Practical guidelines for keeping meals, snacks and drinking water safe during day hikes, backpacking trips and camping adventures.
Heading out into the wilderness with your family or scout troop is an incredible way to build skills, bond and experience the beauty of nature. Whether you are trekking up a steep mountain trail for a quick afternoon hike or setting up a multi-day basecamp in the woods, outdoor adventures require plenty of fuel.
However, cooking and storing food safely without the convenience of a modern kitchen requires careful preparation. Without a refrigerator, running water or a temperature-controlled environment, harmful bacteria can multiply rapidly, potentially turning a fun camping trip into a miserable ordeal with foodborne illness.
By following a few simple but crucial guidelines, you can ensure that every meal on the trail is both delicious and safe for your entire crew.
A safe outdoor menu begins long before you reach the trailhead. Use these six fundamentals to prepare, pack and handle your food responsibly.
Before you leave, decide exactly what you will eat and how you will prepare it, then determine which specific cooking equipment you will need. Taking the time to meal prep at home reduces the amount of raw food you have to handle at the campsite.
Always use a well-insulated cooler for perishable items, or pack your food frozen with a reliable cold source.
Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and safe water. If water is scarce, bring hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol to use before and after handling food.
Raw meats may contain harmful bacteria, so keep raw foods entirely separate from ready-to-eat foods.
Do not bring perishable meat or poultry products unless you have an adequate cold source to keep them safe.
Leftover food is safe to keep only if the cooler still has solid ice. Otherwise, discard the food to avoid getting sick. Pack wipes, sanitizer and biodegradable soap for proper cleanup.
As you venture out to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature, it is important to plan your snacks and meals based on whether you will be out for a few hours or several days. One single meal and some high-energy snacks are likely all you need for a short hike, but planning meals for a longer hike or an extended camping trip requires significantly more thought.
Backpack weight is often top of mind for hikers and campers, who choose foods and supplies that are light enough to carry over long distances. But even expert outdoor enthusiasts and seasoned scout leaders may accidentally forget vital food-safety precautions while planning their trip.
The first foundational principle of outdoor food safety is keeping foods either properly hot or properly cold. Because it is incredibly difficult to keep food consistently hot without a continuous heat source while hiking, it is almost always best to plan on transporting chilled food.
Your menu depends entirely on how you are traveling. If you are backpacking, every ounce counts, making shelf-stable, lightweight foods your best option. Heavy cans and cold packs are not practical when you are carrying everything on your back. Instead, focus on items that do not require refrigeration and eliminate the risk of spoilage.
For car camping, you can bring fresh ingredients, but you still need to prioritize items that hold up well in cooler storage. Hard cheeses such as cheddar or Parmesan last much longer than soft cheeses. Whole fruits such as apples and oranges survive the bumps of a trail much better than delicate berries or bananas.
If you plan to bring raw meat, buy it fresh and cook it on your very first night so it spends minimal time in the cooler.
Most bacteria grow rapidly between 40°F and 140°F. This temperature range is known by food-safety experts as the “Danger Zone.”
You cannot tell whether meat is safely cooked just by looking at it, especially in dim light around a campfire or beneath a headlamp.
Charcoal or wood smoke can turn meat pink even if it is fully cooked, while a roaring flame can brown the outside of a burger or chicken breast before the inside reaches a safe temperature. The only definitive way to know your food is safe is to pack a digital food thermometer and insert the probe into the thickest part of the meat before serving.
A digital thermometer takes up virtually no space in your pack, but it is one of the most effective tools available for preventing food poisoning at camp.
For a short day hike, you can bring almost anything as long as it fits securely in your backpack and can be kept cold.
Refrigerate or freeze the food overnight before you depart.
Bring frozen gel packs or freeze boxed drinks. The drinks will slowly thaw as you hike, providing refreshment while keeping your meal cold.
Sandwiches, fried chicken, bread and cheese are good choices when kept cold. Shelf-stable foods such as trail mix, peanut butter and beef jerky do not require refrigeration.
When staying at a campsite with vehicle access, a heavy-duty cooler gives you more flexibility—but it must be packed and managed correctly.
Foam chests are light and inexpensive, but plastic, fiberglass or steel coolers are more durable.
A solid block of ice keeps food cold longer than standard cubes. Freeze clean milk cartons filled with water to make your own ice blocks.
Fill the cooler with cold or frozen food and pack in reverse order, placing the food you will use last at the bottom.
Use a separate cooler whenever possible. If using one cooler, seal raw meat securely and place it below ready-to-eat foods.
Cover the cooler with a heavy blanket, tarp or poncho and keep it shaded from direct sunlight.
Cooking outdoors means working with wind, uneven heat sources and limited preparation space. A thoughtful setup makes the process safer and more manageable.
Wind can slow cooking and leave food raw in the center even when the outside appears done. Use a windscreen for your stove, or wait until a campfire burns down to hot coals instead of cooking over wild, open flames.
Set up your cooking station on a flat, stable surface away from busy areas where dirt or leaves could blow into your pots. Prepare ingredients before turning on the stove.
Double-wrap raw meat or place it in sturdy sealed bags. Never reuse a cutting board, platter or utensil for cooked food until it has been thoroughly washed.
Cross-contamination is a major risk when cooking outdoors on a picnic table or makeshift camp kitchen. Bacteria present on raw meat and poultry can spread to other food through dripping packages, unwashed hands or shared utensils.
After cutting raw meat, wash the cutting board, knife and preparation surfaces with hot, soapy water. Never use the same platter or utensils for raw and cooked food without washing them thoroughly in between.
Wash your hands vigorously before and after handling food. Soap and safe water are essential, so bring your own water if your destination does not provide access to running water.
Pack clean, wet disposable cloths, moist towelettes, paper towels, alcohol-based hand sanitizer and biodegradable soap for cleaning hands, utensils and surfaces.
Wash dishes away from natural water sources using biodegradable soap. Dispose of dishwater and food scraps properly according to local wildlife regulations so you do not attract bears or other scavengers.
Always clean the campsite immediately after eating. Preventing cross-contamination and removing food waste dramatically lowers the risk of illness and unwanted wildlife encounters.
Never assume that a sparkling, clear mountain stream is safe to drink. Stream, river and lake water can contain microscopic pathogens and parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, which can cause severe gastrointestinal illness.
Unless you are drawing water from a tested, designated potable-water source at an established campground, you must treat it. Boiling is the most reliable way to kill disease-causing organisms. Bring the water to a rolling boil for at least one full minute.
If boiling is not an option, use a highly rated water filtration system or chemical purification tablets, following the product’s purification directions exactly.
A family camping trip or group hike should be remembered for stunning views and time spent together—not an unexpected case of foodborne illness. Carefully pack your cooler, separate raw and cooked foods, bring adequate cleaning supplies and ensure that drinking water is fully purified.
Treat outdoor food safety with the same respect you give to wilderness navigation and fire safety. Your crew will stay energized, healthy and ready to tackle whatever the trail brings.
