Leave No Trace is a simple idea: we can visit wild places in a manner that records little or no sign of our passing.
Leave No Trace hopes to influence the decisions people make while visiting public lands by educating them about recreational effects on the land and techniques to minimize or prevent impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules or regulations.
Leave-No-Trace Campsites
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces: Use existing campsites or camp on hard surfaces (e.g., flat rocks, bare dirt, or sandy areas) and keep your camp small. Camp at least 100 yards from roads, trails, and water sources. Campsites should not be set in places that compact or otherwise damage vegetation (e.g., meadows). Don't dig trenches in your campsite or alter the soil in any way. If you camp on a new site and clear the ground to make a place to sleep, kick a few rocks and sticks back over the area to make it look like it was never used.
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This campsite in the South McCullough Wilderness Area follows LNT principals by being a small site on a hard surface away from water sources. Because the ground was fairly smooth, I only needed to move a few small stones. Otherwise, I did not move dirt, dig trenches, or otherwise alter the ground. My hat and water are hanging in the tree, but I did not hack or drive nails into the trees. |
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Car camping can be LNT too. Here, at the Gass Peak Traditional Campsite 2, which is located at the end of a short spur road, we parked in the road, pitched tents in the road behind the truck, and set up cooking and dining areas in the road. There was an established fire ring, and we brought firewood from home. After we packed up, the only evidence of our passage was tire tracks and footprints. |
 Notice that camp is set on bare ground |
 Notice that camp is set on bare ground |
 Tents and camp set on bare ground |
 Tent set on bare ground |
 Bare ground campsite; cooking on stove, not fire |
 Bare ground campsite; no trenching around tent |
 No woody vegetation to disturb here |
 No woody vegetation to disturb here |
 I'll leave no trace of my passage at this campsite |
 Rocky benches make good LNT campsite in Coyote Gulch |
 LNT campsite on a sandy bench in Coyote Gulch |
 LNT campsite: no vegetation, no fire ring, proper food storage |
 I left no trace of my passage at this campsite in Coyote Gulch |
 LNT with the Sierra Club in Coyote Gulch |
 Leave No Trace car camping using existing campsite |
 Leave No Trace car camping using existing fire pit |
 Leave No Trace camp kitchen |
 I left nothing here but tire tracks and foot prints |
 Backpacking tents set on bare ground, no trenching, no fire |
 Backpacking tent set on bare ground |
 Bivy set on bare ground at existing campsite |
 Bivy set on bare ground at existing campsite |
 Existing, low-impact campsite |
 Leaving nothing but tire tracks and foot prints |
 LNT Campsite in Death Valley; Hole in the Wall Road |
 LNT Campsite in Death Valley; Hole in the Wall Road |
 LNT Campsite in Death Valley; Hole in the Wall Road |
 LNT Campsite in Death Valley; Hole in the Wall Road - no trace left! |
Happy hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
; Last updated 240323
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