The only two Lake Lanier campgrounds that normally remain open during winter months will not be open this winter.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it will temporarily close Bolding Mill Campground in northwest Hall County and Sawnee Campground in Cumming from the end of November 2018 until the start of March 2019.
Nicholas Baggett with the Corps' Buford office said that the campgrounds are being closed to ease the usage of septic systems at the sites. He said the Corps' hope is that stopping winter usage will allow the systems to recuperate, making them usable for a longer period of time.
"Right now, to replace those systems would be very expensive and we just don't have the budget for it," Baggett said.
Baggett said that the Corps hopes to have the parks available for winter use again in future years, but he said it will depend on their ability to replace the aging dump stations.
He said Bolding Mill and Sawnee had been the only two Lanier campgrounds that stayed open in the winter; the others were not open because of high maintenance costs.
"Even when we allow these two campgrounds to be open, we've had problems with people not paying attention to their pipes or their connections and allowing them to freeze and then we have to send our contractors in to fix those breaks," Baggett said.
A full list of schedules for Lake Lanier parks and campgrounds can be found on the Corps of Engineers website.
