Local Boy Scouts seeking to earn their winter camping merit badge or people hoping to experience sleeping out in the Wasatch in the winter now have fewer options.

Citing the impact of the watershed and safety concerns, the Salt Lake Ranger District of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest announced it is closing the Spruces Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon to winter camping.

"We can have as many as 150 people on a busy weekend night," said Steve Scheid, a recreation manager on the Salt Lake Ranger District.

Nine group sites have been open in past winters, but only three are adjacent to the one restroom that is open. Rather than bundle up and make the long jaunt to the bathroom, some winter campers have elected for a trip to the nearest tree.

"Some of these campgrounds are right in the riparian area along the river and there are items getting lost in the snowpack and yellow snow," Scheid said. "This isn't an issue where scouts or other groups are necessarily always doing the wrong things, it is more of a numbers issue."

Another concern for the Forest Service is the parking situation. Cross country and backcountry skiers and snowshoers use the small parking lot while exploring the terrain on both sides of the canyon near the Spruces.

The Utah Department of Transportation plows the parking lot and drivers have a hard time clearing the snow in a proper way when there are vehicles present. Scheid said there also were concerns about the plows working so close to traffic.

The one heated restroom close to the parking lot will remain open.

Craig Butterfield with the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America said the closure will undoubtedly impact some troops, but that there are plenty of other places to earn winter camping merit badges.

The Forest Service left the nearby Jordan Pines Campground open to winter camping. There are five sites and two overflow sites available for folks who want to winter camp at Jordan Pines and there are three pit restrooms available.