Camp hygiene and Leave No Trace: staying clean without trashing the place
Camp hygiene has two jobs: keeping you healthy, and keeping the campsite wild for the next person. They overlap more than people expect — most Leave No Trace practices are also the things that keep water clean and camps free of animals.
This guide covers backcountry bathroom basics, washing yourself and your dishes, and the seven Leave No Trace principles translated into what you actually do.
The bathroom basics that matter
Go at least 200 feet (about 70 steps) from water, trails and camp. Dig a cathole 6–8 inches deep, and pack out your toilet paper in a zip bag — buried paper gets dug up by animals and lasts for years. A dedicated opaque bag makes this much less grim than it sounds.
Hand hygiene prevents most camp illness. Wash or sanitize after the bathroom and before handling food — gastrointestinal bugs spread through groups faster than any other backcountry problem.
Washing: you, then the dishes
Wash yourself with a bandana, a small amount of biodegradable soap, and water carried 200 feet away from the source — never soap directly in a lake or stream, even 'biodegradable' soap. Rinsing with plain water handles most of the job anyway.
Dishes: scrape first, wash with hot water and minimal soap, and strain the greywater before scattering it widely away from water sources. Food bits in greywater attract animals to campsites.
- Biodegradable soap still belongs on land, never in water
- A small quick-dry towel handles everything
- Sleep in clean, dry base layers reserved for sleeping — you'll feel human again
Food storage keeps camps clean and animals wild
An animal that learns camps mean food becomes a problem animal, and problem animals get relocated or killed. Store food in a bear canister where required, a proper bear hang where allowed, or sealed in the car at frontcountry sites — never in your tent.
This includes everything scented: toothpaste, sunscreen, lip balm, the wrapper from lunch. If it smells like anything, it sleeps with the food.
The seven principles, in plain language
Plan ahead (permits, food repackaging, knowing the rules), travel on durable surfaces (trail and rock, not meadows), dispose of waste properly (pack it out, catholes 200 feet from water), leave what you find, minimize fire impact, respect wildlife (watch from a distance, never feed), and be considerate of other visitors (quiet hours are real, yield on trails).
The test for anything you're unsure about: if a hundred people did this here this month, would the place still look wild? If not, don't.
Last updated September 16, 2026. Questions or a correction? Get in touch.