How Stone Stacking Wreaks Havoc on National Parks

Carefully balanced rock towers make a pretty picture, but the proliferation of cairns, fuelled by social media, has negative consequences for the environment.
Sophie Haigney considers #RockStacking, an Instagram trend that’s littering Zion and Acadia national parks with cairns and damaging ecosystems.

Please don't stack rocks on your next hike. Here's why. - Lonely

Meanderthals

Rock Cairns (U.S. National Park Service)

Balanced Rock Structures Teach Us To Go All In

Hvitserkur, Northern Iceland's Formidable Rock Formation - Explanders

Meanderthals SPARtool Outdoor and Survival Multitool

Balanced Rock Structures Teach Us To Go All In

National Park rangers beg hikers to stop building rock towers on

When is it OK to stack rocks on the trail? - Adirondack Explorer

Stepping Stone Studios

Balanced Rock Structures Teach Us To Go All In

meravigliosa eva (@meravigliosaeva) / X

Rock balancing - Wikipedia

Should you push over these stacks of rocks? Here's what NPS says