Rock cairns discouraged by Yosemite National Park officials

Visitors have been encouraged to disassemble rock cairns in Yosemite National Park. Photo / 123rf

Hike enough trails through nature and you’ll become familiar with rock cairns; pyramid-shaped piles of rocks and stones that have been built and added to by previous visitors.

These natural installations may look cool, but in Yosemite National Park they’re considered something of a pest, one that officials want you to help destroy.

Visitors are being encouraged to knock over rock cairns in Yosemite National Park, not just for fun, but to help protect the area.

A cairn is a man-made pile of stones usually used as a marker or as a burial mound. Photo / 123rf

Officials at the Californian park have asked visitors to deconstruct these man-made structures as part of its “Leave No Trace” guidelines.

“Why did Wilderness Restoration Rangers dismantle this rock cairn? According to Leave No Trace ethics when we recreate in wilderness spaces, our goal is to leave no signs of our impact on the land and respect other creatures living in it,” the park wrote in a recent Facebook post.

The post goes on to explain visitors should knock over rock cairns as they are a “mark of human impact” and can be distracting in the otherwise wild setting.

Piles of rocks can also disrupt the creatures living in the park, the post added.

“Building rock cairns also disturbs small insects, reptiles and micro-organisms that call the underside home!”

Rock cairns aren’t all bad, officials added, as they can help with navigation or mark out a new or unclear trail. In New Zealand, the Department of Conservation includes rock cairns as a legitimate track marker on certain tramping tracks.

However, building them should be left to the pros, Yosemite National Park officials said.

“In general, rock cairns should only be constructed by rangers and trail workers,” they wrote.

“Please dismantle and refrain from building rock cairns when you visit Yosemite.”

When it came to other parks or places, Yosemite National Park encouraged people to check the local recommendations.

However, hikers may find that other parks hold a similar stance towards rock cairns, for the same reasons.

Queensland National Parks in Australia have also discouraged visitors from building or contributing to the rocky piles, going as far as to classify it as vandalism and threatening fines of up to $745.

Like Yosemite National Park, this is because it disrupts the flora and fauna in the area and could misdirect walkers.

“Rock stacks which are purely for somebody’s pleasure are becoming a problem in many parks,” said Queensland National Parks in a Facebook post about the issue.

“Rock stacks are vandalism — disturbing the natural environment that parks are there to protect. QPWS rangers can issue a penalty infringement notice (PIN) to anyone constructing an unauthorised structure or works in parks,” it stated.