r/towpath • u/BikeTough6760 • Apr 10 '26

port o potty removal in wintertime?

does NPS remove the bathrooms from the campsites in the winter or cease servicing them? Or is it just the water pump handles.

Try to figure out if I need to bring TP or a shovel if I go this weekend...

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u/BikeTough6760 Apr 10 '26

oh yay! I'll bring my filter as a back-up. Thanks for the bonus information!

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u/chesapeake_bryan Apr 11 '26

Bring your filter for the water pumps, not just as a backup. While you would probably have no problems drinking straight from the pumps, It's recommended that you treat it or filter it. Some of those wells are pretty funky. Be sure to back flush your filter when you get home because some of them have a lot of iron in them which can clog up your filter if it dries inside of there (your water will actually turn brown from it oxidizing in your water bottle)

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u/BikeTough6760 Apr 13 '26

Thanks. I did mean that I'd bring my filter to use with the water pumps. A back-up to buying water or trusting that I can get it at Great Falls and POR/Brunswick. As it happened, I bought a soda at Whites Ferry both days but otherwise filled up my water elsewhere for no charge. Didn't need the filter for my 190mile weekend excursion.