by Marc Phillippe Babineau

Created on: December 25, 2011   Last Updated: December 26, 2011

Camping is an ever growing past time in North America, with new campgrounds popping up all over the place and existing ones expanding and improving upon existing facilities. When camping in a campground the campfire pits are already made, usually encircled by rocks or within a steel barrel. But when you go camping into the wilderness, knowing how to build a rock campfire pit will make your camping a lot more comfortable. The campfire will be needed to cleanse water for drinking, to gain warmth at night and to cook with. Having your campfire set within a ring of rocks provides you with all that and some extra warmth for in the tent when bed time comes around.

When building your campfire, dig a small hole in the ground, about 2 to 3 inches deep and big enough around to hold a campfire within it. If there are tree roots within your hole, make sure to cut them back before making a fire. Gather a lot of stones, from very large to small, and place them by the hole you have just dug. Make a circle of large rocks around the newly dug pit, placing the larger stones on the bottom, circling the hole with them until there is a complete ring of rocks around the hole.

As you start to pile more rocks on top of the bottom layer, make sure that you save the flatter rocks for the top layer. You should build up at least 3 or 4 layers of rocks, with the overall goal being to have the top layer flat and level, so that you can place a wire rack over the top of the rocks, covering the fire. As the fire dies down and coals are built up, you can start cooking using the grill, or place a frying pan or pots on the grille. It is always better to cook over hot coals than to cook over an open flame, unless you’re cooking fresh fish or meat. And, of course, those tasty Schmores that every camping trip would be a bust without.

The rocks that you place around your campfire pit will not only act as a level place to rest your frying pans and pots on so that you can cook over the hot coals, but they will also soak up the heat and stay hot long after the fire has been doused for the night. If it is cold and/or damp outside at night, you can take some of the smaller rocks, wrap them in towels or blankets, and place them in your tent to keep the tent warm and dry. You can also place a few of the smaller rocks, wrapped of course, inside your sleeping bag to get instant warmth.

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