Reservations    Gift Cards    Education    Media         
Sign up now to receive Kentucky attractions, upcoming events, packages, and deals. Stay up-to-date!

Leave No Trace

Leave No TraceVisit the official Leave No Trace website.

Go to lnt.org >>

Kentucky Adventure Blog

Find out what the Regional Adventure Reps have been up to and see what they have to recommend.

Visit Kentucky Tourism's Adventure Blog >>

Leave No Trace Principles

Each week, Kentucky State Parks features a Leave No Trace Principle.

Principle #2 Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces will ensure you and others have a pleasant experience for you and future campers.

*Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.

*Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes, streams.

*Good campsites are found not made.  Altering a site is not necessary.

In Popular Areas

*Concentrate use on existsing trails and campsites.

*Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.

*Keep campsites small.  Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.

In Pristine Areas

* Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.

*Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

Leave No TraceLeave No Trace is a national and international program designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or climb.

The program strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations.

Kentucky State Parks and KRTA,  the Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority, have adopted to further the protection of our privilege to recreate in the outdoors. It is part of the KY State Parks initiative to encourage and provide access to Leave No Trace workshops for outdoor enthusiasts across the state.

Leave No Trace at Kentucky State Parks


The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace

Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Green Initiatives


Kentucky State Parks have initiated several programs to help the environment.

A listing of parks and some of the environmental programs they are sponsoring is available here. (Adobe PDF)

Copyright 2012 Kentucky Department of Parks. All Rights Reserved.

Web Design & Search Engine Optimization by Aristotle ®