Minnesota’s Split Rock Lighthouse Warns Against Trendy Activity

It seems like whenever I visit a popular outdoor destination around Minnesota and beyond, I see one of these.

The trend of rock stacking has been a popular thing for a number of years now, but places like Minnesota's state parks have been combatting the trendy activity.

One of Minnesota's historic attractions and state parks issued a message on their social media recently about the topic, explaining why they're discouraging the seemingly harmless activity.

What is rock stacking?

Rock stacking, also known as cairns or rock balancing, has been around for a long time, but it really gained popularity in the 2010s, as people shared photos of their rock stacking creations in scenic outdoor destinations.

People on hikes or visiting parks stack or balance small to medium-sized rocks on top of each other in an exercise of skill and creativity. Some see it as a meditative activity, while others think of it as a creative or problem-solving task kind of like putting together a puzzle.

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The trend has historic ties, with ancient people using them as landmarks or for a number of other purposes.

Often times people will take photos of the creations and share them on social media as part of a scene showing of the natural beauty of the area.

It might seem pretty harmless. It's rocks from the area where these creations are being made, so it isn't like people are digging giant holes or leaving trash behind. Why are park officials against it?

Why are park officials against rock stacking?

The team at Split Rock Lighthouse north of Two Harbors on Minnesota's Lake Superior North Shore recently shared a message on Facebook, pointing out signs explicitly banning rock stacking as well as drones.

Focusing specifically on the rock stacking element, the attraction explains the reason for the signs and why they ask not to do this.

Split Rock says there are a couple of key reasons they discourage the activity.

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One of them is because they say moving rocks can lead to or speed up erosion. While they specifically express concerns about the Lake Superior shoreline and the banks of the streams in the park area, this unnecessary disturbance to the ground can lead to erosion concerns anywhere.

The other concern they point out is when moving rocks to create one of these rock stacks; they say this disturbs micro-ecosystems. In addition, it also creates a tripping hazard or large stacks could potentially fall on someone and injure them.

This is in line with messaging from a lot of other popular outdoor destinations, who encourage the popular mantra of "leave no trace" when enjoying the outdoors.