Where to Have a Legal Fire in Hocking Hills

The rules around fires in the Hocking Hills are simpler than they seem — but the places where they change quickly are the places most visitors don't think to check.

Ohio has roughly three different fire jurisdictions overlapping in the Hocking Hills area: Ohio State Parks, Wayne National Forest, and unincorporated private land. Each has its own rules. Some of them change with the season. Some of them change with the weather. Almost none of them are explained clearly on any single website.

This is the guide. Clear, honest, with the actual links at the bottom. Nothing here is legal advice — always verify with the specific property or ranger office before lighting anything.

At a rented cabin (the easy case)

If you've rented a cabin through a host — Airbnb, VRBO, one of the local cabin companies, or directly from an owner — the fire pit on the property is almost always legal to use. It was installed deliberately. It's documented with the county. It's part of what you paid for.

The rules are set by the cabin owner, not the state:

• Use only the existing fire ring or pit. Do not build a new one. Do not move the stones. Do not light a fire on a deck or patio.
• Use only the provided firewood or wood you brought in. Don't harvest firewood from the property — the owner's trees are landscaping, not fuel.
• Keep a water source within reach. A bucket or a garden hose. Most cabins have both near the pit.
• Don't leave a fire unattended. Ever. Even for five minutes to go to the bathroom.
• Fully extinguish before bed. The coals should be cold to the touch.

If you're booking a cabin, the fire pit is usually mentioned in the listing. If it isn't, ask the owner directly. Some cabins have propane fire bowls (legal during burn bans, fewer rules) rather than wood-burning pits.

In Hocking Hills State Park

This is where people get confused. Hocking Hills State Park has very strict fire rules because of its heavily-used trail system and dry-sandstone ecology.

Fires are allowed only in designated campground fire rings. That means: if you're camping at the state park campground, yes. Anywhere else in the park — on the trails, at the overlooks, in any recess cave — absolutely not. Fires in the gorges and recess caves have caused significant damage to the sandstone over the years and are strictly prohibited.

In the campground itself, the rules are:

• Fire only in the provided metal fire ring at your site
• Firewood must be purchased in Ohio (see the emerald ash borer section below)
• Fires must be fully extinguished before leaving the site
• During burn bans, fires may be prohibited entirely

Day-use visitors — people hiking the park but not camping — cannot have fires at all, anywhere in the park. Not in the picnic areas, not at the overlooks, nowhere. This is not a "we'd prefer you didn't" rule. This is a "you will be cited" rule.

In Wayne National Forest

Wayne National Forest is the federally-managed forest that wraps around much of southeastern Ohio, including large areas just south and east of the Hocking Hills. Different rules entirely.

Dispersed camping is allowed in most of Wayne National Forest, and that includes building a small campfire if you follow the rules:

• The fire must be at least 100 feet from any stream, trail, or road
• Clear a 10-foot radius down to bare mineral soil around the fire
• Keep the fire small — under 3 feet in diameter
• Never leave it unattended
• Fully extinguish with water, then stir the ashes, then water again. Cold to the touch.

During periods of high fire danger, the Forest Service can issue "fire restrictions" that prohibit campfires entirely, even in developed sites. These restrictions are posted on their website and at all trailheads. Always check before going. The Athens Ranger District covers the Hocking-adjacent portions of Wayne National Forest; their number is easy to find with a quick search.

In Conkle's Hollow, Rock House, Ash Cave, Old Man's Cave

No fires. Ever. In any of the recess caves or gorges. This is absolute. The sandstone is fragile and the fire risk is extreme. Rangers regularly cite visitors who start fires here. Don't even think about it.

These hiking areas are for hiking. Fires happen back at the cabin.

The emerald ash borer rule (important)

This is the rule almost nobody knows about, and it matters. Ohio has a quarantine in place to slow the spread of the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees across the Midwest since 2002.

Under Ohio law, you cannot transport firewood more than 50 miles from its source without certification. For practical purposes, this means:

• Don't bring firewood from home if home is more than 50 miles away
• Don't haul firewood across state lines
• Buy firewood locally when you arrive, or arrange for delivery from a local source

Bringing firewood from another region is how invasive insects spread. The ash borer is the big one, but there are others — the Asian longhorned beetle, the hemlock woolly adelgid, various fungal diseases. One infected log can set off a multi-year forest collapse. This is not a theoretical risk. Ohio has lost most of its mature ash trees in the last twenty years.

The practical solution: buy your firewood in the Hocking Hills. We source everything locally — our wood is cut within about 15 miles of delivery. You're never in doubt about compliance, you're supporting local supply, and you're not spreading anything.

Burn bans and how to check them

Ohio counties can issue burn bans during droughts or high-fire-risk periods. These bans typically prohibit all outdoor burning except in designated containers and sometimes prohibit even those. They're most common in late summer and early fall.

To check:

• Hocking County: Check the county sheriff's office or the county website. Bans are usually announced publicly and enforced by the sheriff's office.
• Ohio EPA: Statewide burn regulations (open burning is generally restricted March 1 through May 31 and October 1 through November 30 statewide, with exceptions for recreational fires).
• Your cabin host: They'll know. If a ban is in effect, they'll have told you, or they're about to.

Recreational campfires in a designated fire ring are generally exempt from the seasonal Ohio EPA burn restrictions — but they are not exempt from a county-level burn ban. Confusing, but important.

On private land in the area

If you're staying somewhere that isn't a formal cabin rental — a friend's property, a hunting lease, undeveloped land you own — the rules are looser but not absent. Ohio's general open-burning rules still apply. Most private land allows recreational fires in a proper pit, following basic safety. Check with the landowner and the county before lighting.

For fires on Rock Bridge or Nelsonville public lands: follow the same rules as state parks unless specifically posted otherwise. When in doubt, don't.