Construction will close or limit some campgrounds at Great Basin this summer

One popular campground will be closed and another will be left without water this summer as Great Basin National Park marks the 100th anniversary of the Park Service with some much-needed repairs.

Officials at the park 300 miles northeast of Las Vegas said the Upper Lehman Creek Campground needs extensive work to fix the water system and other “failing infrastructure.”

Construction will cut off water service to all 11 camp sites at the nearby Lower Lehman Creek Campground. Campers will have to bring their own water or haul it from the Lehman Caves Visitor Center, 2½ miles away.

The 24-site Upper Lehman Creek Campground is expected to remain closed for the entire summer season, which is the busiest time of year at Great Basin.

Such maintenance and construction is difficult to do during the slow winter season, when higher-elevation areas are covered in snow.

“Due to our short workable season here we try to get done what we can when we can with as little impact on visitor experiences as possible,” said Nichole Andler, the park’s chief of interpretation.

Also starting this spring, a portion of the parking lot at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center will be blocked off for construction of a new accessibility ramp. That project is slated to wrap up by early summer.

The work in Upper Lehman Creek will leave Great Basin National Park with 124 camp sites, including seven group sites that can be reserved in advance at the Grey Cliffs Campground.

Information on other places to camp in and around the park is available at www.Parks100.com or on the websites for the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Nevada State Parks.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.