Leave No Trace is seven principles rather than a rulebook, and most people can recite them while getting two or three wrong in practice. The principles that cause the most real damage are waste disposal and travelling on durable surfaces, both of which are easy to follow once you know what they actually require.
- 1
Plan ahead and prepare
Knowing the regulations, the terrain, and the conditions is a conservation principle as much as a safety one. Unprepared groups build unnecessary fires, camp in the wrong places, and create emergencies that damage the area. Repackage food at home to reduce the waste you carry in.
Trip planningPreparation as a conservation measureRead Guide → - 2
Travel and camp on durable surfaces
Established trail, rock, gravel, dry grass, and snow. Walk single file in the middle of the trail even when muddy — walking around a puddle widens the trail permanently, which is a far larger impact than wet boots. Camp on established sites where they exist rather than creating new ones.
- 3
Dispose of waste properly
Pack out all trash, including food scraps and coffee grounds, which are food waste rather than compost. For human waste, use a cathole 6-8 inches deep and at least 200 feet from water, trails, and camp — or pack it out where required. Toilet paper should be packed out in most areas.
Backcountry bathroomHow to do this properlyRead Guide → - 4
Leave what you find
No collecting rocks, plants, artifacts, or antlers. No building structures, digging trenches, or rearranging rocks and logs. Cairns built by visitors confuse navigation and are best left unbuilt — the official ones are placed for a reason.
- 5
Minimise campfire impacts
Use a stove for cooking. Where fires are permitted, use an existing ring, keep them small, burn only dead and downed wood you can break by hand, and burn it to ash. Check fire restrictions before every trip — they change with conditions and are often seasonal.
- 6
Respect wildlife
Observe from a distance, never feed animals, and store food and scented items properly. Fed wildlife becomes conditioned, and conditioned animals are frequently destroyed. Control pets, and give wildlife extra space during mating, nesting, and winter when disturbance costs them most.
Food storageProtecting wildlife by protecting your foodRead Guide → - 7
Be considerate of other visitors
Yield appropriately on trail, keep noise down, camp away from trails and other groups, and let natural sound dominate. Uphill hikers generally have right of way; hikers and bikers both yield to horses. Step to the downhill side when yielding to stock.
Most Commonly Broken
| Principle | Common mistake | Correct practice |
|---|---|---|
| Durable surfaces | Walking around mud | Walk through it, single file |
| Waste disposal | Burying or scattering food scraps | Pack out all food waste |
| Waste disposal | Leaving toilet paper buried | Pack it out |
| Leave what you find | Building cairns and structures | Leave the site as found |
| Campfires | Burning wood too large to break by hand | Small fires, downed wood only |
| Wildlife | Approaching for photographs | Observe from a distance |