How to Start a Campfire: A Step-By-Step Guide to Building a Campfire Safely and Responsibly

A Step-By-Step Guide to Building a Campfire, Safely, and Responsibly

By Skyler Zahn

Last updated February 18, 2025

Some of the best memories from camping come from sitting around the campfire. Singing songs, roasting marshmallows, telling scary stories, and eating one too many s’mores are staple activities to do around the fire, but how did that fire get there in the first place? As often as the subject comes up, many people may not know how to start a campfire, especially effectively and safely. So, let’s take a look at how to properly start a campfire.

Finding & Preparing Your Campfire Spot

1. Check if the area you are camping allows campfires.

First things first, if the area you plan on camping does not prohibit campfires, do not build one! It is important to check with the area you plan on visiting for the regulations on campfires. You also need to be sure you are not building a campfire in dry, hazardous environments.

2. Find out if your campsite has a fire pit/fire ring.

Next, you want to find out if your campsite comes with a pre-existing fire ring/fire pit. If it does, you do not need to do the next step.

3. Build a fire pit/fire ring.

If there are none, it is best to choose an area that is at least 15 feet away from tents, trees, plants, and other flammable objects. Keep an eye for low-hanging branches and take wind and its direction into account! Dig a pit in the ground about one foot deep, circle the pit with rocks, and you’ve got yourself a campfire pit!

4. Gather the necessary materials.

Now that you have found your campfire spot, it is time to start gathering your materials. You will need three types of fuel:

• Tinder: small twigs, dry leaves, needles, or forest duff
• Kindling: small sticks
• Firewood: larger pieces of wood kept stacked upwind and away from the fire for safety reasons

You shouldn’t be grabbing any of these items from whole trees or branches, dead or alive, for two reasons. One, live material does not burn. Two, you’d be damaging the forest. Just because a standing tree is dead, it can still be homes for birds and other wildlife. Once you have gathered your materials, it is time to start building your fire.

Building the Campfire

Before you start, make sure you have a source of water and/or shovel nearby in case of emergencies.

5. Place tinder in the center of the fire pit.

Begin by loosely piling a handful of tinder in the center of the pit. Next, you will add your kindling.

6. Choose a method to build your campfire.

There are multiple methods to do this, some with different purposes like cooking or long-lasting. If you are building a campfire with the intent of cooking the best formations of kindling are the teepee and lean-to. However, if you want your campfire to last all night long, the formations of cross and log cabin.

• Teepee: Lay the kindling over the tinder in the form of a tent.
• Lean-to: Best for windy conditions. Lay a thick log on the ground, placing the tinder beside it on the leeway side of the wind. Use kindling to lean against the big log and over the tinder.
• Cross: Crisscross your kindling over the tinder.
• Log Cabin: Surround the tinder with kindling in a square shape. Top the kindling with your smallest kindling

7. Light the fire. 

Once you have your formation built, ignite the tinder with a match or lighter. When using a match, be sure to let it cool before discarding it in the fire.

8. Help the fire grow. 

As the fire grows, continue to add more kindling and blow lightly at the base. Once the fire has grown to keep itself alive, add more kindling, fuel, and the larger firewood to keep it going.

9. Keep an eye on the fire and its surroundings. 

Once your fire is lit, you cannot walk away and must keep an eye on the fire and its surroundings. Be sure to keep dangerous things away from the fire like aerosol cans, pressurized containers, glass, or aluminum cans. These things can explode, shatter, or create harmful fumes if they interact with the fire. Keep your fire at a manageable size. The bigger the flames get, the harder it is to contain. Make sure all children and pets are supervised around the fire. 

Extinguishing the Fire & Cleaning Up After Yourself

10. Let the fire burn out.

If possible, it is best to allow all the wood to burn completely to ash.

11. Extinguish fire with water.

Next, pour a lot of water on the entire fire, not just the red embers, being sure to drown all embers. You will know it is extinguished when you don’t hear anymore hissing. If you do not have water, skip to the next step.

12. Extinguish with shovel and dirt/sand.

If you don’t have water, use a shovel to stir dirt into the embers to bury the fire. Ensure that there are no exposed embers.

13. Make sure it is totally extinguished before you leave.

Continue either method until all material is cool.If it is too hot to touch, it is too hot to leave.

References

• "The 5 Types of Campfire and When to Use Them" By Will McGough, Outside Interactive, Inc., Last updated July 27, 2023.
• "How to Build a Campfire" By REI
• "How to Build a Campfire" By Smokey Bear