5 Key Steps to Building a Campfire at Our Smoky Mountain Campground

One of the best parts about spending a vacation at the Greenbrier Campground is the opportunity to have a campfire each evening! After all, there is nothing quite like sitting around the campfire at night with your family and friends while gazing at the stars! If you are new to camping, you may be wondering about the best ways to get your campfire started. Here are the 5 key steps to building a campfire while staying at our Smoky Mountain campground:

1. Use the Fire Ring

When you are ready to build your campfire, you must only use a designated fire ring to keep the fire contained. The good news is that ALL the campsites at our Smoky Mountain campground feature a fire ring! Remember to keep all flammable material away from the fire ring and do not burn plastic, glass or garbage in the campfire.

2. Gather Wood for the Fire

To create a successful campfire, you need tinder, kindling and firewood. If you have children in your family, they can participate by gathering tinder such as small twigs, dry leaves and needles. They can also search for small sticks around the campground to use as kindling. We sell firewood in our General Store so it is not necessary to bring any with you. In fact, it is recommended that you do not bring wood from a distance of more than 50 miles away as this may introduce troublesome insects into the forest around the campground.

3. Construct the Campfire

Now that you have all the wood for your fire, it is time to place the wood in the fire ring! Loosely pile a few handfuls of tinder in the center of the fire pit. Then, place the kindling in a cross-cross fashion across the tinder. You can also build the campfire by using the log cabin method This is where you surround your pile of tinder with kindling and stack the pieces at right angles. Once that is complete, you top the pile off with the smallest kindling.

4. Light the Fire

Light the tinder with a match or lighter, then slowly add more tinder as the fire grows. You can also blow lightly at the base of the fire to provide oxygen. This  helps to increase the intensity of the flame and further ignite the wood. Once you have your campfire burning steady, add kindling and more firewood to keep the fire going. Just be careful to keep your fire small and under control at all times! Otherwise, kick back with your friends in front of the glowing fire, toast some s’mores and enjoy this special experience at our Smoky Mountain campground!

5. Extinguish the Campfire

One of the most important rules for any campfire is to never leave it unattended! When you are done with your campfire, you should allow the firewood to burn completely to ash if possible. You can also use a stick to stir dirt into the embers to bury the fire, then scrape any remaining sticks and logs to remove any embers.

Now that you know how to successfully build a campfire while staying at our Smoky Mountain campground, check out all of the details about our campground today to plan your vacation! We look forward to seeing you soon at the Greenbrier Campground!