Leave No Trace Series: Principle 2 - Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces

Leave No Trace
Principle 2 - Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
© Leave No Trace: www.LNT.org 

Traveling and camping go hand in hand.  Whether you are backpacking the Appalachian Trail or just going for a weekend fishing trip, getting to and staying put are part of the process.  That's why we'll show some simple Travel and Camping suggestions for making your trip more enjoyable while being a good steward of the land.  

Best Ways to Travel

• Trail use is recommended whenever possible 
• Provide space for other hikers if taking breaks along the trail 
• Periodically stop to rest and talk
• Avoid damage to surface vegetation 
• Backcountry travel may involve travel over both trails and off-trail areas

It is best to stay on well-designed routes than making poorly chosen paths which tramples vegetation.  Encourage your group to stay within the width of the trail.  This will avoid trail shortcuts and confusion as to trail routes.  The objective is to travel with minimal impact or damage to the land and waterways. 

What is Off-trail Travel?

• Not using an established trail 
• Going off-trail to search for bathroom privacy
• Exploration away from any trail or campsite  

This is not to discourage anyone from going off-trail.  Simply choose a good route over the most impacted area so you do not cause any more damage or impacts to the surrounding area.  

Most Durable Surfaces

• Rock
• Sand
• Gravel 
• Ice 
• Snow
• Durable vegetation 
• Vegetation that is easily avoided 
• Dry grasses (resistant to trampling)

Do your best to avoid the following:   

• Living soil 
• Desert puddles 
• Mud holes
• Potholes
• Water holes

Camp on Durable Surfaces

Most parks; whether at the state or federal level, have dedicated campsites to make camping less impactful to the environment, and more enjoyable to all.  But if you find yourself primitive camping, ensure you look at the vegetation, soil, potential for wildlife encounters, and if your group will cause more damage than good to the area. 

Choosing a Campsite

• Avoid camping close to water and trails
• Choose a site not easily visible to others
• Camping 200 feet away from water is a best practice
• Obey regulations (in your area) for campsite selection 
• Choose a site earlier in the afternoon/evening 
• Best sites are already highly impacted (no further impacts potentially)

You can tell the popular areas.  These camp sites have already lost most of their vegetation.  Choosing your site in the late afternoon or early evening will also help with a good site, avoiding fatigue, lack of visibility and other factors that may affect decision making.  This way you can avoid, wildlife, high winds, be fairly close to water (200 ft), and always look up.  Make sure there are no broken branches or tree's decaying that may fall on you or your group.  

Ways to Not Disturb Remote Areas

• Spread out tents 
• Avoid repetitive traffic routes 
• Move camp every night
• Wear soft shoes around camp
• The durable surfaces of large rock slabs make good kitchen sites
• Minimize the number of trips to water by carrying water containers
• Camp about 200 feet from water is a good rule of thumb
• When breaking camp, take time to naturalize the site
• Rock, gravel or sand are excellent campsite choices
• Cooking areas, tents and backpacks should be located on rock, sand or gravel. 
• Limit your stay to no more than two nights
• Minimize removal of rocks/gravel

Remember the objective of Leave No Trace principles is to minimize impact to the environment, none so more important than at the campsite.  Using native materials (such as pine needles), raking matted grassy areas with a stick and other methods will help the area recover and make it less obvious as a campsite.  These are remote areas, so trying to keep them in their natural state is key.  This effort will remove any indications that this was a campsite, and other travelers may not camp there at all because of the remote look to it.  

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