The campfire tradition is no longer confined to summer retreats. Over the past decade, winter festival organizers have turned outdoor fire pits into central attractions during cold-weather celebrations. As the New Hampshire Union Leader reported regarding regional winter events, towns throughout the state regularly set up community fire pits during ice-carving festivals, pond hockey tournaments, and snow carnivals to keep visitors outdoors during deep freezes.
Events in downtown Plymouth, Jackson, and Laconia routinely place attended fire pits along snow-covered paths. Municipalities partner with local fire departments, which monitor the pits while civic groups distribute marshmallow-toasting kits. In these winter setups, snow banks act as natural barriers against fire spread, giving recreation departments an easy way to run family campfire events without standard summer brushfire risks.
Ski resorts have embraced the same model. Bretton Woods, Loon Mountain, and Mount Sunapee run afternoon fire lounges where children and adults gather around commercial gas or seasoned-cordwood pits to assemble s'mores after skiing. Moving the practice into snowy resort plazas keeps outdoor recreation lively while sidestepping summer fire concerns.
