Camping
Minnesota Campfire Rules and Fire Restrictions for Lake Trips (2026)
When you can have a campfire in Minnesota: DNR burning restrictions, fire danger levels, the 3-foot rule, firewood laws and Boundary Waters fire bans.
Updated
Most nights of the camping season, you can have a campfire at a Minnesota lake as long as it is small, contained and burning legal wood. The exceptions matter, though: dry springs and drought summers bring restrictions that can shut campfires down with a day's notice, and the rules differ between state parks, state forests and the Boundary Waters. This guide reflects DNR, Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Forest Service rules as checked in October 2026. Fire restrictions change daily in fire season, so look at the DNR fire danger and burning restrictions map before every trip.
What counts as a campfire
Minnesota defines a campfire by size. According to the DNR's burning permit rules, a campfire is a fire set for cooking, warming or ceremonial purposes that is:
- no more than 3 feet in diameter,
- no more than 3 feet high, and
- surrounded by ground cleared of combustible material for 5 feet from the base of the fire.
A fire that fits that description needs no burning permit. Anything bigger, and any burning of brush, leaves or debris when the ground is not snow-covered, requires a permit (5 dollars online for the calendar year, or free in writing from a DNR forestry office or fire warden). Fires in a charcoal grill, camp stove or similar device also need no permit. Cities and counties can be stricter than the state.
The DNR's campfire safety advice is short and worth following exactly:
- Use the fire ring if one is provided. Otherwise pick a level spot away from trees, low branches, dry grass and logs.
- Keep a shovel and water at hand.
- Never leave it unattended. Even a light breeze can carry embers.
- Put it out by drowning it with water and stirring until it is cold to the touch.
Never burn garbage, plastic or treated wood.
Fire danger levels
The DNR updates a statewide fire danger map daily, based on recent weather, the kind of vegetation and how dry it is. There are five levels, described on the DNR's wildfire rating page:
| Rating | What it means | What a camper should do |
|---|---|---|
| Low | Fires do not start easily and spread slowly | Normal campfire care |
| Moderate | Fires start easily and spread at a moderate rate | Normal care; watch the wind |
| High | Fires start easily and spread fast; unattended campfires are likely to escape | Keep fires small, stay with them, douse thoroughly |
| Very High | Fires start very easily, spread very fast and throw spot fires | Seriously consider a stove instead |
| Extreme | Explosive conditions; every fire is potentially serious | Do not light a fire even if it is technically allowed |
Fire danger is information. It does not by itself make a campfire illegal. Restrictions do that.
A Red Flag Warning is a separate alert from the National Weather Service for days when wind and low humidity could make any fire run. The DNR issued or relayed a string of them in May, June and July 2026. On a Red Flag day, do not burn.
Burning restrictions, from mild to strict
People use "fire ban" for everything, but the DNR uses distinct levels.
Spring burning restrictions. Every year after the snow melts and before the grass greens up, the DNR stops issuing burning permits in the fire-prone parts of the state. This is aimed at escaped brush and yard-waste fires, the leading cause of Minnesota wildfires. The DNR is explicit that this is not a burning ban: recreational campfires are still allowed. Restrictions lift county by county after green-up.
Elevated burning restrictions. When fire danger climbs, the DNR adds limits as needed. On the map these appear as no open burning plus additional restrictions. In past northeastern Minnesota restrictions, that has meant no campfires for dispersed, backpacking or backcountry camping and none in state forests, with fires allowed only in an established ring at a staffed campground, resort, home or cabin, plus a ban on fireworks outside city limits. The DNR announced enhanced restrictions for parts of northern Minnesota in July 2026 as conditions worsened.
Burning ban. The most severe step, used when fire risk is extreme over a broad area. Existing permits are canceled, and campfires, burning in approved burners and even smoking outdoors may be prohibited.
The specifics are written fresh each time. Read the actual restriction for the county you are headed to rather than assuming.
Rules by land type
State parks and recreation areas
Use the fire ring provided at your campsite or picnic area. Gathering firewood, including dead branches on the ground, is against state park rules. Most parks sell wood at the ranger station. Fireworks are not permitted.
State forests
State forest campgrounds provide fire rings; use them. Dispersed camping is allowed on state forest land at least a mile from a designated campground, and there the state forest rules put the burden on you: choose a safe level spot, clear combustibles 5 feet around the fire, keep it under 3 feet by 3 feet, stay with it and put it out cold. You may use dead wood lying on the ground. Fireworks are not allowed in state forests. Dispersed sites are the first place campfires get banned when restrictions tighten.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
The Superior National Forest's wilderness rules allow fires only within the steel fire grates at designated campsites, or as specifically approved on your permit. Burn small dead wood found on the ground, gathered well away from camp; a folding saw is all you need. Never cut live trees, and do not burn trash. Drown the fire whenever you leave camp and before bed.
The Forest Service imposes its own campfire bans by emergency order, separate from the DNR's. Summer 2026 showed how quickly it happens:
- A campfire ban in the wilderness took effect June 6 and was lifted June 12.
- A second ban began July 11. On July 29 fires were allowed again in metal rings at developed campgrounds outside the wilderness, but the Boundary Waters stayed closed to campfires.
- All restrictions were lifted August 24.
During a ban, gas and propane stoves are allowed, while charcoal and wood-burning stoves are not. Pack a stove and enough fuel for every meal on any Boundary Waters trip, whatever the forecast. More planning advice is in the Boundary Waters lakes guide.
Private land, resorts and cabins
The same 3-foot campfire definition applies, along with any city, township or county ordinance. Past elevated restrictions have still allowed fires in an established ring at a home, cabin or resort, but a full burning ban can prohibit those too.
Firewood: buy it where you burn it
Firewood rules exist because of insects, above all emerald ash borer. The beetle was found in St. Paul in 2009 and reached the Duluth area by 2015, and as of September 2026 the Minnesota Department of Agriculture reports known infestations in 62 of the state's 87 counties. Minnesota has roughly a billion ash trees, many of them black ash in the wet northern forests around lakes. Larvae ride along under the bark of firewood.
On DNR-managed land
The DNR firewood rules allow only:
- firewood bought at a state park, for use in that park;
- firewood certified by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (look for the certified logo on the bundle), which can be used on any DNR land;
- uncertified firewood that is not ash and was harvested in the same county where you will burn it, with the receipt and bundle label as proof;
- kiln-dried, unpainted, unstained dimensional lumber scraps free of metal;
- manufactured logs and hardwood pellets.
Not allowed: wood from home, wood without a receipt or label, pallet wood, and painted or stained lumber. Leftover uncertified wood may only be burned elsewhere in the county where it was harvested.
Moving firewood anywhere in Minnesota
- Hardwood firewood may not be brought into Minnesota from another state without written approval from the Department of Agriculture.
- Under the state quarantine, all non-coniferous firewood is a regulated article. It is illegal to move uncertified hardwood firewood out of quarantined counties, with a narrow exception for adjoining quarantined counties.
- The Forest Service prohibits bringing out-of-state wood into the Boundary Waters.
The simple rule: leave your woodpile at home and buy a bundle near the campground. County, city and many private campgrounds have adopted similar rules.
A pre-trip fire checklist
- Check the DNR burning restrictions map for the county, plus national forest alerts if you are on federal land.
- Check the forecast for a Red Flag Warning.
- Pack a stove and fuel regardless, and a bucket.
- Buy firewood locally and keep the receipt.
- See smoke where it should not be? Call 911.
Bottom line
- Small, contained, attended and drowned: 3 feet by 3 feet, cleared 5 feet around.
- Spring restrictions do not stop campfires; elevated restrictions, burning bans and Forest Service orders can. Check the day you leave.
- Buy firewood where you burn it, and never haul ash or out-of-state hardwood. Campground specifics are in the camping section and the reservations guide.