For some, campfires mean bedtime stories, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. For my wife and me, on a recent overnight at Lathrop State Park near Walsenburg CO, campfire smoke meant sneezing, itchy eyes, and runny noses. Never another campfire wouldn't break my heart.So I'm wondering, how do the rest of you feel about campfires? Do you love them? Hate them? Or don't care one way or the other?

That is the main reason our family likes to go camping is having a campfire. It is the highlight of the trip for my two boys.

ILike them even though I seem to be a smoke magnet:-)Good fire shouldn't smoke I guess.SkipJ

Folks who have a problem with campfires probably need to be looking for a different recreational activity.

They are part of the camping experience. Like apple pie & Chevrolet. The real concern is how CLOSE your neighbor is camped from you. Some campgrounds really shoe horn you in close together, thus i can see your issues.

Do a google search, there are RV Campgrounds where campfires are not allowed. Here's one.

Campfires: Love them or hate them? | Good Sam Community

Seymore
Explorer
Apr 01, 2013
That is the main reason our family likes to go camping is having a campfire. It is the highlight of the trip for my two boys.
SkipJ
Explorer
Apr 01, 2013
I
Like them even though I seem to be a smoke magnet:-)
Good fire shouldn't smoke I guess.
SkipJ
BradW
Explorer II
Apr 01, 2013
Folks who have a problem with campfires probably need to be looking for a different recreational activity.
mpfireman
Explorer
Apr 01, 2013
They are part of the camping experience. Like apple pie & Chevrolet. The real concern is how CLOSE your neighbor is camped from you. Some campgrounds really shoe horn you in close together, thus i can see your issues.
gbopp
Explorer
Apr 01, 2013
Do a google search, there are RV Campgrounds where campfires are not allowed. Here's one.
BB_TX
Nomad
Apr 01, 2013
I really like them. But at the same time I know they can also sometimes be annoying. There have been times when a neighboring fire would blow smoke into our site so bad we could not sit outside. So I try to only have one if I am pretty sure it will not unnecessarily bother our neighbors.
DesertHawk
Explorer
Apr 01, 2013
We could live without them. Usually do not build one. Smoke from others can be a problem.

My son & son-in-law really like them. They can be fun. If alone, we don't bother with them.

Never been 'the' highlight of camping for us.

Last time in Yellowstone (2010), Grant Campground at night reminded me of a worse day of LA Smog.

The fire is neat, not the smoke.
2oldman
Explorer II
Apr 01, 2013
Fire good. Smoke bad.
jmtandem
Explorer II
Apr 01, 2013
Like them!
vermilye
Explorer
Apr 01, 2013
Having heated my house with a wood stove since 1976, I don't have much of a fascination with building a fire, however I don't mind them until I'm choking from the smoke inside the trailer...