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.

	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.
	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.

Happy hiking! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
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