diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/compaction.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/compaction.rs
index 3d5f11aeb9..5d5149e2d4 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/compaction.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/compaction.rs
@@ -56,7 +56,8 @@ use crate::tenant::storage_layer::batch_split_writer::{
 use crate::tenant::storage_layer::filter_iterator::FilterIterator;
 use crate::tenant::storage_layer::merge_iterator::MergeIterator;
 use crate::tenant::storage_layer::{
-    AsLayerDesc, PersistentLayerDesc, PersistentLayerKey, ValueReconstructState,
+    AsLayerDesc, LayerVisibilityHint, PersistentLayerDesc, PersistentLayerKey,
+    ValueReconstructState,
 };
 use crate::tenant::tasks::log_compaction_error;
 use crate::tenant::timeline::{
@@ -1348,12 +1349,19 @@ impl Timeline {
                 continue;
             }
 
+            // We do not yet implement rewrite of delta layers.
             if layer_desc.is_delta() {
-                // We do not yet implement rewrite of delta layers
                 debug!(%layer, "Skipping rewrite of delta layer");
                 continue;
             }
 
+            // We don't bother rewriting layers that aren't visible, since these won't be needed by
+            // reads and will likely be garbage collected soon.
+            if layer.visibility() != LayerVisibilityHint::Visible {
+                debug!(%layer, "Skipping rewrite of invisible layer");
+                continue;
+            }
+
             // Only rewrite layers if their generations differ.  This guarantees:
             //  - that local rewrite is safe, as local layer paths will differ between existing layer and rewritten one
             //  - that the layer is persistent in remote storage, as we only see old-generation'd layer via loading from remote storage