It’s going to cost a little more to camp at Mauch Chunk Lake Park next season.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners voted to increase the daily rental costs for cottages and tent sites, as well as picnic pavilions for the 2019 season. Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard was absent.

“Looking at rates of other campgrounds, we’re still below what is normal,” Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said.

The new rates for daily pavilion rentals is $150 for county residents and $225 for noncounty residents; while cottages will now cost county residents $60 a day or $225 for a Sunday through Thursday rental and noncounty residents, $90 a day or $300 for a Sunday through Thursday rental.

Tent sites only increased for county residents. The new rate increases by $2 to $20 a day for in-season and $18 a day for out of season. The rate for noncounty tent site rentals remains $35 in-season and $27 out of season due to the rates being increased two years ago.

In addition, noncounty visitors to Mauch Chunk Lake on weekends and holidays will now pay $10 for an adult and $7 for a child age 4 through 12.

Daily rates to the lake for county residents remain $3 for an adult and $2 for a child.

“We created a new category for daily admissions,” Commissioner William O’Gurek said. “We are getting an influx of people from out of the county who are flooding that park, most especially when Beltzville is closed. We don’t have any problems with that, but we think out-of-county people should pay more, especially on weekends and holidays.

Nothstein added that county taxpayers already subsidize the park’s operations, so they feel county residents should get a break if they want to utilize the lake.

The commissioners said the new rates will be in effect for at least the next two years.