“Take only pictures, leave only footprints” is a saying that has appeared on park signs and literature, instructing visitors to cause as little harm to the environment as possible. The saying appears to date to the 1950s, first popularized in California and other western states.
 
“Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time” was cited in print in 1971.
 
     
Google Books
Pacific Discovery
Volumes 10-11
California Academy of Sciences
1957
Pg. 14:
“Taking only pictures and inspiration, and leaving only footprints and goodwill” is advice frequently printed in the brochures.
   
OCLC WorldCat record
Take only pictures : leave only footprints.
Author: Tour West, Inc.
Publisher: Orem, Utah : Tour West, [195-?
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
4 October 1961, Nevada State Journal (Reno, NV), “50 Outings For Sierra Club Groups,” pg. 3, col. 1:
Members were instructed to “leave only your footprints and take away only pictures” during the outings.
 
25 July 1965, San Diego (CA) Union, pg. H11, col. 2:
“Take Only Pictures,
Leave Only Footprints”
PHOENIX—Once in a while a fisherman forgets that he is a “guest” in a campground, or on the bank of a lake or stream, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Information-Education Division.
 
11 August 1968, Springfield (MA) Union, pg. 61, col. 3:
Visit Arcadia Sanctuary
To Take Pictures
And Leave Footprints
By NATALIE L. COOPER
(...)
Open daily to the public, the sanctuary makes only one request of its visitors. “Take only pictures and leave only footprints.”
 
Google Books
Caves of Maryland
By Richard Franz and Dennis Slifer
Baltimore, MD: Maryland Geological Survey
1971
Pg. 5:
Remember the old Baltimore Grotto Motto: Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time and . . . Good Caving. Sincerely, Jim Kramer.
 
9 January 1989, Newsday (Long Island, NY), “Is L-te N-ght R—dy f-r P-t? I’m not a performer. I don’t sing or dance. I have no talent at all, which is amazing, considering my success” by Martin Kasindorf, pt. II, pg. 4:
LIKE A HIKER obeying those warning signs in the forest, “Take only pictures—leave only footprints,” Pat Sajak glides lightly through his environment.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Leave only footprints : discovering the right link between tourism, national parks and wilderness
Author: Amanda Treharne
Publisher: 1993.
Dissertation: Thesis (B.T.P.)—University of New South Wales, 1993.
Edition/Format:  Thesis/dissertation : Thesis/dissertation : Manuscript Archival Material : English
 
Co.Design
March 1, 2012
Drawings That Span Across Acres, Drawn Using Snowshoes
Tracing ephemeral patterns across the landscape.
By Tim Maly
You know the old saying about how to behave when visiting parks and natural environments? “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” As it turns out, you can do a lot within those constraints.