The leaves and/or berries steeped in water make an excellent general tonic tea or drink which has an antiseptic effect on the urinary passages.

Bearberry is sometimes referred to as kinnickinnick in plant manuals, and is a common name often given the plant. However, in reality, kinnickinnick is a smoking mixture made from a combination of several plants.

Bearberry is often an important ingredient of kinnickinnick. The inner bark of dogwood and the leaves of labrador tea were often included in the mixture, among other plants.