7 Ways to 'Leave No Trace' When Visiting a National Park

Park visitors produce a lot of trash, but one of the most common items is disposable water bottles. Avoid them by bringing along at least one or two small reusable bottles per person. Then buy a reusable 3-gallon water jug. Fill everything up before you hit the road and then again each night at the hotel. You'll have plenty of water to refill the smaller water bottles all day long, and you won't ever need to purchase a disposable one at a convenience store — and throw it away later.

3. Stay on trails.

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This seems obvious, and yet every year thousands of people fail to heed this advice. Many get lost or injured. But it also can be harmful to the environment. The NPS works hard to create and maintain these trails — installing berms, clearing trees, creating stone stairs — to keep a delicate balance between all of that natural beauty and the millions of people who experience it each year. Trails may look no different than the natural areas around them, but they're designed and built to take a beating — provided visitors stay on them. Sometimes a trail is widened by people cutting corners on switchbacks or bushwhacking through some trees to an undesignated promontory, for example; that constant trampling can easily add up in a rainstorm, and begin a process of soil erosion. Staying on paths is the simplest way to have little or no impact on the environment.

4. Avoid crowded trailheads.

Too often visitors flock to the same sights over and over again. This creates logjams on trails and puts more pressure on that area of the park. Before you go, make sure to pick some backup hikes or places to visit in case in the trailhead you want is crowded. Even in the most popular parks, there's almost always some place you can go to get away from other tourists. Avoiding crowds makes particularly good sense during the pandemic, of course: “If the trailhead or the parking area is crowded,” says Soehn, “it's a sure sign that it's going to be really difficult to have physical distancing from people once they get out of their car and start for the destination."

5. Put rubber caps on your trekking poles.

Look closely on highly trafficked trails and you're bound to see the telltale scars of metal-tipped trekking poles. Scrapes, chips and scars are everywhere, like some diamond-taloned eagle has been sharpening its claws on the landscape. It's become a huge problem in many parks, especially in the East, which tend to see more traffic. Cap the trekking poles with rubber ends (you can buy them at REI and other outdoor outfitters). The traction will be better, you won't have to put up with that interminable clicking sound and you'll help protect the environment.

6. Disperse.

If you are camping in the backcountry, find your own spot. Don't use another area that's been trampled recently. Grasses can usually survive a night under a tent footprint but will have a hard time beyond that. By selecting a backcountry site that someone else has clearly used recently, you may be creating a giant bare patch without even realizing it — it can appear long after you're gone. Again, this is just for backcountry camping. In designated camp spots, pitch the tent where others have to limit the damage to one area.

7. Leave wildlife alone.

Any interaction you have with a wild animal is almost certainly harmful to the animal. This is not to say that you can't enjoy watching bison roam across the road in Yellowstone or a bear saunter along a ridgeline in Glacier National Park. Just do it from a distance — most parks ask visitors to stay at least 50 yards away — and don't approach them for photos. Attempting to stalk them like some National Geographic wildlife photographer for an up-close view is probably only going to end badly, for either you or the animal (or both). If you're serious about photography, get a telephoto lens, something above 250mm. Not looking to sell your images? Then stop shooting and get a great pair of binoculars instead. You can safely, comfortably view wildlife from a distance without the animals ever realizing you're there.