The Carbon County Commissioners want to build on the success of camping cottage rentals at Mauch Chunk Lake Park.

The county is planning to add two new cottages to the park this year, bringing the total to 15.The county is currently seeking bids for ready-to-build cabin kits that would be assembled by the county maintenance staff sometime this year."They're booked every weekend and more times during the summer. When we first put the first four in, they paid for themselves in about a year just in revenue," Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said.There are about 135 campsites at the lake in all, which are available for rental by the public from April-October.The 13 existing cottages are pretty basic. They include a full-sized bed as well as four single bunk beds and a covered porch. Cottage users use the lake's nearby shower houses, just like the rest of the campsites.Nothstein said they're popular among campers who aren't in the mood to rough it for the night."Like I say, myself included, campers get a little lazy, old and like more conveniences," he said.The new cottages won't be ready for the opening of the campground in April, but they could be completed by the time camping wraps up in October.Officials at the park said that the cabins start to fill up as soon as registration begins in January.Cabins are available for $80 per night, with discounts for county residents and longer stays."We have some locals, but it's all over, a lot of out of towners, - we just had someone from California rent nine. It's vast," Kathleen Storaska, parks aide for Mauch Chunk Lake Park, said.