Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Outdoors

Explore responsibly: Tips for leaving no trace in nature

Here's how to leave no trace to minimize your environmental impact

By
Man walking with Nordic walking poles outside by the trees wearing a hat
Lucas Favre / Unsplash

When adventuring in the outdoors, like backpacking, even the smallest changes in our behavior can make a significant impact in nature. That’s why many have implemented the principles of “leave no trace,” which is a practical philosophy that has helped many to be more mindful of their actions. The basic idea is to leave things how you found them and minimize your impact on places of outdoor recreation.

Here’s everything you need to know about leave no trace principles

Man wearing yellow jacket and backpack hiking or rucking in forest or woods with tall trees
Thom Holmes / Unsplash

Plan ahead, prepare, and camp on durable surfaces

The very first principle of leave no trace is to plan ahead and prepare. The best way to check off both of these boxes is to plan out your route, whether it’s a trail run, day hike, or multi-day backpacking trip and bring the emergency essentials.

Recommended Videos

There are plenty of online resources and GPS apps (such as Gaia and AllTrails) that work well. But a proper paper map is also a great item to bring along on your trip. Cell phones can die, get wet and shut off, or lose service, meaning your online map might not be accessible. Take some time to learn the basics of navigating with a map and compass to avoid getting lost.

Related

If you’re off-trail, it means you’re treading on natural plants and shrubs and degrading wildlife habitat, so stay on designated trails and only camp in designated areas. These could be official campsites or noticing signs where others have camped before. Look for fire pits, cleared platforms, and appropriate signage to indicate whether or not you should camp there.

Properly dispose of all waste

The next principle of leave no trace is the disposal of all waste. That includes any trash and also any human waste you might leave behind. Being careless about this principle could mean the pollution of valuable water resources, the spreading of disease, and other issues. If there are no public toilets or outhouses available, and only if the area you’re recreating in permits it, bury human waste in a cat hole. Use a trowel to dig a 6-8 inch hole so that no human or animal will accidentally discover what you’ve left behind.

Some areas are more strict than others about this, so make sure you check the rules before you go. For example, Mount Everest is one of the most famous areas that have implemented a waste-bagging policy. Just like you would for your dog, you’ll have to pack out your solid and liquid waste in a portable bag and throw it out when you get home.

Leave what you find

We’ve all found a cool rock, leaf, or shell on an adventure and thought to bring it with us. It might seem harmless to take something as a souvenir, but resist the temptation. Every rock, plant, or piece of fallen wood plays a role in the local ecosystem. Removing items can disrupt habitats, nutrient cycles, or the growth of vegetation. Your best bet is to capture these sights in another way.

Outdoor photography is a great creative outlet and a way to remember the little details of a trip. If you don’t feel like your photos turn out that well, check out our tips for taking better outdoor photos. Another great option is to sketch or write about what you find.

Minimize campfire impact

One of the easiest ways to minimize campfire impact is to cook with a top-notch camping stove instead of starting a campfire. Some recreational areas don’t allow campfires, especially during the drier seasons. But if you are allowed to and absolutely need to cook with a campfire, make sure you use established fire rings whenever possible so you don’t leave lasting scars on the ground and surrounding vegetation.

Keep fires small and only use sticks and branches found on the ground. Make sure that all wood is burned completely to ash before extinguishing the fire, and stir to coals to ensure thorough burning and reduce residual debris. Finally, extinguish your fire completely. Drown the fire with water, not soil, and stir the ashes until they are cold to the touch. If you feel any warmth, the fire is not fully out.

Respect wildlife

It’s important to remember that when we venture outside we’re going into the animal’s habitat and we should try to disturb them as little as possible. Binoculars for birding and backpacking are one great option to help enjoy nature from a distance.

Another consideration is recreating in bear country. Bears will actually be put down if they become too dangerous to humans. The easiest way for this to happen is for bears to become comfortable around people. You should never feed bears and you need to take extra precautions when traveling through bear country.

Bears have a tremendous sense of smell and if they begin to associate mealtime with campsites, that’s trouble. One way to do that when backpacking is to hang a bear bag or use a bear vault to store food. This will keep your food away from bears and help prevent these associations.

Ultimately, leaving no trace means being considerate

Man in the distance hiking seaside mountains
nikolaus bader / Pixabay

The last principle is to be considerate. Be respectful of sacred sites and places with inherent meaning to other cultures. Understand that the outdoors are for everyone no matter their race, gender, age, or economic status. And generally, be courteous. Keep your dog on a leash so they don’t disturb others, and don’t bring them at all if they are not allowed. Consider playing your music through headphones as opposed to blasting it through a Bluetooth speaker.

With these principles, you’ll be well on your way to doing your part for our recreational spaces.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Benjamin Buckingham
Benjamin Buckingham
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ben lives in Portland, Oregon where he works as a freelance writer and outdoor guide.
Here’s everything you need to pack for a trip to Yellowstone National Park
From backpacks and boots to headlamps and hiking snacks, here are all the essentials you'll need for Yellowstone
View of Yellowstone National Park waterfall

Yellowstone National Park is one of the crown jewels of America’s National Parks system. It quite literally has it all: Majestic geysers, technicolor thermal hot springs, bison-filled forests and fields, craggy canyons, roaring waterfalls, and — you get the gist. Stretching nearly 3,500 square miles across northwest Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, Yellowstone attracts millions of visitors and tourists looking to revel in the beauty of the country's most spectacular landscapes (just don't get too close to the wildlife).

Indeed, it's an absolute bucket-list-worthy destination for adventure-minded people who want to visit beautiful national parks this year. If the idea of its picturesque landscapes gets you excited, here’s a packing list of the essentials you'll want to bring to stay safe and comfortable, so you can enjoy everything the park has to offer.
What to pack for day trips in Yellowstone National Park
Whether you’re planning to visit Yellowstone in the spring, summer, fall, or winter, there’s a whole host of items you’ll need to pack to ensure your comfort and safety. Here's our expert packing list:
Daypack

Read more
The best tips and tech for beating the heat while car camping this summer
Here's how to keep calm (and cool) and carry on while camping in even the worst summer heat
White Jeep camping in the Australian desert.

Unless you live in Hawaii (don't brag), summertime camping can be rough. Sleeping in a tent can be hot, clammy, and humid. On the worst nights, it's some hellish blend of all three. That's doubly true for car campers. Modern vehicles just aren't designed for maximum ventilation, and they're certainly not purposefully designed for sleeping in. But with clever planning and the help of a few cool gadgets, you can find your car camping chill, even in the dead of summer.
Park in the shade

This might seem obvious. But if you're booking a campground online with few to no photos of your actual campsite or hurrying to find a dispersed campsite at the end of a long day of driving, it's easy to overlook. If you're car camping in peak summer heat, parking in the shade is a free and easy way to keep your vehicle and your campsite cooler throughout the day. Just keep the treeline in mind if you also camp with solar panels or satellite internet gear, as full-shade camp spots will affect both.
Install automotive window screens

Read more
Study reveals haunting truth wabout getting lost in the wild—and how to avoid it
Do you have the wilderness survival skills you need?
A man looking up in the woods, seemingly lost

We usually don't think to brush up on survival skills when we're out enjoying the country's best national parks. But it's important to be prepared, even if you're hiking or camping in a popular tourist destination.
Let's dive into a recent study that reveals how people get lost in the great outdoors and, more importantly, how they survived to tell the tale. And to make sure you stay safe on the trail, I'll include some helpful tips you can use if you ever find yourself lost in the wild.

The alarming truth behind getting lost in the wilderness
There are plenty of ways to get turned around in nature, but hiking is by far the most common way to get lost, with 48% of missing persons losing their way on foot. Men aged 20 to 25 and 50 to 60 are the most likely to get lost, and it most commonly happens during the warmer months of the year.
You're more likely to get lost if you head on your hike in the mid-afternoon, likely because of the shorter timeframe of light and thinning crowds that help keep outdoor enthusiasts on track. People usually wandered 1.1 miles off of their trail.
The National Park Service shells out between 6 to 7 million dollars on thousands of search and rescue operations each year, not including the costs associated with fire services and law enforcement or volunteer efforts and donations.
It's a huge part of the NPS budget, and unfortunately, these numbers are likely to increase as park popularity rises.

Read more