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Closing Up a Maine Camp for Winter: The Full Shutdown Checklist

Closing up a Maine camp for winter means draining every line, protecting traps and toilets, pulling the dock, and mouse-proofing. The full shutdown checklist.

Closing Up a Maine Camp for Winter: The Full Shutdown Checklist

A Maine camp that is closed properly in October opens in May with a turn of a valve and a flip of a breaker. One that is closed carelessly opens with a split water line, a cracked toilet, a freezer full of mold, and a mouse colony in the couch. The difference is a few hours of work and a short list of things that cannot be skipped, most of them involving water.

Camps around Sebago, the Belgrade Lakes, Rangeley, Moosehead, and the Downeast coast face the same basic problem. Most are not insulated for winter, many draw water straight from the lake through a shallow intake, and the roads to them are often not plowed.

Once the ground freezes, you may not be back until April. This guide walks through the shutdown in the order that works, from draining the plumbing to the last look at the roof.

Pick the Weekend Before the Freeze, Not After

Columbus Day weekend is the traditional closing date for a reason. Overnight lows in the western mountains and the North Woods start dropping into the 20s by mid-October, and a lake intake line or an uninsulated pipe under the camp can freeze in a single cold night. Coastal camps and those in southern Maine get a couple more weeks, but the risk rises fast after the third week of October.

Closing early costs you a few fall weekends. Closing late risks the entire plumbing system. If you cannot make it up before the first hard frost, it is worth paying a local plumber or caretaker to do the water shutdown on your behalf and finishing the rest yourself in November.

Check the forecast for your specific lake, not Portland or Bangor. The Rangeley Lakes and Moosehead run 10 degrees colder than the coast, and a camp in a low spot near the water freezes before one on a hill.

Draining the Water System

Every pipe, fixture, and appliance that holds water has to be empty or filled with antifreeze before you leave. This is the part of closing that causes the expensive failures, and it is where most owners either hire a plumber or follow a written sequence taped inside the pump house door.

Start by shutting off the pump and opening every faucet, inside and out, hot and cold, to let the system depressurize. Then open the low-point drains, which on most camps sit near the pump or at the lowest run of pipe under the floor. Gravity does most of the work if the plumbing was installed with drainage in mind, and a lot of older Maine camps were.

Compressed air finishes the job. A small compressor connected at the pump side of the system, set to around 40 to 50 psi, will push remaining water out of every open faucet. Work from the highest fixture down, and do not skip the outdoor spigot, the shower, or the washing machine hookup if there is one.

Lake Intakes and Well Pumps

Camps that pump from the lake need the intake line pulled or drained back to the water. A foot valve at the end of the line holds water in the pipe all winter, so either remove the foot valve or disconnect the line at the pump and let it drain. Many owners pull the whole intake and store it under the camp.

Drilled wells with a submersible pump are simpler, since the pump sits below frost depth. The pressure tank and the line from the well to the camp still need draining, and the pitless adapter at the well casing should let the line drain back. Shallow well jet pumps need the pump housing drained through its plug, since the impeller chamber will crack if it freezes full.

Water Heaters

An electric water heater needs to be shut off at the breaker first, then drained through the bottom valve with a hose run outside or to a floor drain. Open a hot faucet somewhere in the camp to break the vacuum or it will not drain. Leave the drain valve open all winter.

Propane and oil-fired water heaters follow the same sequence, with the gas valve or burner switch turned off first. A tankless unit has its own drain plugs and usually a manufacturer procedure, so pull the manual before you start.

Traps, Toilets, and Drains

Every P-trap in the camp holds water: sinks, showers, tubs, floor drains, and the washer standpipe. Pour a cup or two of RV antifreeze, the pink kind rated for plumbing, into each one after the supply side is drained. Never use automotive antifreeze, since it is toxic and will end up in your septic system and the lake.

Toilets take the most attention. Shut the supply, flush, then sponge or bail the tank and the bowl until nearly dry, and pour a quart of RV antifreeze into the bowl and a cup into the tank. A toilet that freezes with water in it will crack the porcelain, and that is a $300 to $500 replacement plus a plumber's visit in May.

Septic Tanks and Outdoor Lines

A septic tank does not need to be pumped for winter, and pumping it right before closing can cause problems if the water table rises and the empty tank tries to float. If it is due for a pumping on its normal three-to-five-year cycle, do it in summer instead.

Outdoor showers, hose bibs, and any line to a dock or boathouse need the same treatment as the indoor plumbing: shut off, drained, and blown out. Sprinkler or irrigation lines are rare at Maine camps, but a garden hose left connected to a spigot is common and will freeze the spigot every time.

Everything That Is Not Plumbing

Once the water is handled, the rest of the shutdown is about food, rodents, power, and weather. Empty the refrigerator and freezer, unplug them, wipe them down, and prop the doors open. A closed fridge with the power off grows mold within weeks.

Take every bit of food out of the camp, including canned goods that could freeze and burst, spices, and pet food. Mice will find a single box of pasta in a cabinet, and once they are in, they nest in mattresses, insulation, and the stove. Steel wool in any gap larger than a pencil, a few snap traps, and no food are the only reliable defenses.

Shut off the main breaker unless you are leaving a freeze alarm, a security camera, or a low-temperature heat source running. Turn off the propane at the tank. Pull the batteries from smoke detectors and remotes, since they leak in the cold.

Strip the beds and store bedding in sealed plastic totes. Wash and dry everything first. Leave interior doors and closets open for airflow, crack cabinet doors, and pull curtains back so the camp gets sun on clear winter days.

Docks, Boats, and the Roof

Lake ice moves, and it will take a dock with it. Seasonal docks come out before freeze-up, ideally by late October on the big lakes, and permanent docks on crib or pipe foundations should have the decking removed or the ice deflectors checked. Boats, kayaks, and canoes go under the camp or into a shed, and outboard motors need their own winterizing.

The roof is the last walk-around. Maine camps see three to six feet of snow load on the roof in a normal winter and more in the mountains, and a roof with a soft spot, a missing shingle, or a clogged valley will show it by March.

Clear the gutters, trim any branch that hangs over the roofline, and check that the chimney cap is on. A cap keeps snow out of the flue and animals out of the camp.

If any of this is beyond what you want to do yourself, a local plumber who winterizes camps can handle the water side for roughly $150 to $350 depending on the system, and many will bundle the spring reopening. You can also browse the rest of our Maine blog for seasonal home guides across the state.

Doing It Yourself or Hiring It Out

Owners who have closed the same camp for 20 years can do the whole job in an afternoon. New owners, or anyone with a complicated system involving a jet pump, a tankless heater, and a boathouse, should have a plumber do it at least once and write down every step. A single frozen fitting costs more than five years of paid winterizing.

Caretakers in lake regions like Rangeley, Greenville, and the Belgrades will also check on the camp through the winter, shovel the roof after big storms, and open it up in spring. Prices vary, but a monthly check often runs $50 to $100 and a roof shoveling $200 to $400. For a camp on an unplowed road, that may be the only way anyone sees it before April.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I close my camp in Maine?

Most owners in the western mountains and North Woods close by Columbus Day weekend. Southern and coastal camps can often wait until late October, but a single night in the low 20s can freeze an exposed line.

Do I have to use antifreeze in the traps?

Yes, unless you can fully drain every trap, which most cannot. Use RV antifreeze rated for plumbing, never automotive antifreeze, and pour it into every sink, shower, tub, and floor drain plus the toilet bowl and tank.

How much does a plumber charge to winterize a camp in Maine?

Roughly $150 to $350 for a standard camp with a pump, water heater, and a couple of bathrooms. Larger systems with a boathouse or tankless heater cost more, and many plumbers offer a discount for booking the spring opening at the same time.

Should I leave the heat on low instead of draining?

Only in a camp that is fully insulated with a reliable heat source and a freeze alarm. Most traditional Maine camps are not built for that, and a power outage during a January storm would freeze everything anyway.

What do I do about mice?

Remove every scrap of food, stuff steel wool into gaps, set traps, and store fabrics in sealed totes. A camp with no food and no soft nesting material is far less attractive, though a few mice will still find their way in.