How Much Firewood Do You Need for a Three-Night Camping Trip

It's the second night at camp. The kids want s'mores, the October air has turned cold, and the stack by the fire ring is down to two skinny logs. For a typical three-night car-camping trip with a fire each evening, buy about 6 to 8 bundles of firewood. If you cook over the fire or the nights are cold, wet or windy, buy more. Below are the numbers behind that estimate, how to adjust them, and why you should buy your wood near the campsite.

01The short answer: how many bundles for three nights

The rough rule from camping-supply sellers and outdoor sites is this:

• Fire only at night, about 2 to 3 hours: 1 to 2 bundles a night. Over three nights that's 3 to 6 bundles.
• Fire at night plus cooking over it: 3 to 4 bundles a day. Over three days that's 9 to 12 bundles.

For most families, 6 to 8 bundles works well. That covers a good fire every evening, leaves a little extra for a slow-starting night, and you can still burn it all before you leave. Buy more if you plan to cook breakfast and dinner over the coals, or if the forecast shows a cold snap or rain.

These numbers are a range, and the sources don't fully agree. One chart puts a campground fire at 2 to 5 bundles a day. Another says 1 to 2 bundles a night for an evening-only fire. The three-night totals above are just those daily figures multiplied by three. No park agency publishes an official number, because the real amount depends on the size of your bundles, how big you build the fire and how late your group stays up.

So treat 6 to 8 as a starting point. The rest of this article helps you move that number up or down for your trip, starting with what you actually get in a bundle.

02What a bundle really is

A firewood bundle doesn't have a standard size. One firewood supplier describes a bundle as "roughly one cubic foot of wood but can be a little more or less depending on the company," usually 7 to 12 logs cut 12 to 18 inches long. Another outdoor guide describes a smaller bundle of just 4 to 5 logs, each about 4 to 5 inches thick and 12 to 16 inches long. Some retail bundles are under a cubic foot. Look at the bag before you assume two bundles will get you through a night.

A cord is much bigger. A cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, such as a pile 4 feet high, 8 feet wide and 4 feet deep. That's around 128 one-cubic-foot bundles, or close to two decades of three-night trips at 6 to 8 bundles each. Nobody needs a cord for a weekend.

You may also see wood sold by the face cord. That usually means a stack 4 feet by 8 feet with logs about 16 inches long, or one-third of a cord. The depth changes with log length, though, so a face cord isn't the same everywhere. Ask how long the logs are before you compare prices. Most US states define the full cord in law, and a national weights-and-measures handbook (NIST Handbook 130) sets uniform rules for selling firewood.

03How long a fire burns and what changes the math

A good starting rule is about one bundle per hour for a campground fire. A small, slow fire can make a bundle last 1 to 2 hours. One widely used chart breaks it down like this:

• 1 hour: 1 bundle
• 2 hours: 1 to 2 bundles for warmth, 2 to 3 for cooking
• 4 hours: 2 to 4 bundles for warmth, 3 to 5 for cooking
• 6 hours: 4 to 6 bundles for warmth, 5 to 7 for cooking

Cooking takes more wood because you need a steady bed of hot coals, not just flames to look at.

Then adjust for the weather:

• Cold nights: plan about 25% more wood per day than you would in summer. Late-fall trips count here.
• Wet or windy days: bring one extra bundle per day, plus kindling. Damp wood burns slowly, and wind burns through a fire quickly.
• Fire size: keep it 3 feet wide or less. A bigger fire doesn't keep you much warmer. It just uses up your wood faster.

A sample three-night plan (an estimate, not a rule):

• Night fires, about 2 to 3 hours each: 2 bundles a night, so 6
• One breakfast fire for pancakes or eggs: add 1 to 2
• A forecast low in the 30s on one night: add about 25% to that night, so roughly 1 more
• Total: about 8 to 9 bundles

04Where to get it, and what it costs

Buy your wood at the campground or close to it. One common guideline is within about 20 miles of where you'll burn it. Many campgrounds sell bundles at the camp store or host site, and towns near popular parks often have roadside stands and gas stations that sell firewood.

Bundles at campgrounds usually cost about $5 to $7, and some cost up to $10. At those prices, an 8-bundle trip costs roughly $40 to $80. For comparison, Nova Scotia's provincial parks charge $5.00 a bundle for the 2026 season. That's a Canadian park, though, so use it only as a reference point.

Prices at US state and national parks vary by park, by concessioner and sometimes by season. Check the park's own website or call ahead, especially if you're camping in late fall. Some camp stores close or cut their hours after the summer season. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for example, the concessioners at Cades Cove, Smokemont and Elkmont sell firewood from March through October. If your trip runs into November, plan for that.

Buying close to camp isn't only about convenience. In many places it's required by law.

05Don't haul it from home: the rules

Firewood can carry tree-killing insects and diseases. Pests like these can live in a log you can't tell apart from any other, and moving the wood moves the pests. The national Don't Move Firewood campaign gives two simple rules: buy firewood near where you'll burn it, or buy certified heat-treated wood.

"Heat-treated" means something specific. The standard used across these rules is 160°F at the core for 75 minutes. In New York, air-dried (seasoned) wood doesn't count as treated, and Maine says the same about kiln-dried wood.

Here's how some states and parks handle it:

• New York: Untreated firewood can't be brought into the state. Untreated New York wood can't move more than 50 miles from where it was cut unless it's heat-treated to the standard above. Violations can bring a $250 fine, a $100 civil penalty and up to 15 days in jail, and the wood can be confiscated.
• Vermont: A 2016 rule requires anyone bringing firewood from out of state to have a receipt or label showing it was heat-treated to 160°F for at least 75 minutes at a certified facility. The state can seize and destroy wood that doesn't comply.
• Maine: Wood from out of state needs a certificate or label showing heat treatment to the same standard. Many Maine campgrounds have their own rules on top of that, and Baxter State Park bans all outside firewood.
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: You may bring in only heat-treated wood that's bundled and certified by the USDA or a state agriculture department. Campers may also gather dead and down wood inside the park.
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Michigan): Use firewood only from approved vendors or USDA-certified wood. If you brought wood from somewhere else, tell a ranger or campground host.

Rules change, and individual parks often add their own. Check the park's page and the state's firewood page before you load the car.

06Camp tips for stretching your wood

• Keep it dry and off the ground. Stack bundles on a picnic bench, a tarp or a couple of logs, and cover them at night. Dew alone can make the next morning's fire hard to start.
• Burn dry wood. Seasoned firewood should be at or below about 20% moisture. Wet wood hisses, smokes and burns more slowly, which wastes both wood and time.
• Keep the fire small. A fire about 3 feet wide or smaller keeps you warm and makes your wood last longer.
• Burn all of it. Plan to finish what you bought by the last night. Pictured Rocks asks campers with unapproved wood to keep it in the vehicle, carry it straight to the fire and burn all of it.
• Don't take leftovers home. Extra logs in the trunk are how pests travel. If you can't burn them, leave them with the campground host or for the next campers if the campground allows that. Then buy 6 to 8 fresh bundles near camp next time.

Sources (11)

• Outforia: How Much Firewood Do I Need for Camping?
• Lumberjax: Firewood Bundles FAQs
• Wikipedia: Cord (unit)
• Nova Scotia Provincial Parks: Camping Fees
• Don't Move Firewood
• New York DEC: Firewood
• Vermont Business Magazine: Campers beware, new rule prohibits untreated firewood from entering Vermont
• Vermont Invasives: New Firewood Rule
• Maine Forest Service: Out-of-State Firewood Ban FAQs
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Car Camping
• National Park Service: Firewood

Photo: Campfire by webhamster, BY 2.0.