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Grizzly and black bears live throughout the Bow Valley corridor, from backcountry passes to the edges of Banff and Canmore themselves. An encounter is a real possibility on almost any outing, at any time of year.

Knowing what to do before you're in one matters more than anything you'll figure out once it's happening.

Getting this right changes how you should respond if things go wrong. It's worth learning properly rather than guessing from colour.

Grizzlies carry a pronounced hump of muscle over the shoulders. The rump sits lower than that hump.

The face is large, round and dished, concave rather than straight in profile. Claws run 5 to 10 centimetres, pale and built for digging out roots and ground squirrels.

Black bears have no shoulder hump, and the rump sits higher than the shoulders. The snout is longer and straighter, so head and nose form close to a straight line from the side.

Claws are shorter and darker, 3 to 4 centimetres, suited to climbing rather than digging.

Colour won't help you. Grizzlies range from jet black to light blond, and black bears range just as widely, sometimes with a pale blaze across the chest.

Look at the shoulders and the face shape, not the coat.

Male grizzlies typically run 150 to 300 kilograms, females 80 to 150. Male black bears weigh roughly what a female grizzly does, 80 to 150 kilograms, with females at 45 to 100.

Size alone won't settle it either.

Make noise consistently, not just occasionally. Call out, clap, talk loudly.

Be especially deliberate near streams, in berry patches, in dense brush, on windy days, and around blind corners. All of these cover your scent and sound.

Bear bells won't do this job. Parks Canada is direct about it: bells aren't an effective warning.

Alberta Parks says the same for the Kananaskis side of the valley. Your voice carries further and more distinctly than a bell ever will.

Hike in a group of four or more where you can manage it. Parks Canada's own guidance is that larger groups have a lower chance of a serious encounter.

Keep kids close, keep the group tight, and skip the earbuds so you can hear what's actually around you.

Carry bear spray on your body every time, in a hip holster you can reach with your dominant hand. Not buried in a pack.

Get a 225 ml canister with 0.75 to 1 per cent capsaicin, roughly ten seconds of spray. That's what Parks Canada recommends for these parks. Check the expiry before each trip.

The canister throws a cone to around 10 metres. Wait until the bear is well inside that, closer than a city bus is long, before you use it.

Remove the safety clip, aim for the face, short bursts. Stay aware of which way the wind is carrying it.

Never spray your tent, gear or clothing with it beforehand. The lingering scent draws bears in rather than keeping them off.

A 2008 study in the Journal of Wildlife Management, run out of the University of Calgary and Brigham Young University, found spray stopped aggressive behaviour in 92 per cent of encounters with brown bears and 90 per cent with black bears. That's a considerably better record than firearms carried for the same purpose.

If you're flying in, note that bear spray isn't permitted on commercial aircraft, even checked.

Watch the ground. Fresh tracks, scat, diggings and torn-up logs mean a bear has been through recently and are legitimate grounds to turn back.

If you find a large dead animal, leave immediately and report it.

In September 2023, a grizzly killed two experienced backcountry campers, Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse, in Banff's Red Deer River Valley. They were permitted, carrying spray, and had hung their food correctly.

Parks Canada called it the first grizzly-caused fatality recorded in the park in decades. Doing everything right lowers the odds. It doesn't remove them.

Bears move through both Banff and Canmore, particularly in spring and fall when natural food is scarce and attractants like fruit trees pull them toward the townsites.

If you see one in town, don't approach it or try to move it yourself.

In Banff, report it to Parks Canada dispatch at 403-762-1470. In Canmore, call Fish and Wildlife at 403-591-7755 for the bear itself, or Municipal Enforcement at 403-678-4244 if it's people or pets harassing wildlife rather than the other way round.

Canmore backs this with real penalties. Bird feeders are banned outright from April 1 to November 30.

Fruit left to accumulate on trees or the ground can bring fines starting at 250 dollars, climbing sharply if a bear is actually caught feeding on it.

Keep garbage, pet food and anything scented secured, and clear feeders well before bear season starts.

Seeing a bear from the car is one of the genuine pleasures of driving this valley, and one of the easiest ways to accidentally stress one.

Stay in the vehicle or keep at least 100 metres back. Both Parks Canada and the Town of Canmore put bears in the same distance bracket as wolves and cougars.

If a line of traffic starts forming, move on rather than adding to it. A bear jam stresses the animal, creates a road hazard, and can habituate bears to people in ways that eventually get them killed.

Never feed one under any circumstances. A bear that learns to associate people with food doesn't stay wild, or alive, for long.

Stay calm and don't run. Bears are faster than you are, and sudden movement or noise can trigger a chase.

If it hasn't noticed you, back away slowly and quietly and let it carry on.

If it has, speak in a low, steady voice and back away without turning your back or holding prolonged eye contact.

A bear rising on its hind legs is usually trying to identify you by scent and sight, not preparing to attack. Keep your pack on; it can offer some protection.

A defensive bear has been surprised, or is protecting cubs or a food source. It may look agitated or vocalise, and a charge is often a bluff that pulls up short.

Stand your ground, get the spray ready, speak firmly.

If it makes contact, drop and play dead: face down, hands clasped behind your neck, legs apart so it can't flip you over. Stay still until it leaves.

Defensive attacks are usually brief. Only fight back if it continues well past that point.

A predatory bear is rarer and more serious: calm, deliberate, head up, ears forward. Don't play dead.

Stand your ground, shout, use your spray, and fight back with everything you have if it makes contact.

Bear-resistant food containers approved by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee are mandatory in random camping areas of Banff, Yoho, Kootenay and Jasper between April 1 and November 15.

If you're hanging food instead, get it at least 4 metres off the ground and a full metre clear of the trunk.

Keep cooking, eating and food storage at least 50 metres downwind from where you sleep.

Keep your sleeping area completely free of food smells: nothing cooked in it, nothing stored in it, no scented toiletries either.

All of this sits under Parks Canada's "Bare" Campsite Program. Nothing scented gets left unattended, even for a few minutes.

It goes in a hard-sided vehicle or the food locker provided. Non-compliance can mean a cancelled permit with no refund.

None of this is about staying out of the backcountry. Bears have moved through this valley longer than any trail has existed.

A good trip means sharing it with them properly: spray on your hip, noise in your voice, and a bit of respect for what was here first.

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