Camping 101: The Advantages of Ground-vented Cooking Fires

A good draft makes for a hot-burning campfire, and helps maintain a glowing bed of coals for cooking.

While most fire forms rely on adequate air flow, a ground-vented fire built in the keyhole shape, is especially well suited for maintaining a good draft for that type of fire, which is preferred by many as a primary cooking campfire.

Essentially, the keyhole fire design incorporates a wind chute that channels air into the soul of the fire. The upward flow of air heated by the fire draws air from the base area of the fire. When that base is connected to an air source, such as a tunnel or channel in the earth that extends out at a right angle to the base, that air flow is enhanced.

The keyhole fire is basically a circular fire pit with a narrow air trough extending beyond the edge of the fire. Some create that channel as an open trough while others leave a bridge of earth in place as they create an air shaft or tunnel leading out from the fire.