Usually not if it’s untreated wood from home, and fines in some states run into the thousands of dollars. Check every state’s rules on our 50-state map, plus Wisconsin’s park limits and what to bring instead.
Last verified: October 13, 2026. Rules change, so we recheck this guide every few months.
Can you take firewood across state lines? Usually not if it's untreated firewood from home, and in a few places not at all. But there's no single federal law that stops you at the border. What decides it is where the wood came from, where you're taking it, and whether it's certified heat-treated.
We make certified, heat-treated firewood in New Berlin, Wisconsin, and every camping season we get the same questions from customers packing up for a trip. This guide gives you straight answers for all 50 states, with extra detail for Wisconsin trips, plus what happens if you get it wrong and what to bring instead.
Forget the state line for a second. These three questions decide almost every firewood trip:
Not sure which rule applies to your trip? Hover over or tap any state for its rules, or switch to the Wisconsin trip checker to see what applies to your wood:
There's no general federal law that makes it a crime to drive across a state line with firewood. The rules come from states, parks, and pest quarantines:
There's one federal exception worth knowing: if you're moving house out of a spongy moth quarantine area, you're required to check outdoor items, firewood included, before the move. More on that below.
If you're heading somewhere in Wisconsin, here's what each type of destination allows.
| Where you're going | Can I bring untreated firewood? | What to bring instead |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin state parks, forests, and DNR campgrounds | Only if it came from within 10 miles of the property, and not from a quarantined county into one that isn't. Otherwise you'll surrender it at check-in. | Wisconsin-certified firewood (allowed from anywhere), or buy it at or near the park |
| Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest | Only if it came from within 25 miles, and not from a quarantined county into one that isn't | Wisconsin-certified firewood, or buy it nearby |
| St. Croix National Scenic Riverway | Only if it came from within 25 miles, and not from a quarantined county into one that isn't | Certified, labeled firewood |
| Apostle Islands National Lakeshore | No. Firewood can't be brought from the mainland, certified or not. | Check the park's rules before you go |
| County, private, and tribal campgrounds | Their rules. Some ban all outside firewood, even certified. | Call ahead and ask what they sell or accept |
| Another Wisconsin county | Usually yes, unless you're taking it out of a spongy moth quarantine county into one that isn't | Certified firewood, or buy local |
Last verified October 13, 2026. Always check with your destination before you go.
That last row trips people up. As of April 2026, 56 of Wisconsin's 72 counties are under a spongy moth quarantine, including Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Washington counties. The counties outside it are mostly in western Wisconsin. Moving untreated firewood from a quarantined county into one of those is illegal, even if you're taking it to land you own.
One thing that's no longer a rule: Wisconsin ended its emerald ash borer quarantine in 2023, two years after the federal one ended. The beetle is still spreading, though, which is why ash firewood is still worth keeping close to home.
Heading out of state? Here's how our neighbors handle firewood coming in from Wisconsin.
| State | Can I bring untreated firewood? | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | No. Hardwood firewood from other states needs state approval to come in. | Leave it home and buy firewood in Minnesota |
| Michigan | Not starting January 1, 2027. Some national parks, forests, and lakeshores there already ban it. | Certified firewood with a state or USDA seal, or buy it there |
| Illinois | No | Firewood heat-treated in a certified kiln and labeled, or buy it there. Illinois only counts wood as certified if it was heat-treated. |
| Iowa | No statewide ban, but parks ask you to leave it home | Buy local and ask the park first |
Going farther? Check the state map at the top of this guide, or the Don't Move Firewood map, which links to each state's agency.
Most of the time, you lose the wood. Wisconsin state parks have you surrender it before you check in, and other places will confiscate it or make you burn it on the spot. But fines are real, and some are steep:
| Where | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Wisconsin state parks and forests | You surrender the wood at check-in |
| Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest | Up to $5,000 and up to 6 months in jail |
| Minnesota | Up to $7,500 per day, per incident |
| Michigan (starting 2028) | A warning letter first, then $1,000 to $10,000 for repeat violations. 2027 is an education year. |
| New York | $250 fine plus a $100 civil penalty, and up to 15 days in jail |
| Connecticut | A warning the first time if you say where the wood came from, then $85 |
| Maine | $100 to $1,000 per day |
| Washington | Up to $5,000 per violation |
| Pennsylvania | A fine up to $300, a civil penalty up to $20,000, or both |
Maximum penalties as listed by each agency. Last verified October 13, 2026.
Certified heat-treated firewood is the easy way around almost all of this. It's been heated to at least 140°F all the way through for a full hour, which kills insects and diseases hiding inside, and a state agency or the USDA certifies the process. A few states set the bar higher: New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, and Tennessee require 160°F for 75 minutes. If you're headed to one of them, check that the label says so.
On the bag, look for three things:
Then keep the bundle sealed until you get there, and hang on to the label and your receipt. In Minnesota, for example, certified bundles have to stay unopened to leave a quarantine area.
Want to know more about how the drying side works? Here's our explainer on kiln-dried firewood.
Distance limits depend on where you're going:
| Distance limit | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| 10 miles | Wisconsin state parks, forests, and DNR campgrounds |
| 25 miles | Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the St. Croix Riverway |
| 50 miles | Illinois state parks, and New York (for firewood cut in New York) |
No rule where you're going? The general rule of thumb from the Don't Move Firewood campaign is that 10 miles or less is best and 50 miles is too far.
It happens. If you've already hauled firewood farther than you should have, burn all of it at your destination, and do it soon. Rake up the bark and wood chips it left behind and burn those too. Don't bring leftovers home, and don't take them to your next stop. Bugs can crawl out of wood that sits around.
If you're moving out of a spongy moth quarantine area, which includes most of Wisconsin, federal rules require you to check your outdoor items for egg masses before the move. Firewood is on USDA's self-inspection checklist, with a note to move only certified, labeled wood.
The easy answer: don't move the woodpile. Burn it before you go, give it to a neighbor, or leave it for the new owners.
Tree-killing insects and diseases can only travel a few miles on their own. Riding in a trunk full of firewood, they can travel hundreds of miles in a day. Some can survive inside firewood for more than three years, and the eggs are often too small to see.
How common is this? When New Hampshire's forestry division surveyed campers coming from out of state, it found over 40% had brought firewood from home, and the wood they confiscated averaged 35 insects per stick.
There's no general federal ban, but many states and parks restrict it. Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, and several other states don't allow untreated firewood from other states, and Michigan joins them on January 1, 2027. Certified, labeled firewood is accepted in most places.
For Wisconsin state parks, forests, and DNR campgrounds, untreated firewood must come from within 10 miles. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest allows 25 miles. Wisconsin-certified firewood can come from anywhere.
Only if your home is within 10 miles of the park, and you're not moving it from a spongy moth quarantine county into one outside the quarantine. Otherwise you'll be asked to surrender it at check-in. Certified firewood is allowed from any distance, and firewood is for sale in or near almost every Wisconsin state park.
Usually, yes. The exception is moving untreated firewood out of one of Wisconsin's 56 spongy moth quarantine counties into a county that isn't quarantined. That's illegal, even if you're taking it to your own property.
Only if it's also certified. "Kiln dried" alone has no legal definition. Look for a USDA shield or state certification seal and the words "heat treated" on the label.
Most often, you lose the wood. Fines also apply in many places: up to $5,000 in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, up to $7,500 per day in Minnesota, $250 plus a $100 civil penalty in New York, and a civil penalty of up to $20,000 in Pennsylvania.
Leave untreated firewood home for both. Minnesota requires state approval for hardwood firewood from other states. Starting January 1, 2027, Michigan only allows heat-treated firewood certified by a state agriculture department or the USDA.
