$40 - $120 / night

Camper submitted image from Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake - 1

Camper submitted image from Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake - 2

Nature

Camper submitted image from Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake - 3

Water

Camper submitted image from Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake - 4

People

Camper submitted image from Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake - 5

Roads

Verified

Established Camping

Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake

23 Reviews

About

We provide year-round access for camping and day use. Whether you’re interested in an overnight stay or just plan to visit during the day, we offer a wide variety of activities: from camping to fishing, swimming and canoeing, mountain biking, hiking, and more. In winter, activities also include ice fishing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Wellington Lake, one of our greatest attractions, is a privately-owned natural wilderness area. The 167-acre lake is managed as a trophy fishery with an emphasis on conservation. Just a short drive’s distance from Denver and Colorado Springs, we welcome all visitors looking for a relaxing mountain getaway in the great outdoors.

*Jefferson County is in a Stage 1 FIRE BAN.

**Due to extreme fire danger a Red Flag warning has been issued and NO CAMPFIRES are allowed in the park at this time.

Reservation Info

Please call our office for any updates or questions on current conditions. 303-838-5496 *The Campground is OPEN year-round and reservations are made online. If you are looking for a same-day camping reservation, please call to book over the phone.

*Campground Reservations: Campsites may be reserved through the online booking portal as early as 3 months in advance of your check-in date at midnight. Example: If you want to check-in on August 10 and camp for 4 nights, you could book the entire stay as early as May 10 at 12:00 am.

*Guests may book earlier than 3 months via the early bird advanced booking process. *Advanced Bookings for the Summer of 2022 camping season began on November 30th, 2021 on our online booking engine. You can now book your favorite Summer site for Summer 2022 online!

Weekend Lakefront Sites have been booked at this time, but there is plenty of availability for lakefront spots on weekdays, and there are some great hillside and mountain road sites for weekends that are still open as well as a few group sites.

Location

Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake is located in Colorado

Directions

Stay on Rd. 68 off of 285 in Bailey for 11 miles.

Coordinates

39.32055481496976 N
105.37143842777499 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group
Cabins
Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

Market
Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Reservable
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites
Big Rig Friendly

$40 - $120

/ night

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Casey D.

Scout

Reviewed May. 31, 2023

Beware Overpriced!

$28 for day use! Ridiculous! Just my son & I & 1 vehicle. We just wanted to visit the lake & hike. The hiking trail was lame for the price although the waterfall was lovely. Nice for fishing and camping, just not worth it for hiking for a few hours & nowhere on the website is the price for day use. Also, the 2 men in the office complained that they were shorthanded & didn’t provide a map, we found one outside on the wall. Never coming back. :(

Month of VisitJune

Evan K.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 9, 2021

Great view, wrong coordinates

I've camped at this place since I was a kid and it is simply beautiful. The lake is quiet, there is plenty to explore, and it's usually not crowded. I will note that this location is maybe 20 minutes outside Bailey though.... The coordinates on here have you going clear up to Spinney Mountain reservoir!

Month of VisitJune

Kelsey C.

Ranger

Reviewed Aug. 29, 2021

Fantastic Family Find - But Pricey

This was an amazing campground. One of the rare truly lake front camp site. The water is warm and inviting. Definitely would stay here again! But be aware of a couple things

The Ride In - it is a BUUUUMPY ride in. Some people said they bent their stabilizers. After this trip we need new tires on our camper.
There is no Wifi - zero - zilch - nana. No cell service nothing.
It’s busy! It’s a great place, but it is definitely busy.
it’s pricy. Like double or triple the normal price of camp sites.

The pros:

the spaces are HUGE and not just the group sites, the spaces are almost double the size of most places.
this is one of the best water front camp sites that I’ve seen!
they are very dog friendly.
the camp hosts are very friendly!

Site25

Month of VisitSeptember

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Juliana H.

Ranger

Reviewed May. 3, 2021

Gorgeous with so much to do!

We camped here for the 2021 Genesis adventure race, and it was amazing! Super big campsites with access to the lake, lots of shade, and great hammock trees! The day we got there is was 70 and sunny, and the next morning it was 30 and the tent was covered in snow. That’s what we get for camping in early May! Would absolutely come back!

Site22

Month of VisitJune

Bryan J.

Scout

Reviewed Jan. 26, 2021

Great Lakeside campsites

Great place to take the camper and kayaks. Kayaking, SUPs, fishing, hiking.

Matthew J.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 27, 2020

Beautiful area but the roads and latrine

The lake and area are gorgeous. Without a doubt. The lake is great for SUP, kayaking and even swimming (although a bit cold, but nothing like further into the range). The area is heavily wooded and depending on the site you choose there is distance between the campsites. The downsides just about make it a deal breaker however. First, the drive it. The road is trash. Absolute trash. My F-I-L drove his camper from Denver to AK and back to Denver, yet in the 10miles we were on the roads to the lake, he sustained 5x more damage to his trailer. He had doors that fell off, skirting that collapsed and a stove burner that came apart from vibration. We averaged less than 10mph on the road... Next, the latrines were in bad shape. I've done lots of camping and frankly I don't know how not-for-profit gov't run Forest svc or national park campgrounds are cleaner than this place, for the price, the could install some decent latrines. These reminded me of Camping in the 80's. To ensure we were prepared for the trip I called the DAY PRIOR to arriving and asked about the potable water situation. I was told there was H20 just a few sites away, so I only packed a few gallons of emer water. When we arrived there was a sign on the pump saying the water was NOT POTABLE...so that was a nice change :(

To sum it up: Location beautiful, Admin of the campground, well below par.

Site6/9

Month of VisitSeptember

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Stacy M.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2020

Love this place

This is one of our all time favorite places to stay. The key is to book way in advance as it is super popular with its close location to Denver, as well as get a spot on the water. There is no cell service, which is nice to just disconnect. Bring your SUP or kayak to enjoy the water more.

(4) View All

Shawna M.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 17, 2020

Amazing, Beauitful, Worth the price!

I camped here with my mom this year, it was my second time to this campground. I love it! The lack of cell phone service and wifi (I love being without my phone) and the water right by you, it’s heaven. All that exists amid your little campground and you are free! It’s worth it!

SiteSite 3

Month of VisitJuly

Heather L.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 9, 2020

Good Campground for Social Distancing

Currently they don't have day-use open, so there's plenty of space at the lake to set-up and spend the day playing with the kids. We stayed in a mountain site (not lake-front) and the kids loved climbing the rocks and exploring the mountain. Really friendly staff. Quiet hours are not well kept and that would be my only complaint. No motors allowed on lake. Great for paddleboarding (rentals available), kayaking, canoeing & kid's floats.

(4) View All

Hayley K.

Legend

Reviewed Jun. 8, 2020

Expensive but beautiful Lake front camping

This is such a beautiful site and with covid rampant, it was basically empty. You could only use the lake if you had existing reservations so it was pretty open and empty.

The sites were well spaced out and there was plenty of space for tents and vehicles. The staff were friendly and accommodating and gave plenty of space while checking in. You check in at the front office before you head to your site. You can't get into the campground without a reservation so it felt really safe and secure.

This is a privately owned campground and there is maintenance staff on site 24-7. There is also a general store and clean bathrooms.

We only spent one night here but I wish we could have stayed longer.

Month of VisitJuly

(19) View All

Taylor C.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 3, 2020

Love this spot too much!

This campground books up fast and there’s no question why. Water allows for paddling, kayaking, etc. and the water is calm and beautiful. Campgrounds are pretty spacious and well kept, nice and shady areas to set up as well. Midday storms are pretty common but the mornings and evenings are oh so beautiful.

Maria M.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 2, 2019

Campers paradise

Wellington lake is a perfect family camping spot for anyone who likes to fish, kayak or otherwise play in the water. The sites book quickly but are worth it. We had 2 sites, one on the water and one off and that was a great balance. The sites don't have hookups and the campground doesn't have drinking water so bring all you need. The flies were miserable when we were there and didn't seem to respond to any sort of bug spray but citronella oil seems to help a little. Make sure everything in your rig is screwed down tightly as the 10 mile road to the campground is washboard bumpy beyond belief.

Ashlyn M.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 26, 2019

Loud and crowded

My boyfriend and I went to this campground last weekend for the first time. Here are the Pros& Cons:

Pros:

Beautiful lake& surrounding area Water is crystal clear and wonderful to swim in, not too cold

Great lake to swim, paddle board, kayak, fish

Dog friendly- well behaved dogs are allowed off leash

Area is clean

Campsites are large and close to the water

Great hiking

Cons:

THE PEOPLE. Yeah, people ruin everything. The campground was full so of course you are surrounded by people which means lots of noise. Kids screaming, all day and into the evening. The campsite next to us played their horrible rap music loud up until 10pm, It really ruined our night star gazing by the fire, especially since I HATE rap music. There is no way to just relax and enjoy nature and solitude, this place is SO NOISY. And of course there were some irresponsible dog owners with aggressive dogs that they let off leash that attacked other dogs. So bottom line: I will never go back even though its a beautiful place, its just not worth being surrounded by idiots.

Month of VisitSeptember

Linda D.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2019

Beautiful Area

The campground and lake are very nice. There are several campsites that sit right on the water. There are also campsites that sit further up on the mountain. You get lake views from almost everywhere. The campsites right on the lake are kind of close but the lake access can’t be beat. If you’re looking for more privacy I would get a site up on the mountain. There are also several group sites. There are no motorized boats allowed on the lake. There were a lot of people with paddle boards, kayaks and canoes. The only downside was the road to get there. It wasn’t maintained very well and there was only room for one vehicle at some points. I would highly recommend this campground if you want to get away from it all. There is very little if any cell access.

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Adrien D.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 26, 2019

Wellington Lake

Awesome spot

Mark H.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 20, 2019

Kids, kids & more loud kids!!!

Tried it, but won’t be back. Beautiful setting, but way too noisy and populated. If you were going with a group to enjoy the water, then maybe. Or if you have a truckload of kids that you just want to let run wild and not worry about how much noise they make, then this is a great location.

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Chris G.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 6, 2019

Fantastic lake camping!

Well-kept lake campground with lakefront sites available. You must book 3 months in advance and they can fill up quickly. Firewood is available for purchase and they have many vault toilets around the sites. Great Lake for fishing, paddle boarding, etc. plus a hiking trail up Castle Mountain to waterfall. Only 11 miles to Bailey if you need extra ice or you run out of beverages :-)

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Victoria H.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 7, 2018

Fun lake access for family fun

Wellington is a favorite, but has been getting more crowded over the years. We still live going with other families with all of our kids but I definitely recommend going earlier in the summer- the toilets get really stinky because of all of the use! Regardless, the lake is pretty and the trail is fun for hiking. Word of caution- every year I see/hear about multiple dogs going down the waterfall. No major injuries but it scares the owners. The rocks are so slick- don’t let kids/dogs try to climb through or over. Campsites are generally roomy enough. For more privacy go further away from the water.

Month of VisitJuly

Cara W.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 11, 2018

Private but Crowded

Beautiful lakeside camping just outside of Denver. Campsites are a bit close together, but great for groups! No hookups here but you have bathroom facilities and a visitor center where you can buy firewood. Campfires allowed in the fire pits. If you have an RV beware quiet hours from 10pm to 8am, no generators allowed. Lake is perfect for paddleboarding, kayaking and fishing and you will most likely have phone service if you are with AT&T or Verizon. Many day use areas, however vehicles and individuals are charged. For campers, if you bring more than one vehicle you will be charged daily for any additional ones. No drinking water is available, you must bring your own. Dirt roads to the lake are rough and narrow. Close to Deckers for incidentals. Intersects with the Colorado trail for hiking and biking and close to the Colorado River for tubing!

Month of VisitJuly

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Patty F.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 6, 2018

Not bad but needs improvement

We went to get away from all the people with fireworks that scare our dogs. It is a pretty campground and the sites are a reasonable distance apart. However, there is no camp host or anyone to keep an eye on things. The bunch of 20-somethings at the group site near us took full advantage of that. They started blaring their music and hollering at 10 PM and there was no one keeping things in check. The night before I got there they kept my friends awake until 2 AM. Last night, the thunder storms sent them in their tents/trailers about 11 PM, thankfully. Facilities such as garbage bins and bathrooms are not well maintained.

Great hiking trail up to a "waterfall". Lots of opportunity for enjoying water sports. Very dog friendly which is greatly appreciated.

For $35 a night (which to me is expensive for camping), they should offer water available at the campground and better maintained facilities. Waterfront spots are even more expensive. It was worth going to once but I am not sure I'd go back.

Month of VisitAugust

Christina A.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 18, 2018

Beautiful lake camping

This is not a place for a quiet mountain trip. Expect to be very close to your neighbors, have cars driving by and day use for the lake. Otherwise, it’s a great spot. The lake is beautiful, and was enjoyable. No drinking water on site, no showers, restrooms and trash are on site. Price seems high but compared to the cost of day use and camping nearby it’s reasonable. Reserve ahead, gets booked.

Month of VisitJune

Lisa O.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 6, 2018

nice campground with lake and trails

Wellington Lake was nice and clean in early May. the restrooms were well-maintained. They have a trail with waterfalls as well as a large lake.

Eric L.

Guide

Reviewed May. 12, 2018

This is an annual trip for us

One of our favorite campgrounds that has become an annual trip for us the last few years. There are great sites right on the water with plenty of tree shade and privacy. Great for kayaking or SUP. This campground is located a short distance from downtown Denver but makes you feel hours away.

(5) View All