Leave No Trace (LNT) is a critically important part of traveling in the Grand Canyon. Arizona River Runners believes in the importance of protecting the Canyon for future generations and is committed to practicing the LNT principles and sharing these intentions with our guests. In 2023, we won the Leave No Trace Community Partner of the Year Award!
The 7 Leave No Trace principles below are implemented on all of our trips and we hope that you can see them in action on your trip and put them to good use on your future adventures.
Plan and Prepare
Pre-trip planning helps to avoid unnecessary impacts on the canyon and makes traveling on the river much easier and safer.
Read all trip information and ask questions before your trip.
Remove extra packaging to limit the amount of waste managed on the river.
Learn about the Grand Canyon from books, websites, and by contacting our office. Knowing what to expect makes for a safer and more enjoyable trip.
The guides have backup plans for all the hikes and camps the trip will use.
Everyone brings a reusable water bottle, and we provide insulated coffee mugs to eliminate the need for disposable bottles and cups.
Camp and Travel on Durable Surfaces
The desert environment is harsh, and the remarkable plants and animals are well-adapted to eke out a life in the heat, sand, rocks, cliffs, and cold river. Damaging the fragile desert landscape can reduce habitat or kill native plants and animals.
Stick to the trails. The living soil, also known as cryptobiotic crust, is vital to plant survival and takes hundreds of years to mature. A single footprint can destroy decades of life. Ask your guides to point out this soil so you can recognize it in the future.
While in camp, don’t create new trails or shortcuts.
While visiting historical and archaeological sites, watch where you step, do not touch rock art or structures, and listen to guide directions carefully to help preserve these areas.
Avoid hanging clothes or life jackets on fragile branches or bushes. After several years of damaging use, these fragile, slow-growing plants can become barren with a pile of broken branches at their base.
Camp at least 200ft from springs and side streams. These pristine waters are essential for wildlife. Do not bathe or put liquid waste into these water sources.
Dispose of Waste Properly
The river and beaches are immaculate for the number of people who travel to the Grand Canyon every year. Everyone does their part to follow two simple rules: Pack out all solid waste and properly dispose of what can’t be packed out. With a large number of guests, it is important to minimize the amount of trash.
Trash on the beaches is unsightly and attracts rodents, insects, and other critters into camp. Even the smallest piece of a candy wrapper gets put in the trash. Fruit peels and apple cores are packed out (imagine if everyone tossed their orange peels all over the beach at lunch).
We do not provide disposable single-use plates or napkins. Although convenient, these items create considerable unnecessary waste and significantly increase the chance of litter in the canyon in the case of wind or carelessness.
Guides take great care to catch small food particles with a ground tarp in the kitchen and ensure they are disposed of properly instead of getting lost in the sand.
It can be a fun activity to rescue trash out of the river. If you are lucky, you may snag a full beer! If you point out trash in the river, the guide will do their best to get into a position to pick it up.
We pack all solid human waste out of the canyon.
Liquid waste, including leftover coffee, soda, and urine, goes into the main river channel. The large volume of water on the Colorado River dilutes the liquid waste and flushes it downstream. Leaving liquid waste in the arid desert environment can lead to foul odors and unsanitary conditions.
Leave What You Find
Take only pictures; leave only footprints.
Minimize alterations to an area. Allow the next visitor to have the same sense of discovery you had. Leave rocks and historical artifacts how you found them.
Do not create tables, chairs, rock piles, or other “improvements.” Good camp spots are found, not made.
Rock cairns (stacks of rocks) should not be created. They are only used when necessary for backcountry navigation in the desert.
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Having a fire in the Grand Canyon is logistically very difficult. All wood must be packed in, any unburned pieces must be packed out, and elevated fire pans and fire blankets must be used to prevent scorching the ground. Due to these hurdles, and the fact that in the hot summer a fire would be way too warm, we don’t have fires on our trips.
Respect Wildlife
Wild animals can be unpredictable and dangerous if approached. Keep your distance, and do not approach any critters, big and small.
If you encounter any rattlesnakes, step away slowly and alert the guides.
Camp at least 200 feet from side streams and springs to give animals space to access water sources. This is especially important in the hot and dry Grand Canyon.
Secure food and trash. If you have personal snacks, discuss your storage options with the guides so they don’t become tempting to nighttime scavengers.
Don’t allow wildlife to become habituated to human food. This diminishes their foraging skills and can lead to animals becoming an unsafe nuisance.
Be Considerate of Other Visitors
The sense of solitude and quiet is important to many visitors to the Grand Canyon. Keep loud noises to a minimum. Allow other visitors to experience an area for the first time as if no one was there before them.
If you enjoy listening to music, it is best to use earbuds or headphones.
Singing and playing instruments can be fun, but sound travels well in the canyon. It is good to be aware of other groups nearby.
Do not etch on rock, carve trees, or otherwise deface the areas you travel.
Return camp areas to their natural condition, just as you found them. Fill in holes that were dug and replace rocks used for pounding tent stakes.
River expeditions are a shared experience, individual actions affect the whole group. Each person is a valued part of the trip; therefore, all guides and guests agree to our Code of Conduct.
Everyone at Arizona River Runners, including office staff, warehouse staff, and river guides, is passionate about protecting and preserving the Grand Canyon. We love sharing ways to achieve this goal. Feel free to give us a call and ask about our Leave No Trace practices, talk to your guides, and have them show you creative ways we put these principles into action on the river.
