#LoveYourADK
Each year, millions of people visit the public lands inside the Adirondacks. However you choose to spend your time here, we know the Adirondacks will hold a special place in your heart. We feel the same way. To Love Your Adirondacks is to protect the lands, waters, and communities we all know and love.
Leave no trace principles
The Adirondack Park provides a haven of pristine wilderness in New York state’s northernmost reaches. It also offers an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities for explorers of all ages and experience levels! While you enjoy your visit, please keep the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace in mind. Set forth by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, and championed by many partners within the Adirondack Park, these principles will not only improve your own nature experience, but they help preserve this unparalleled natural wonder for generations to come.
#1
Know Before You Go
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Be prepared! Remember food, water, and clothes to protect you from cold, heat, and rain.
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Use maps to plan where you’re going. Check them along the way so you’ll stay on course and avoid getting lost. Learn about the areas you plan to visit.
#2
Stick to trails and camp overnight right
Walk and ride on designated trails to protect trailside plants.
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Camp only on existing or designated campsites to avoid damaging vegetation.
#3
Trash Your Trash and Pick Up Poop
Pack it in, pack it out. Put litter—even crumbs, peels and cores—in garbage bags and carry it home.
Use bathrooms or outhouses when available. If they're not available, bury human waste in a small hole 6-8 inches deep and 200 feet or 70 big steps from water and the trail.
#4
Leave it as you find it
Leave plants, rocks, and historical items as you find them so others can enjoy them.
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Treat living plants with respect. Carving, hacking, or peeling plants may kill them.
#5
Be careful with fire
Use a camp stove for cooking. Stoves are easier to cook on and create less impact than a fire.
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If you want to have a campfire, be sure it’s permitted and safe to build a fire in the area you’re visiting. Use only existing fire rings to protect the ground from heat. Keep your fire small.
#6
Keep wildlife wild
Observe wildlife from a distance and never approach, feed or follow them. Human food is unhealthy for all wildlife and feeding them starts bad habits. Protect wildlife and your food by securely storing your meals and trash.
#7
Share our trails and manage your pet
Be considerate when passing others on the trail.
Keep your pet under control to protect it, other visitors, and wildlife.
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Be sure the fun you have outdoors does not bother anyone else. Remember, other visitors are there to enjoy the outdoors too.
