I Didn't Know That!: Leave No Trace Principle #2 - Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces

You’ve seen it before. You’re walking along a trail or path, when all of a sudden - BAM - a mud puddle is taking up the entire width of it. What is the most Leave No Trace thing to do?

Image courtesy of Leave No Trace

You might assume that the best course of action would be to walk around the mud puddle. Who wants to get their feet all wet and muddy? But let’s think about what we would be stepping on if we were to do that. The sides of trails are typically lined with all sorts of vegetation. Grass, flowers, moss, ferns - all surfaces that our footsteps could easily damage, especially when we consider all the other hikers who will come after us and may do the same. Perhaps we are in the desert and going around the mud puddle would require us to walk through fragile soil crusts. All of these options could cause a great deal of impact. Luckily, there is an easy and low impact alternative.

Go through the mud puddle.

Did You Know?

Traveling and camping on durable surfaces is one of the 7 Leave No Trace Principles. These Principles empower you to leave nature as unchanged by your presence as possible. It’s a way of protecting the natural world and yourself and to preserve our outdoor spaces for the enjoyment of generations to come.

If you take an alternate route around puddles, a new trail can quickly form, damaging sensitive vegetation, like this subalpine mountain meadow in Mount Rainier National Park.

NPS Photo

The most durable surface for us to walk, hike, or bike on is always going to be the trail. That is still true when the trail is muddy. Instead of walking off the trail to go around the mud puddle, it is a more Leave No Trace practice to stay on the trail and walk right through it.

We still likely don’t want to get our feet wet, so this can require us having proper footwear for the activity we are doing. If the trail is really wet and muddy and our steps or bike tires are causing a lot of wear and tear, it might be the most Leave No Trace option to wait a few days for the trail to dry out before we use it.

There are instances when you can get around a mud puddle on durable surfaces - maybe some perfectly placed rocks provide a stepping stone - but we always want to be ready and prepared to go through puddles we encounter on the trail. This helps to protect vegetation, minimize soil compaction, and improve the sustainability of the trail.

Be prepared with the proper footwear for traversing possible mud puddles.

NPS Photo

What Can You Do

Going through mud puddles rather than around them is one of the least known concepts in Leave No Trace. Teaching the other people you meet outdoors "the why" behind this practice can protect fragile vegetation and soils from being trampled.

Learn more about the second Leave No Trace Principle, Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces including the basics, what is a durable surface, and how to pick a campsite.

Pass It On!

Did you learn something new? Pass it on! Protecting our ecosystems is a job for us all, but there’s no way for everyone to be an expert in everything. That’s why sharing knowledge is so important!

Download or screenshot this card to share with a friend or help spread the word and encourage others to Leave No Trace by traveling and camping on durable surface—even if they get a little muddy. Thank you for helping protect our natural spaces for generations to come.

Check out other I Didn’t Know That! Topics.

Text description of infographic

I Didn't Know That! with Leave No Trace
Principle 2: Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces

• Mud puddle blocking the trail... What's the most Leave No Trace thing to do? 
• Go through it!
• The most durable surface for us to walk, hike, or bike on is always the trail—even when it's muddy!
• Instead of walking off trail and trampling plants or fragile soils, go through the puddle.
• Ranger Tip
  • Don't want to get wet & muddy? Wear the proper footwear or wait until the trail dries out.
• go.nps.gov/idkt

In Collaboration with Leave No Trace

This article is part of the I Didn't Know That!: Leave No Trace series and was developed in collaboration with Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. 

Leave No Trace 7 Principles © 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics