(NEXSTAR) — You may have been on a hike in, say, one of America’s national parks and seen bountiful nature — tall sequoias, dazzling waterfalls, a breathtaking valley of flowers. And then you come upon what appears to be a pile of rocks.

Your first instinct may be to kick it down, like National Park Service rangers have asked of visitors before. Before you put boot to rocks, though, you may want to consider your surroundings.

Visitors to the national parks are often encouraged to “leave no trace” when recreating, meaning there should be no sign you traversed or camped in an area. While that may conjure images of picking up your trash and leaving nature as untouched as possible, that also includes not leaving a mark on the terrain, like stacked piles of rocks.