Since most campers cover a lot of territory during their camping trips, it might be a good idea to learn which firewoods are available in the different sections of our country. There are six major forest areas in the United States and they contain 1,182 species of trees, which fall into two basic categories-deciduous and conifers. Most deciduous trees are hardwoods with broad leaves which are shed in the fall. Hardwoods burn clean and slowly and leave lots of good hot cooking coals. Use them when you're cooking with a Dutch oven or roasting food in aluminum foil.
Most conifers are evergreens, or softwoods, and they produce seeds within cones.
Conifers usually have needles which they shed, but not all at once, and they remain green throughout the year. Softwoods light easily and make a good campfire, but they burn fast and leave few coals. Use fostwoods for reflector oven cooking. If you live on the Pacific coast, anywhere from Alaska to California, it will be difficult to find hardwood for your campfire since one of the largest coniferous forests in the world runs through this area and it includes the largest trees in the world-the redwoods. East of this forest lies another forest of mainly coniferous trees that covers the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico.