Bears and convertible cars in Yosemite

My husband and I are staying for two nights in Yosemite during September. As we%26#39;re part way through a road trip we are going to be in a hire car. We wanted to hire a convertible but now I%26#39;ve read the stories about bears in parking lots, I%26#39;m not so sure. Are we crazy to take a soft top car to the Park?

Bears and convertible cars in Yosemite

Bears enjoy cars with ';anything'; that looks or smells like food and they have great eyesight which can spot the most tasty looking cars with great food inside. The key thing is where are you staying.

If you are staying in one of the lodges, hotels in Yosemite Park, then just take everything to your room (they will ask you to do so to help to minimize bears thinking you have ';the car';.

As long as you take these types of precautions convertible is fine.;

However if you plan to have a tempting picnic lunch, chocolate chip cookies, and other food in your car - then the bears enjoy the easy way of getting into convertibles. (We%26#39;ve seen one where they just sort of took their paws with claws and did a quick ';open up the soft top';.

We have seen bears on several trips to Yosemite - and only once had bear issues ourselves. We were backpacking and the bears climbed the tree, swung out, and batted down our packs and enjoyed the picnic. One note - if you enjoy nature bars or other such products, it was one item the bears thought was too ';healthy'; for them. The chocolate chip cookies however were instantly eaten. They do have somewhat of a sweet tooth just like people - so just beaware - the bears enjoy most of the things you enjoy eating,.

Also don%26#39;t park real close to big trash bins - a favorite of the bears. We once saw a mom bear taking her cubs to the trash bin and them enjoying their picnic right there.

In general, its safe but do take some precautions (note: There are also bears in LA - a friend of ours currently have a mom and dad bear and their cub living on their front porch in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Bears and convertible cars in Yosemite

Also, there are bear boxes at almost every trail head, so you can put your coolers away while you are on a hike.

The bears will get into any kind of car if they see something that looks good... including a garbage sack, a water bottle, or any shiny wrapper. Just keep the car looking clean %26amp; smelling clean, and you won%26#39;t have any trouble.

This is great - thanks for the advice. Looks like we%26#39;ll be hiring the convertible after all, and we%26#39;ll defintiely make sure the car is completely empty before we go walking/when we%26#39;re sleeping.