Please put all garbage in the metal container by the driveway — and make sure the latch is secured every single time you handle the trash. It's the most important habit during your stay.

Why it matters so much

Black bears in the Smokies have an incredible sense of smell and quickly learn to associate human food with an easy meal. A properly closed container keeps bears and other wildlife out of the garbage, which keeps both you and the animals safe.

The National Park Service is blunt about this: food and garbage lead bears to property damage — and often to the bear being removed or euthanized. Using the container as intended directly prevents that sad outcome. As they say, a fed bear is a dead bear.

A few simple rules

• Secure the latch after every use — not just at the end of the day.
• If the container is full when you leave, it's fine to leave tied trash bags inside the cabin rather than outside unsecured.
• Never leave food, drinks, garbage, or scented items in vehicles parked at the cabin — bears will investigate cars to reach a smell.

Recycling

We're sorry to say we can't offer separate recycling — our cleaning team hauls the trash out and isn't able to keep the streams separated. Everything goes in the bear-proof container together.

Thank you for securing that latch and following these guidelines. It genuinely helps protect our guests, the cabin, and the local bears.