Can You Have a Campfire During an Ontario Restricted Fire Zone? What We Learned After the Trip

This story started with marshmallows.

On Thursday, August 6, 2026, we were staying near Nestor Falls and wanted to sit by a fire that evening. Our retreat had permanent fire pits and sold firewood on its website, so the question seemed simple.

At a local gas station, we were told the opposite: there was a fire restriction and campfires were not allowed.

We messaged the accommodation owner. He told us a fire was allowed on his property under conditions he gave us, referred to permits and inspections, and sent specific instructions.

That evening, we had a campfire.

After the trip, I sat down to work out why two people had given us two different answers. It turned out that the simple explanation — “the gas station meant the general ban, while a private campground has an exception” — was not enough.

The law is more complicated than that.

The safest rule is this: an operator’s instructions matter, but they do not replace the active RFZ order, Ontario Regulation 43/26, or the conditions of the specific permit or campground exception being used.

This is not legal advice. The rules below are current as of August 21, 2026, but wildfire restrictions can change between the day you read this and the day you travel.

First: what is Ontario’s fire season?

In Ontario’s legislated fire region, the basic fire season runs from April 1 through October 31. In 2026, the framework is governed by the new Wildland Fire Management Act and Ontario Regulation 43/26 (Wildland Fire Management), which came into force on April 1, 2026.

Outside a Restricted Fire Zone, not every small recreational cooking or warmth fire automatically requires a separate fire permit; the regulation sets out circumstances where fires are allowed if specific conditions are met. Municipal by-laws can add further requirements.

And that is before an RFZ is declared.

What is a Restricted Fire Zone?

A Restricted Fire Zone (RFZ) is a temporary restriction imposed by the Ministry of Natural Resources when fire danger is high or firefighting resources need to be protected for active fires.

Inside an RFZ, the baseline becomes much stricter: outdoor fires are prohibited unless they are authorized by a fire permit or fit a specific legal exception and meet every required condition.

Ontario explicitly says this includes campfires even when they are in an outdoor fire grate, fireplace or fire pit.

The Northwest Region RFZ relevant to our trip took effect at 12:01 a.m. local time on July 15, 2026. So during our August 3–7 stay near Nestor Falls, the general RFZ restriction really was in force.

The gas-station employee therefore had a real basis for saying campfires were banned.

But the regulation does not stop there.

Can a campground allow a campfire during an RFZ?

Yes — it can, but not simply because it is private property and not merely because an owner says yes.

Ontario’s official Outdoor Fire Restrictions guidance says that organized campground operators and provincial parks may allow guests to have campfires during an RFZ when strict conditions in Ontario Regulation 43/26 are met.

The important word is conditions.

For a wood fire in a permanent fire installation

Regulation 43/26 provides an exception for a wood fire at a qualifying campground, but conditions include:

• the fire must be contained in a suitable permanent grate/fireplace or a fireproof-walled pit;
• it must be at least 3 metres from flammable material;
• the area above the fire and within a 1-metre radius must have the required vegetation clearance;
• the fire must be started no earlier than 7:00 p.m.;
• it must be extinguished no later than 10:00 a.m. the next day;
• the campground owner or operator must expressly permit the fire during the RFZ.

That is still not the complete test.

The campground itself must qualify

To use this exception, the campground must also satisfy operational requirements in the regulation. Among them: fires are limited to motor-vehicle-accessible cabins and designated campsites; allowed fire hours are clearly posted; guests receive printed safe-fire information; adequate extinguishing equipment can be brought to any site or cabin within ten minutes; and trained staff are on site.

So “it is a campground, therefore fires are allowed” is also wrong.

The exception is a set of conditions, not a category label on a map.

What about ordinary private property?

Private property by itself does not cancel an RFZ.

That is the main distinction to keep clear.

Some Ontario fire rules do care whether you lawfully occupy land or have the landholder’s permission. But that does not convert every private cabin, backyard or retreat into an automatic RFZ exemption.

During an RFZ, you need a specific lawful basis — an applicable permit or regulatory exception — and you need to satisfy its conditions.

What about a fire permit?

Ontario Regulation 43/26 separately provides for fire permits. A permit may be issued with written conditions defining what is authorized.

That is why I cannot look back at our messages with The Citadel’s owner and declare that he was necessarily relying on one particular campground-exception section.

He told us he had a permit and had been through inspections. We did not see the document or its exact conditions.

So it helps to separate what we know from what we do not know:

• we know what the owner told us;
• we know the Northwest RFZ was active;
• we know Ontario law includes both a campground exception and a fire-permit mechanism;
• we do not know which exact legal mechanism applied to our particular fire pit that evening.

We do not know which exact document or exception applied in that case.

Why the “after 6:00 p.m.” instruction made me stop

Our accommodation message said the fire could be after 6:00 p.m.

When I later checked Ontario Regulation 43/26, the general campground exception for a wood fire during an RFZ said no earlier than 7:00 p.m.

That does not prove the owner’s instruction was unlawful; a separate fire permit could potentially contain different written conditions that we never saw. But 6:00 p.m. should not be treated as a general legal rule for a campground during an RFZ.

If accommodation instructions conflict with current government guidance, I would ask the operator what permit or exception they are relying on. If the answer remains unclear, I would not light a wood fire.

Why Caliper Lake had its own fire ban across the road

Our trip gave us a very visible neighbouring example.

Caliper Lake Provincial Park is only a few minutes from where we stayed. As of August 2026, Ontario Parks explicitly showed a Fire Ban in the park’s alerts.

Provincial parks can have current park notices and operating decisions within the broader provincial framework. That means checking only the RFZ map is not enough for a park visit; open the alerts page for the exact park as well.

Caliper Lake and our private retreat were almost across one highway from each other, but that did not mean every detail of their legal fire situation was identical.

What can you use for cooking during an RFZ?

Ontario provides a much clearer option: a portable liquid-fuel or gas stove, such as a gas barbecue, when the conditions are met.

Ontario’s official RFZ guidance says such a stove must:

• use liquid fuel or gas;
• have a flame that can be shut off easily with a valve or by closing the stove;
• be at least 1 metre from naturally occurring flammable material.

So “RFZ means you cannot cook outdoors at all” is also too broad.

We used a propane barbecue at our cabin during the stay, but future travellers should still check the current rules and use the equipment in a safe location.

How we now check whether a campfire is allowed

After this trip, I would not follow the same sequence we did at the time.

1. Check Ontario’s current fire information

Start with the official Forest Fires page and current Restricted Fire Zones.

Not an old screenshot. Not a social post from last week. Current information.

2. If you are in an Ontario Park, open that park’s alerts

A park fire ban may appear directly on the park’s Alerts page. Check the exact park and date.

3. Check local and municipal restrictions

Ontario tells residents and visitors to check municipal by-laws. Local rules may add conditions or permit requirements.

4. At a campground or retreat, get the operator’s answer in writing

Instead of only asking “can I have a fire?”, I would ask: are wood campfires permitted tonight under the current RFZ, and under what permit/exception and conditions?

A written answer is useful, but I would not treat it as a substitute for the official rules.

5. If the pieces do not match, do not guess

Fire is a poor place for “it is probably fine.”

If official guidance says one thing and local instructions say another, get a clear explanation of the permit/exception or choose a compliant gas stove and skip the wood fire.

Why we still buy firewood locally

Even when campfires are legal, it is better to buy firewood near where you will burn it rather than transport it long distances.

The reason is not only convenience. Moving firewood can spread invasive insects and pathogens. For a road trip, the habit is simple: buy local, burn local.

What I would change about our trip

I would check the RFZ before leaving home rather than after a conversation at a gas station. I would save the official page offline. And when the accommodation gave us a time that differed from the general regulation, I would ask one more question about the permit.

We had a good evening. That is true.

But a good personal experience should not turn into bad instructions for the next person.

Official sources

As of August 21, 2026, we used these official sources:

• Ontario — Outdoor Fire Restrictions;
• Ontario — Outdoor Fire Rules and Permits;
• Ontario — Forest Fires / current RFZ information;
• Ontario Regulation 43/26 — Wildland Fire Management;
• Caliper Lake Provincial Park Alerts.

Before lighting a fire, check the current order, the conditions of any specific fire permit and the latest instructions from the responsible authority for the day of your trip.

Ontario campfire rules: quick reference