Nichols Lake South Campground

The spongy moth caterpillars infested the whole camp. It was impossible to enjoy anything without them crawling all over. And the poop.....all over the camper. We left a day earlier than planned. We had to scrape the poop off our camper and awning. No hot water in the shower. We have camped at Nichols Lake for over 25 years. I doubt we will ever go back. It was a horrible experience.

The spongy moth caterpillars infested the whole camp. It was impossible to enjoy anything without them crawling all over. And the poop.....all over the camper. We left a day earlier than planned. We had to scrape the poop off our camper and awning. No hot water in the shower. We have camped at Nichols Lake for over 25 years. I doubt we will ever go back. It was a horrible experience.

Site was very large and bordered on lagoon to the west which made launching my kayak at the site nice. It was in June and I hit the emergence of the Gypsy moth caterpillars, so they were everywhere. Not so nice, but at least they don't bite like mosquitoes. Hosts were very friendly and helpful, and they stuck to the USFS rules about keeping all your tires on the pavement. I didn't use the facilities, so I cannot comment on the cleanliness of the restrooms. I am familiar with this area, and the North Country Trail runs along the west shore of the lagoon making hiking and exploring convenient. Run up to Baldwin for ice cream at Jones'.

Site was very large and bordered on lagoon to the west which made launching my kayak at the site nice. It was in June and I hit the emergence of the Gypsy moth caterpillars, so they were everywhere. Not so nice, but at least they don't bite like mosquitoes. Hosts were very friendly and helpful, and they stuck to the USFS rules about keeping all your tires on the pavement. I didn't use the facilities, so I cannot comment on the cleanliness of the restrooms. I am familiar with this area, and the North Country Trail runs along the west shore of the lagoon making hiking and exploring convenient. Run up to Baldwin for ice cream at Jones'.

It has a small beach that came in handy

It has a small beach that came in handy

Site 22 was really nice and wooded. Close to lake and bathrooms. Lake is so clear and beautiful. Right on the North Country Trail for great hiking.

Site 22 was really nice and wooded. Close to lake and bathrooms. Lake is so clear and beautiful. Right on the North Country Trail for great hiking.

We had expected to hear a loon early Sunday morning from out on Nichols Lake or at least other woodland birds calling. Unfortunately, someone had already started up a portable generator even though it was only 7:30. While it was a good 150 yards from us, the sound was still loud enough to ruin what otherwise should have been a peaceful morning camping.

We were particularly upset because we had the day before already endured an afternoon and evening of our immediate neighbor’s constant operation of his generator. He too eventually joined in on Sunday morning, although he was considerate enough to wait until maybe 9:00 am to begin.

It seemed odd that the NFS would not have a rule for generators given how much noise they can make. Consequently, when we returned home, we did some research and, sure enough, 36 CFR 261.10(i) is directly on point. It states:
The following [is] prohibited [in National Forest campgrounds]:
(i) Operating or using in or near a campsite …. without a permit, any device which produces noise, such as a radio, television, musical instrument, motor or engine in such a manner and at such a time so as to unreasonably disturb any person.

We recognize that “unreasonably” offers leeway with respect to devices like a radio or musical instrument. However, given that the generator last Sunday morning was still obnoxiously loud even 150 yards away, We are hard pressed to think of any circumstance or time when the operation of a generator in a National Forest campground would not be unreasonably disturbing to all within a wide circle about it.

Put simply, it makes no sense whatsoever that as few as 2 sites, which is only 7% of the available sites, should be permitted to ruin a vacation or weekend for the rest of those camping at Nichols Lake.

It would be simple to fix: post at each campground entrance and on each campground’s webpage that the use of a generator in the campground is prohibited per 36 CFR 261.11(i).

We had expected to hear a loon early Sunday morning from out on Nichols Lake or at least other woodland birds calling. Unfortunately, someone had already started up a portable generator even though it was only 7:30. While it was a good 150 yards from us, the sound was still loud enough to ruin what otherwise should have been a peaceful morning camping.

We were particularly upset because we had the day before already endured an afternoon and evening of our immediate neighbor’s constant operation of his generator. He too eventually joined in on Sunday morning, although he was considerate enough to wait until maybe 9:00 am to begin.

It seemed odd that the NFS would not have a rule for generators given how much noise they can make. Consequently, when we returned home, we did some research and, sure enough, 36 CFR 261.10(i) is directly on point. It states:
The following [is] prohibited [in National Forest campgrounds]:
(i) Operating or using in or near a campsite …. without a permit, any device which produces noise, such as a radio, television, musical instrument, motor or engine in such a manner and at such a time so as to unreasonably disturb any person.

We recognize that “unreasonably” offers leeway with respect to devices like a radio or musical instrument. However, given that the generator last Sunday morning was still obnoxiously loud even 150 yards away, We are hard pressed to think of any circumstance or time when the operation of a generator in a National Forest campground would not be unreasonably disturbing to all within a wide circle about it.

Put simply, it makes no sense whatsoever that as few as 2 sites, which is only 7% of the available sites, should be permitted to ruin a vacation or weekend for the rest of those camping at Nichols Lake.

It would be simple to fix: post at each campground entrance and on each campground’s webpage that the use of a generator in the campground is prohibited per 36 CFR 261.11(i).