Leave no trace at natural water
Water features take damage differently than trails: everything concentrates. Every visitor stands on the same bank, and everything left behind ends up in the same pool. The standard leave-no-trace rules apply, plus a few that are specific to swimmable and soakable places.
Nothing goes in the water
Soap — including biodegradable soap — doesn't belong in any natural water; it needs soil to break down, not a creek. Sunscreen rinses off and accumulates in soaking pools, so at a hot spring, arrive rinsed or wear a shirt instead. Food scraps aren't 'natural' either; they change water chemistry in small pools and teach wildlife to work the crowd.
Pack it all out
Springs and swimming holes accumulate a signature trash mix: bottle caps, broken glass, wet socks, and towels people meant to come back for. Bring a bag, carry out your own, and grab a few pieces that aren't yours. Glass anywhere near barefoot terrain is the single worst thing to leave.
Stay on the beaten path — literally
Banks erode fast when every visitor cuts a new line to the water. Use the established access even when it's the long way around, and skip the social trails multiplying across the hillside. At hot springs, don't re-engineer the pools: stacking new dams and digging channels changes flow for everyone and often kills the temperature balance that made the pool good.
Fires, drones, and noise
Campfire scars next to a spring last decades — if fires are legal at all, use existing rings well away from the water. Fly drones only where they're allowed (never in wilderness or national parks) and remember the soundtrack matters: these places are worth visiting because they don't sound like a parking lot.