5 Best Types of Wood for Campfires (And What I Use)

If you want a campfire that lights easily, burns hot, and leaves good coals instead of smoking out half the campground, the type of firewood matters.

My first choice is oak. It burns steadily, gives off good heat, and does not disappear in 20 minutes the way some softer woods do.

But after years of camping, I have learned something else: dry wood matters even more than the species.

I have bought plenty of campground firewood that looked fine but was nowhere near seasoned enough. It was hard to light, smoked like crazy, and needed constant attention.

So if oak is available, I grab it. If it is not, I look for another dry hardwood and worry less about getting the “perfect” species.

What Is the Best Wood for a Campfire?

For most campers, I would rank the best firewood this way:

1. Oak
2. Hickory
3. Ash
4. Hard maple
5. Birch

All five can make a good campfire when the wood is dry and properly seasoned.

The EPA recommends burning seasoned, dry firewood and says moisture content around 20% or less is best for a cleaner, hotter fire with less smoke.

1. Oak Is My Favorite Campfire Wood

If I have a choice, I buy oak.

Oak is a dense hardwood that burns steadily and leaves a nice bed of coals. That makes it great when you want to sit around the fire for several hours without constantly feeding it.

It is also pretty common in a lot of the places we camp, although I certainly would not expect every campground to have it.

If the bundle says oak and the pieces feel dry and light for their size, that is usually what I reach for first.

2. Hickory Burns Hot and Long

Hickory is another excellent choice if you can find it.

It is dense, burns hot, and can produce long-lasting coals. If you are cooking over a traditional wood fire, hickory can also give you a great bed of coals once the flames settle down.

The downside is availability. I see oak for sale more often than hickory, so I would not drive all over town looking for it when good dry oak is sitting right in front of me.

3. Ash Is a Good All-Around Choice

Ash is a good middle-ground firewood.

When properly seasoned, it lights reasonably well, burns steadily, and makes a nice campfire without requiring as much babysitting as fast-burning softwood.

If oak is not available and I see dry ash for sale locally, I would have no problem buying it.

4. Hard Maple Makes a Steady Campfire

Hard maple is another solid hardwood for camping.

It burns longer and steadier than many softer woods and gives you good heat without disappearing too quickly.

I would put it behind oak and hickory simply because those are my favorites for a long evening fire, but dry maple is still a much better option than wet oak.

5. Birch Is Great for Getting a Fire Going

Birch tends to light more easily and burn a little faster than the denser hardwoods above.

That makes it useful when you are trying to get a fire established. I like it better mixed with something like oak than as my only wood for the entire evening.

If the campground is selling birch and it is dry, I would still take it over a bundle of wet mystery wood.

Dry Firewood Matters More Than Getting the Perfect Species

This is probably the biggest thing I would tell a newer camper.

You can buy the “best” hardwood in the world, but if it is still holding a bunch of moisture, you are going to fight with it all night.

Wet or under-seasoned wood is harder to light and creates more smoke. The EPA recommends dry, seasoned firewood with moisture around 20% or less.

I have run into this problem a lot with campground wood. You pay campground prices, get back to the site, and discover the wood was cut or bundled before it had enough time to dry.

For years, one of my tricks was putting a Duraflame log underneath campground wood to help get the whole thing burning.

While updating this article, I checked Duraflame’s current instructions and learned that they specifically recommend not using a regular Duraflame firelog as a starter for a wood fire or adding firewood to one.

So I would not recommend that trick anymore.

Instead, use dry kindling or a fire starter specifically designed for starting natural firewood. A good windproof lighter also makes life much easier at a windy campsite, and these are the butane refill cans we use for ours.

What Wood Should You Avoid in a Campfire?

I avoid green wood whenever possible.

I also would not burn pressure-treated lumber, painted wood, plywood, particle board, trash, plastic, or construction scraps in a campground fire ring.

Besides being a lousy campfire, some of those materials can release nasty smoke.

Softwoods like pine and cedar are not automatically “bad.” Dry pieces can be useful for kindling and getting the fire started. They just tend to burn faster than the dense hardwoods I prefer for a long evening fire.

Should You Buy Firewood at the Campground?

I used to buy wood locally whenever I could and use campground firewood as my backup.

That was partly because campground bundles can be expensive, but the bigger issue is quality. I have bought campground wood that simply was not seasoned long enough.

That said, I would rather pay a little more for local wood than haul firewood hundreds of miles from home.

The USDA now specifically recommends that campers buy firewood where they burn it because invasive insects and diseases can hitch a ride in untreated firewood—even over relatively short distances.

If you absolutely need to move firewood, certified heat-treated wood may be accepted in some areas, but campground and state rules vary. Check before you travel.

We have a separate article explaining why you should not move firewood from campground to campground.

Why We Eventually Switched From Wood Campfires to a Propane Fire Pit

When Susan and I were weekend warriors, we made a wood campfire almost every time we went camping.

I love a real campfire. I still do.

But as we started spending much more of the year in our RV, the tradeoffs started bothering us.

That is when we switched to a propane fire pit most of the time.

For us, there are four big advantages.

1. We do not smell like smoke afterward.
2. Our clothes do not smell like smoke.
3. We do not smoke up the campground when we extinguish the fire at the end of the night.
4. When we are tired, I turn a knob and the fire is out. I do not have to decide whether to throw on another log and stay awake another hour waiting for it to burn down.

That last one became a much bigger deal once we were camping for months at a time instead of just Friday through Sunday.

We run ours with a 20-foot propane hose, which lets me position the fire pit where I want it instead of having the propane tank sitting right beside us.

We also use these propane conversion pieces as part of our setup.

A propane fire pit does not completely replace the smell, crackle, and feel of a real wood fire. If I am camping with the grandkids and we want the traditional experience, a real wood fire is hard to beat.

But for everyday RV life, I have become a big fan of propane.

Propane fire pits may also be treated differently from wood fires during some fire restrictions, but never assume they are automatically allowed. Always check the campground, park, or local fire restrictions before lighting anything.

How to Build a Better Campfire With Bad Campground Wood

If the only wood you can get is a little damp or poorly seasoned, do not start with the biggest logs.

Start small with dry tinder and kindling. Give the fire plenty of airflow. Once you have a hot flame and a small coal bed, gradually add the larger pieces.

If a log hisses, steams, or produces a ton of white smoke, it probably has more moisture in it than you want.

Sometimes the smartest move is to stop fighting the wet bundle you bought and go find better wood.

Do Not Move Leftover Firewood to Your Next Campground

This is one camping habit I think more RVers need to take seriously.

Firewood can carry insects, eggs, and plant diseases that are almost impossible to see. Moving that wood to another region can introduce pests into a forest that did not have them before.

The USDA’s advice is simple: buy firewood where you plan to burn it.

If we have leftover local wood and are leaving the area, I would rather give it to another camper or follow the campground’s instructions than load it into the RV and carry it across state lines.

My Bottom Line on the Best Wood for Campfires

If I can buy dry oak locally, that is what I want.

Hickory, ash, hard maple, and birch are all good alternatives. But I would take properly seasoned wood from any of those species over wet oak every single time.

And if you camp as often as we do, do not be surprised if you eventually reach the same conclusion we did and start using a propane fire pit more often.

A wood fire still wins for nostalgia.

For convenience, clean clothes, and being able to go to bed whenever I want, the propane fire pit wins most nights for me.

---

Related Reading

• 18 Campground Rules Everyone Should Follow
• 12 RV Packing Tips for a Smooth Camping Trip
• Why You Should Not Move Firewood Between Campgrounds

---

About the Author: