Indiana Open Country

Posts Tagged ‘start a campfire’

There is nothing better after a great day at the lake then to go back to camp, get washed up and spend the evening relaxing around the campfire.

Cooking dinner, roasting marshmallows and spending time with friends and family is a great way to spend the camping evenings. The campfire is a great place to make some memories and reconnect with everyone.

After watching people for years fumble around trying to get a fire starting I figured I would go ahead and write an article and share with the readers how to really get a roaring fire that will last the whole evening with little work.

The key to having a great fire is really about how you put the fire together from the start. Most people just throw a bunch of wood and trash in a pile, grab a piece of paper or cardboard light it up and hope for the best.

Just follow along!!

**Warning** Most DNR properties have strong rules about bringing wood from certain places into the property for fear of spreading the Emerald Ash Borer. Here is a link that will give you a little more information about rules and regulations. http://www.in.gov/dnr/entomolo/3443.htm

What you will need:

Lighter or Matche
Kindling
Small Sticks/branches
Larger logs

Before you start building your fire make sure that you have some sort of fire ring or fire pit that is clear of any hanging trees. (you don’t want to start a forest fire!)

When you are searching for firewood make sure that you are following the rules of the campground in which you are staying. Some places do not allow you to take natural or laying wood from the forest around you.

As you are gathering your fire supplies you are going to want to start with light kindling at the bottom of your stack. Kindling is what is going to get your flame started. Dried leaves, bark, dried grass and cottonwood flurries do great.

On top of the kindling you are going to want to start adding small dry branches. All trees burn a different way so find what you need according to what you want. Hard woods such as oak, cedar and ash burn for longer amount of time and make great warm coals. Pine, birch and fir tend to burn away faster and don’t produce the warmer coals.
Next you want to start adding the bigger dry logs and branches. This is where you are going to get the long lasting flames with the smallest amount of work. The warm coals that you are going to create are the best for baking potatoes, roasting marshmallows and toasting some wieners.

Spending my childhood hanging out in the campgrounds brought a lifetime of memories and honestly, hanging around the campfire is one of the biggest.

I am so excited that I have the opportunity to give my kids the same memories and I hope that when they grow up they will appreciate it as much as I did!

So, have a great fire, have a great time and go out there an make some great memories.