How to Poop While Camping (Leave No Trace Tips)

Camping is one of the best ways to get outside—but it also comes with one unavoidable reality:

At some point, you’re going to need to figure out how to poop while camping.

For some campers, that means using a vault toilet at a campground. For others, it means digging a cat hole to bury your waste or packing out your poop using a bag system.

Knowing what to do ahead of time makes the experience easier, better for the environment, and helps ensure our cherished outdoor spaces remain open and accessible for others to enjoy. 

Knowing how to poop while camping depends on the ecosystem you’re in, the concentration of people in the area, and what facilities are available.

This guide breaks down exactly how to poop while camping based on your setup, location, and level of use.

👉 How to Poop in the Backcountry (2026 Update with New Practices)

So what should you actually do when you need to poop while camping? 

If you need to poop while camping, choose your method based on infrastructure, environment, and level of use. Always use established trailhead or campground bathrooms when available. In high-use or fragile areas, use camping poop bags or a pack-out system. In low-use areas with healthy soil, you can bury poop in the woods using a 6–8 inch cat hole at least 200 feet from water, trails, and camp. Always follow Leave No Trace guidelines.

Before deciding how to poop while camping, start with this:

👉 What type of camping are you doing—and how many people are using the area?

Your bathroom strategy depends on:

1. Available bathroom infrastructure

2. Environmental conditions

3. Concentration of users

If you’re camping in a developed campground:

👉 Use the provided bathrooms (vault or flush toilets)

This should always be your first and primary option. 

These systems are designed to:

• Handle waste safely

• Prevent contamination

• Reduce environmental impact

If you’re in a high-use area or near your campsite, burying is not the best choice.

This includes:

• National Parks

• Popular dispersed camping zones

• Alpine areas

• Deserts

• River corridors

In these places, waste accumulates quickly and the soil lacks the moisture, warmth and microbial activity to effectively decompose poop.

👉 Best practice: pack out your poop using a bag system like a Pack Out Kit.

Even in dispersed camping, if use is concentrated in a small area:

• buried waste builds up

• toilet paper becomes exposed

• the area degrades quickly

Packing it out prevents long-term impact.

If you’re camping in low-use areas with good soil:

👉 You can bury poop in the woods using a cat hole. This works best when:

• Soil is deep and organic

• There’s low user density

• Regulations allow it

If you notice signs of heavy use, it’s better to pack out instead.

👉 How to Poop While Backpacking (Bury vs Pack Out + Leave No Trace Tips)

If you’re car camping or staying in one place:

👉 A poop bucket for camping can be a great solution. This setup:

• Improves comfort

• Reduces repeated impact around camp

• Works well with Pack Out Kits, just stretch the inner bag around the bucket and seal when finished. 

1. Bathrooms available → Use them
2. High-use or fragile → Bag it
3. Low-use, good soil → Bury it

Once you know the method for how to poop while camping, the next step is having the right gear.

A complete camping poop kit should be:

• Appropriate for your environment

• Compact and easy to use

• Hygienic and reliable

At minimum:

• Poop shovel (trowel) for digging

• Camping poop bags for pack-out

• Toilet paper or sustainable wipes

• Hand sanitizer

• Storage bags for packing out used toilet tissue

Having the right camping poop equipment makes the process faster, cleaner, and much less stressful. Many campers prefer a complete system instead of DIY setups.

If you plan to bury waste on hikes or far away from camp, having a proper poop shovel (trowel) system when considering how to poop while camping is essential.

👉 PACT Lite Bathroom Kit

The PACT Lite Kit is a lightweight, all-in-one backpacking and camping poop kit designed for digging cat holes and burying your waste.

It includes:

• Ultralight poop shovel (trowel) that cuts through tough soil

• Storage inside the shovel for supplies

• PACT Wipes + PACT Tabs for wiping and decomposing poop faster

  
  

Why it matters:

The kit comes with everything you need. So, it’s easy to throw in your car or day pack so you’re always prepared to follow Leave No Trace while burying in the backcountry.

Other benefits:

• Holds 5–7 days of supplies so it’s great for overnighters like backpacking

• Lightweight so it weighs ~4 oz fully stocked

• PACT Wipes expand into a 9” towel with water - more clean, less weight 

• PACT Tabs use fungal mycelium to naturally accelerate break down of waste

👉 The PACT Lite Kit won Gear of the Year awards from GearJunkie and Bikepacking and it’s easily the most efficient system for burying your waste.

This is one of the simplest ways to ensure you’re always prepared to bury waste properly without relying on improvised tools.

👉 How to Poop While Backpacking (Bury vs Pack Out + Leave No Trace Tips)

If you’re in high-use or sensitive areas around camp or during an activity like hiking:

👉 PACT Pack Out Kit

The PACT Pack Out Kit is a complete system for pooping into and hauling out to the nearest trash can or disposal area.

It includes:

• Double-bag system for containing poop

• Powder for removing odor and moisture

• PACT WIpes for cleaning up

• Antiseptic hand wipe

• Easy-to-follow instructions

• Leak and smell-proof design

Why it matters:

Packing out waste can feel uncomfortable at first— but a proper system makes it easy and repeatable.

👉 The PACT Pack Out Kit is used by the Bureau of Land management and U.S. Forest Service. This is one of the most reliable camping poop bag systems available for sensitive and high-use environments. 

This system is ideal for anyone looking for reliable camping poop bags that actually work in real conditions.

Having a dedicated system like this removes uncertainty and makes packing out waste something you can do confidently every time.

For car camping and use around camp when bathrooms are unavailable.

👉 A poop bucket system offers:

• Comfort

• Reusability at camp

It includes:

• A 5 gallon bucket with toilet seat 

• Pack Out Bag to capture and contain the waste

👉 It’s just like a Pack Out Kit but with something stable to sit on while doing your business. 

Toilet paper and conventional wet wipes are some of the biggest problems in camping areas.

When buried, they can:

• Take years to break down

• Get exposed by animals and erosion

• Accumulate quickly

As a result, when thinking about how to poop while camping, all paper should be packed out of nature and disposed of in trash cans. 

👉 PACT Bathroom Wipes

PACT Bathroom Wipes come dehydrated and compressed and unfold into a 9” towel with a squirt of water. They get you clean like a wet wipe while saving weight and space and never drying out in the packaging.

They are:

• Plant-based

• Free of harsh chemicals

• Sourced from responsible managed forests

• Designed to fully decompose in ~95 days on average

Benefits:

• Use less paper

• Save space

• Feel clean

👉 Whether you’re burying in the backcountry, packing out or using a bucket system, PACT Wipes are a great way to clean up. Just ensure you always pack them out in a disposable bag.

For most campers, switching to better wipes is one of the easiest upgrades they can make in how to poop while camping both for hygiene and the environment.

For more best practices on how to poop while camping check out:

👉 The Complete Guide To Backpacking Wipes That Actually Break Down

When you’re out on activity in the backcountry, far from camp and other users and when regulations don’t prohibit, you can bury your poop using a PACT Lite Kit. Here’s the steps:

1. Ensure you are 200 feet from water and trails

2. Dig a 6–8 inch cat hole using your shovel

3. Go directly into the cat hole

4. Clean yourself using PACT Wipes or toilet tissue

5. Add PACT Tabs to the hole to support decomposition

6. Cover the hole completely with dirt 

7. Sanitize hands 

8. Pack out used toilet tissue in a disposable or resealable bag

When you’re near camp, in high-use areas or in sensitive ecosystems, or when regulations require it, you should pack out your poop using a PACT Pack Out Kit or bucket system. Here’s the steps:

1. Find a private location away from other users

2. Read the instructions on the Pack Out Kit

3. Open the inner bag and poop into it

4. Add the poop powder to inner bag to dehydrate and deodorize

5. Wipe using provided PACT Wipes or toilet tissue, add to inner bag

6. Sanitize hands with antiseptic wipe, add to inner bag

7. Seal inner back with an overhand knot while gently removing any air

8. Insert inner bag into outer bag, remove air and seal

9. Carry out and dispose of at the nearest trash receptacle

The more people that recreate outdoors, the more important it becomes to manage human waste properly. Mis-handled human waste is one of the biggest drivers of increased regulations on public lands. 

Mishandled waste forces land managers and local communities to: convert dispersed camping into fee-based institute permitting systems, reduce the number of permits and temporarily close areas altogether. 

Learning how to poop while camping is a simple but essential skill for ensuring that everyone has access to outdoor spaces.

With the right system—you can protect the environment and make your trip more enjoyable.