Our fire pit firewood profiles are a game changer for anyone frustrated by fires that fizzle out, smoke like crazy, or don’t set the right vibes.
The real magic in any amazing fire pit night? It almost always comes down to picking the best firewood.
That’s why I put together the ultimate Firewood Profile Collection—over 40 different woods, all tested and rated just for fire pit use.
Want heat that cranks out from heavy hitters like Shagbark Hickory or White Oak? Or maybe you’re into the rich aroma you get from Apple or Cherry wood?
This collection makes it easy to find exactly what you need.
Every profile breaks down what matters: heat, burn time, smoke, scent, how hard it is to split, and where you can usually find it. No more guessing why your backyard fires aren’t meeting your expectations!
Check out our complete firewood profile lineup and fire up your nights the right way.
🌲 Fire Pit Firewood Profiles
Comprehensive profiles of premium firewood species for fire pit enthusiasts. Each profile covers burning characteristics, heat output, availability, splitting difficulty, and regional growing information to help you choose the perfect firewood for your needs and location.
📊 Quick Reference: View our Firewood BTU Chart for scannable high-level performance data on all firewood types in one place.
🚀 More firewood profiles coming soon! We’re continuously adding detailed profiles for additional wood species to expand your burning options.
American Beech Firewood Profile
Discover the excellent burning characteristics of American Beech, a hardwood known for its consistent heat output, pleasant aroma, and clean-burning properties. Learn about availability, seasoning requirements, and why it’s favored by many fire pit enthusiasts.
Ironwood Firewood Profile
Explore Ironwood’s exceptional density and heat output that lives up to its name. This premium hardwood offers incredible burning duration and consistent coals, though it requires extra effort to split and season properly.
Peach Firewood Profile
Learn about Peach wood’s moderate heat output and delightful fruity aroma that adds a pleasant scent to your fire. Popular for both heating and cooking applications, with relatively easy splitting and seasoning characteristics.
Pecan Firewood Profile
Discover Pecan wood’s excellent heat output and distinctive nutty aroma that enhances any fire pit experience. This premium hardwood burns cleanly with long-lasting coals and is highly prized in the South for both heating and culinary applications.
Mesquite Firewood Profile
Explore Mesquite’s legendary burning properties, including exceptional heat output and distinctive smoky aroma. This dense hardwood from the Southwest offers incredible coaling characteristics and is the gold standard for barbecue and fire pit enthusiasts.
Apple Firewood Profile
Discover why Apple wood is prized for its sweet, pleasant aroma and steady burning characteristics. Perfect for creating ambiance in your fire pit with its appealing scent and consistent heat output.
Eucalyptus Firewood Profile
Explore Eucalyptus wood’s unique burning properties, including its distinctive aroma and good heat output. Learn about regional availability, seasoning considerations, and why it’s gaining popularity among fire pit users.
Mockernut Hickory Firewood Profile
Discover this premium hickory variety known for exceptional heat output and long burning duration. Mockernut Hickory offers excellent coaling properties and is highly sought after for serious fire pit enthusiasts.
Pignut Hickory Firewood Profile
Learn about Pignut Hickory’s outstanding burning characteristics, including high BTU output and excellent coaling properties. A top-tier choice for those seeking maximum heat and burn time from their firewood.
Shagbark Hickory Firewood Profile
Explore one of the most prized firewood species with exceptional heat output and distinctive bark characteristics. Shagbark Hickory delivers premium performance for discerning fire pit users seeking the best burning experience.
White Oak Firewood Profile
Discover why White Oak is considered the gold standard of firewood. Learn about its excellent heat output, long burn times, minimal smoke production, and widespread availability across many regions.
Osage Orange Firewood Profile
Explore Osage Orange’s incredible density and heat output that rivals the best hardwoods. Known for extremely long burn times and excellent coals, though it requires patience during seasoning and splitting.
Black Locust Firewood Profile
Learn about Black Locust’s exceptional heat output and fast-growing characteristics. This dense hardwood offers excellent burning properties and is increasingly available as sustainable forestry practices expand.
Post Oak Firewood Profile
Explore Post Oak’s excellent burning properties, including high heat output and long burn times. This dense hardwood is valued for its minimal smoke and excellent coaling characteristics.
Chestnut Oak Firewood Profile
Discover Chestnut Oak’s reliable burning characteristics and consistent heat output. This oak variety offers good coaling properties and is a solid choice for extended fire pit sessions.
Bur Oak Firewood Profile
Learn about Bur Oak’s excellent burning properties, including high heat output and clean burning. This hardwood species offers reliable performance for both heating and recreational fire pit use.
Black Oak Firewood Profile
Explore Black Oak’s strong burning characteristics with good heat output and coaling properties. This hardwood provides reliable performance for extended burning sessions in your fire pit.
Almond Firewood Profile
Discover Almond wood’s pleasant aroma and good burning properties. Popular in regions where it’s readily available, this fruit wood offers a distinctive scent and reliable heat output.
Sugar Maple Firewood Profile
Learn about Sugar Maple’s excellent burning characteristics, including high heat output and minimal smoke. This premium hardwood is prized for its clean burn and consistent performance.
Honey Locust Firewood Profile
Explore Honey Locust’s good burning properties and heat output. This hardwood species offers reliable performance and is becoming more widely available in many regions.
White Ash Firewood Profile
Discover White Ash’s excellent burning properties, including good heat output and easy splitting. This versatile hardwood seasons relatively quickly and performs well in most fire pit applications.
Mulberry Firewood Profile
Learn about Mulberry’s excellent burning characteristics and minimal smoke production. This hardwood offers good heat output and is known for producing very few sparks during burning.
Black Ash Firewood Profile
Explore Black Ash’s good burning properties and relatively quick seasoning time. While not as dense as White Ash, it still offers reliable performance for most fire pit applications.
Dogwood Firewood Profile
Discover Dogwood’s excellent density and heat output. This hardwood burns hot and clean, though it’s often less available in commercial quantities due to its smaller size.
Apricot Firewood Profile
Learn about Apricot wood’s pleasant aroma and good burning characteristics. This fruit wood is especially popular for cooking applications but also performs well in recreational fire pits.
Red Maple Firewood Profile
Explore Red Maple’s good burning properties and widespread availability. While not as dense as Sugar Maple, it still offers reliable performance and is often more readily available.
Yellow Birch Firewood Profile
Discover Yellow Birch’s good heat output and pleasant aroma. This hardwood burns relatively cleanly, though it may produce moderate smoke compared to some premium hardwoods.
Red Oak Firewood Profile
Learn about Red Oak’s excellent burning properties and widespread availability. This popular hardwood requires proper seasoning but rewards with good heat output and burning duration.
Black Birch Firewood Profile
Explore Black Birch’s good heat output and distinctive wintergreen aroma. This hardwood burns well but may produce moderate smoke compared to some premium firewood species.
Walnut Firewood Profile
Discover Walnut’s good burning characteristics and distinctive aroma. This hardwood offers reliable heat output and is often valued for both its burning properties and woodworking applications.
Juniper Firewood Profile
Learn about Juniper’s aromatic properties and moderate heat output. This softwood burns relatively quickly but offers a distinctive fragrance that many find appealing for outdoor fires.
American Elm Firewood Profile
Explore American Elm’s moderate burning properties and challenging splitting characteristics. This hardwood can produce moderate smoke but offers reasonable heat output when properly seasoned.
Tamarack Firewood Profile
Discover Tamarack’s good heat output for a softwood species. This conifer burns hotter than many other softwoods and is popular in regions where it grows abundantly.
White Birch Firewood Profile
Learn about White Birch’s moderate heat output and distinctive bark that makes excellent fire starter. This hardwood burns relatively quickly but offers an attractive flame and moderate heat.
Cherry Firewood Profile
Explore Cherry wood’s pleasant aroma and moderate heat output. This hardwood is prized for its fragrance and attractive flame, making it popular for recreational fire pit use.
Madrone Firewood Profile
Discover Madrone’s excellent burning properties and regional availability on the West Coast. This hardwood offers good heat output but may produce moderate smoke when not fully seasoned.
Douglas Fir Firewood Profile
Learn about Douglas Fir’s moderate heat output and widespread availability in western regions. This softwood burns relatively quickly but offers good value and easy ignition.
Silver Maple Firewood Profile
Explore Silver Maple’s moderate burning characteristics and wide availability. While not as dense as Sugar Maple, it seasons more quickly and offers reasonable performance for casual fire pit use.
Ponderosa Pine Firewood Profile
Discover Ponderosa Pine’s moderate heat output and abundant availability in western regions. This softwood burns relatively quickly and may produce resin pops if not properly seasoned.
Piñon Firewood Profile
Learn about Piñon’s pleasant aroma and good burning characteristics for a softwood. Especially popular in the Southwest, this pine species offers an appealing fragrance many find distinctive.
Lodgepole Pine Firewood Profile
Explore Lodgepole Pine’s moderate heat output and straight-grained splitting characteristics. This softwood is abundant in western mountains and offers relatively easy processing.
Eastern Poplar Firewood Profile
Discover Eastern Poplar’s moderate burning properties and low density. While not a premium firewood, it seasons quickly and can be useful for quick fires or as a supplement to denser hardwoods.
Yellow Poplar Firewood Profile
Learn about Yellow Poplar’s moderate burning characteristics and widespread availability. While not as dense as premium hardwoods, it splits easily and seasons relatively quickly.
Aspen Firewood Profile
Explore Aspen’s low density and moderate burning properties. While not a premium firewood, it produces very few sparks and can be useful for quick fires or shoulder season burning.
Balsam Poplar Firewood Profile
Discover Balsam Poplar’s moderate burning characteristics and relatively low density. While not ideal as a primary firewood, it seasons quickly and can supplement denser hardwoods.
Northern White Cedar Firewood Profile
Learn about Northern White Cedar’s aromatic properties and moderate heat output. This softwood ignites easily and produces pleasant fragrance, though it burns relatively quickly.
Eastern Cottonwood Firewood Profile
Explore Eastern Cottonwood’s low density and moderate burning properties. While not a premium firewood, it’s often readily available and can be useful for quick, low-intensity fires.
Western Red Cedar Firewood Profile
Discover Western Red Cedar’s aromatic properties and moderate heat output. This softwood ignites easily and produces a pleasant fragrance, though it may spark considerably.
Eastern Red Cedar Firewood Profile
Learn about Eastern Red Cedar’s distinctive aroma and moderate heat output. This aromatic softwood burns with a pleasant fragrance but may produce significant sparking during combustion.
🌲 Expert Guidance & Local Resources
Consult Local Experts: For the best firewood recommendations specific to your region, consult with your local firewood provider who understands regional wood availability and characteristics.
Extension Office Resources: Contact your state’s Extension office for expert agricultural guidance. Extension services are available across the country to help strengthen farms and families by connecting the public with non-biased research and agriculturally based recommendations (like firewood and the trees they are sourced from). Find your local Extension office here.
These profiles provide general information about firewood characteristics. Local growing conditions, harvesting methods, and seasoning practices may affect performance.
