Tips for Building Winter Campfires

Chances are, you’ll find yourself building winter campfires in idyllic situations while winter camping, preparing for some outdoor cooking, or after a day of winter hiking or other outdoor winter activities. Flames will flicker as snowflakes gently fall, stories are shared, and core memories are made in the chill and snow. That’s the best case scenario. But some other occasions, specifically outdoor survival, are far from postcard-perfect. That’s right, fire building in the winter is an essential part of cold weather survival preparation and requires certain elements to be part of your camping gear. When it comes to camping tips and outdoor recreation prep, there are some things you should know about building winter campfires.

Why We Are Building Winter Campfires

From outdoor cooking to cold weather survival there are many reasons why we take the time and safety precautions to build fires outdoors in the winter. Here are 5 of the best excuses for fire building in your backyard, at a campsite, or deep in the forest.

1. Generating Warmth

Campfires provide ambiance, light, and the opportunity to cook but most of all, they provide much-needed warmth while winter camping. You will want to huddle around a fire to keep warm, with friends, family, or alone during a cold weather hiking adventure, stoke those precious golden embers on a cold night, and avoid the dreaded winter blues.

2. Providing Light

A campfire provides light, which is more important than ever during the short days of winter. You may not have enough illumination to read a book, but the light from a winter campfire will brighten up a campsite to see all your camping gear and the faces of those you love who are out there with you.

3. Outdoor Cooking

Building winter campfires means you can cook hot food to help warm up your insides, too. Whether it’s eggs, burgers, or fish you’ve caught, the taste of food cooked over an open fire outdoors in the woods is hard to beat.

4. Signaling for Help

One of the most important camping tips is knowing how to signal for help by using learned survival skills before winter hiking, winter camping, or embarking on one of these great winter family vacation ideas. Campfires can be a lifeline, meaning that when you are lost or in some kind of peril, fires can serve as an outdoor survival emergency signal. Because three of anything is a universal sign of distress, be prepared to burn three small fires in a triangle shape to alert others of your dire situation and your location.

5. Creating Ambiance

Finally, building winter campfires provides unbeatable ambiance while winter camping with friends and family. It’s a relaxing, gentle way to end each day and stay warm, keep an eye on your camping gear, cook hot meals, and tell spooky stories around.

Fire Safety Lessons

Just as cleaning is part of cooking at home, understanding fire safety is a critical part of building winter campfires. Whether your fire is for outdoor recreation or outdoor survival, fire safety must play a role in preventing forest fires. Minimizing the impact of campfires is one of the guiding principles of the Leave No Trace ethics for spending time outdoors. When it comes to backing tips and camping tips, no list of advice can leave off the need for teaching how to build and tear down a campfire correctly and safely.

It is recommended that you utilize an established fire ring and keep the fires small, using only sticks from the ground that can be broken up by hand. There is no need for a big, dangerous bonfire in the woods. Campfires that are built into or on top of the ground can be potentially hazardous, especially if there are roots or flammable materials like dry leaves underneath.

When an established fire ring is not available while winter camping at an established campsite, make a pan fire by using a small charcoal grill pan or metal feed pan. Fill the bottom of the pan with an inch or two of sand or dry soil. This means carrying a small bag of sand with your camping gear since the ground will be frozen while winter camping or winter hiking. Place the pan on a circle of rocks for elevation and start building winter campfires that are safe for you and the surrounding environment. When you are finished with the fire, burn all the wood to ash and put it out with water before bed or moving on along the hiking trail. In the morning, scatter or bury the cold ashes in the forest.

Looking for a low-budget vacation this winter? Check out these easy ways to plan a camping and fishing staycation.