The Best Spots in Hocking Hills to Have a Legal Fire

Every summer, somebody in the Hocking Hills starts a fire where they weren't supposed to — on a ledge, in a non-designated campsite, during an active burn ban — and it becomes a story that involves a fire marshal, a fine, and sometimes a lot more. This is the guide to not being that story.

Here's where you can legally have a fire in the Hocking Hills, where you cannot, and how to know the difference before you strike a match.

1. Rental cabins (usually fine — check first)

Most Hocking Hills rental cabins come with a fire ring or fire pit, and using it is the simplest legal option available. But "most" is not "all," and the rules vary by property.

Before your first fire:

• Check your rental agreement. It usually specifies whether the ring is available, what you can burn, and any seasonal restrictions.
• Confirm with the host if anything is ambiguous. A five-minute text beats a sheriff's visit.
• Look for a burn ban posting — hosts usually notify guests, but you can also check with Hocking County emergency services or the Ohio Division of Forestry.
• Use only the provided ring. Don't build a secondary fire down by the creek, on the deck, or on the gravel drive. That's how cabins burn down.

Most cabin fire rings can handle standard hardwood splits. A few allow propane only (if the cabin's in a high-fire-risk zone). A few prohibit fires entirely. Read the posted rules — they're usually on the fridge.

2. Hocking Hills State Park campgrounds

The Hocking Hills State Park campground has 170+ sites, and fire rings are provided at each. ODNR rules require fires to be in the provided ring only, and you are required to keep the fire "attended and under control." Wood is generally available for purchase at the camp store; bringing your own is fine as long as it's local (see emerald ash borer restrictions, further down).

Fires must be fully extinguished before you leave the site, even briefly. Rangers actively patrol for this, and a citation for an unattended fire is not a warning — it's a fine.

Other ODNR rules worth knowing:

• No fires outside designated rings.
• No collecting firewood in the park (it's illegal to cut, break, or collect wood from park grounds, even deadfall).
• Quiet hours start at 10 PM.
• Fireworks are prohibited.

3. Wayne National Forest (dispersed camping)

The Wayne National Forest — parts of which are adjacent to the Hocking Hills — allows dispersed camping in many areas, and campfires are generally permitted in non-designated sites, subject to the current fire-restriction status. This is the closest thing to true backcountry fire-making in the region.

Rules, summarized:

• Fires must be small and contained. Use an existing fire scar if one is present. Otherwise, clear a 10-foot-diameter area of all combustible material.
• No fires during active fire restrictions. Check the Wayne NF website or call the ranger district before you go.
• Fully extinguished before leaving, no exceptions. Drown it, stir it, drown it again. If the ash is warm, it's not out.
• No fires within 200 feet of water sources, trails, or other campers.

4. Your private property (with caveats)

If you own land in Hocking County and want to have a fire on it, Ohio law allows open burning under specific conditions — but it's more restrictive than most people realize.

• No burning within 1,000 feet of any neighbor's building.
• No burning during restricted-season daylight hours (March–May and October–November), when fires are only permitted between 6 PM and 6 AM in unincorporated areas.
• Burning garbage is illegal. Leaves, brush, and clean wood only.
• Fires over three feet in diameter require notification to the Ohio EPA in some cases.

If you're inside the Village of Logan, Rockbridge, Laurelville, or any incorporated area, open burning is often prohibited entirely — call the local fire department before lighting anything.

5. Where you absolutely cannot have a fire

A non-exhaustive list:

• Anywhere in the state park outside a designated ring. No fires on trails, at overlooks, in gorges, on ledges, or at backcountry sites (there are no backcountry sites — the park doesn't allow them).
• Conkle's Hollow, Cantwell Cliffs, Rock House, Ash Cave, Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls. Day-use only. No fires at all, ever.
• On the roadside. Every summer somebody decides to pull off Route 664 and have a fire. Every summer that person gets a citation.
• During an active burn ban. Hocking County issues these periodically, especially in dry summers and fall. They apply to all open burning, cabin fires included.
• On any beach, ledge, or overlook. This should be obvious. It apparently isn't.

6. How to check for a burn ban

Burn bans in Ohio can be issued at multiple levels — county (by the emergency management agency), state (by the governor), or federal (by the U.S. Forest Service for Wayne NF). Before a trip, check:

• Hocking County EMA — look up "Hocking County Ohio burn ban" for current status.
• Ohio Division of Forestry — statewide restrictions (odnr.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-odnr/forestry).
• U.S. Forest Service — Wayne NF — federal land restrictions.
• Your cabin host. They often get notified first.

7. The emerald ash borer rule (this one's actually a law)

Since 2008, Ohio has had active quarantine and transport restrictions on untreated firewood due to the emerald ash borer — an invasive beetle that has killed tens of millions of ash trees nationwide. The rules, simplified:

• Don't bring firewood from out of state into Ohio.
• Don't move firewood long distances within Ohio (many sources recommend keeping it within 50 miles of where it was cut).
• Buy local or buy heat-treated. USDA-certified heat-treated firewood is labeled and can be transported freely.

At a cabin in Hocking County, this means: buy your firewood from a Hocking County or adjacent-county source. Local grocery stores, the state park camp store, farm stands, and local delivery services all qualify.

The simplest rule in the whole guide: if you're at a legal fire pit, in a fire ring that's meant for fires, with wood from within 50 miles, you're fine. Everything else is a coin flip.

The one-line summary

Use the ring the cabin or campground provides. Use wood from the local area. Check for burn bans before you go. Extinguish completely before you leave. Don't be clever about any of it.

The Hocking Hills is 99% accessible for fires as long as you stay within these boundaries. The 1% that isn't — the waterfalls, the ledges, the middle of the state park on a backcountry ambition — is also the part that tends to appear in the news when somebody ignores the rules. Don't be that one.

Looking for a cabin with a legal, well-appointed fire ring? Hocking Cabins lists properties with real fire pit setups. For what to do during the day — the trails, the waterfalls, the towns — Hocking Hills Ohio is your stop.