Mundaring Shire Council is considering closing the camping ground at Lake Leschenaultia as it looks to save $1 million.

The popular picnic and swimming spot, 45 minutes from Perth, has 23 campsites and is managed by the council.

Listener Sarah (who did not want her surname published) contacted ABC Radio Perth after a camping trip over the Labour Day long weekend when a ranger told her that the council was planning to quietly close the site after Easter.

She said she was "extremely disappointed" about the plan to close the site, which her family has camped at for the past five years.

"We choose this place as it is only 45 minutes from where we live, so if everything goes pear-shaped, which can easily happen with young children, or the weather turns nasty, it's not difficult to get home," she said.

"We were advised that the camping grounds are at capacity most long weekends and school holidays and the park is often bustling with young families, as it was this weekend.

"We were horrified [by the closure news] because we've really enjoyed it."

Savings needed to keep rates down

Shire chief executive Jonathan Throssell said that while the council was considering a range of savings measures, including closing the campground, no final decision had been made.

The kiosk and canoe hire service at Lake Leschenaultia may be outsourced. ( Flickr: Graham Earnshaw )

"The task in front of council is a large one in order to respond to community expectations around reducing the level of forecast rates increases," Mr Throssell said.

"We had a series of workshops and the last one identified a number of areas where councillors believed that we needed to reduce or stop delivering service."

One of those areas was Lake Leschenaultia, where the council is also examining the cost of running the canoe hire business and the kiosk and whether they could be run privately.

"The lake runs at a deficit of about $400,000 a year," he said.

"So we are looking at ways of reducing the deficit, which means we either stop providing the services or outsourcing those commercial activities."

Community consultation on all the council's cost-saving proposals will start in a week's time.

"It will include a statistically valid survey and looking at particular user groups," Mr Throssell said.

"What we are seeking to do is identify at least $1 million of reduction in expenditure in order for us to deliver a rates increase of just 3 per cent."

Fate of the lake decided in June

Lake Leschenaultia was constructed in 1898 as a reservoir to provide water for the steam trains on the eastern railway line to the Goldfields.

Since 1949 it has been a picnic and swimming spot.

"It's a wonderful place and we will continue to maintain it as a place to visit," Mr Throssell said.

"No decisions have been made; the council will decide, at the earliest, in June."

ABC Radio Perth received a large number of messages from listeners who wanted to see the camping ground at the lake kept open.

"Such a shame as we haven't camped there yet but we were planning to," Carolyn said via SMS. "Maybe it's not going to be available to us."

"Listen to the people," Ken added. "Mundaring Shire really needs a big shake up in some areas."

"Absolutely disgusted with the shire decision. Our rates have recently been hiked," another wrote.