week, however the order was rescinded immediately, June 20.
On June 11, 2025, the White River Nationwide Forest wrote: “Attributable to a rise in bear exercise, the White River Nationwide Forest has issued a public security order requiring all campers at Tough Campground close to Aspen use hard-sided campers or trailers. Mushy-sided shelters corresponding to tents, pop-up tent trailers, and truck-bed tent campers aren’t allowed.”
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Deputy District Ranger Jennifer Schuller known as the transfer “a proactive step for public security,” however The Aspen Instances suggests it was actually the bear encounter with the youngsters in a tent that prompted the ban. “The bear scratched and left puncture marks in a tent containing a boy and lady,” wrote the information outlet. “The kids had been each underneath the age of 12, officers estimated.”
To stop bear incidents whereas tenting, at all times use correct food-storage strategies. This consists of retaining your meals and rubbish in a locked hard-sided automobile or a bear-resistant container. Campers and hikers also needs to carry bear spray when recreating in bear nation.
See the unique tent tenting ban alert after the bear incident right here:
Header inventory picture by Isaac Murray/Getty Photos
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