wellington lake / the castle, south platte CO

I have read a couple reports that Wellington Lake is closed indefinitely as of early this year or so. Has anybody been up to the Castle lately? Does the Wellington Lake closure affect the Castle access? My wife is hoping to hump it up that bid old hill and get in a ruckus with a nasty OW, and I was kind of hoping to lather my mustache with some suds while doing some fishing.

Thanks everybody.

kevin S, ben F, others, you out there?

You can park along the road to the lake and go overland. Consult a good map to keep you off private land. Legs and I did that years ago after getting grief from the Lake Wellington guy for asking to pay to park on their property. I then backed the truck up to leave and the guy yelled at us. Huh?

I've not been back there this year but here's an article from the Flume a month ago
theflume.com/main.asp?Searc…

The key part of the article...
"We're not set up [now] to reinstate any kind of public, general access," he said"

not sure if that helps...

A friend of mine climbed up there a few weeks ago, but didn't mention any thing about access... Then again, I didn't ask either.

Haven't climbed up there in years. Camped, climbed and swam/kayaked in the lake. Why did it close? (I would not have camped there again anyway, but swimming in the lake was fun)

from what i read, the NFS or maybe BLM (can't remember) wants to "study" the lake while people aren't using it. not sure what that means.

Yo slim,
I was up there weekend before last. My partner volunteers for the Firewalker camp during the summers and got permission for us to park there. Other than that, I don't see how you could access the cliff reasonably without trespassing private property right now. (But that was my first time there so I could be totally wrong.) The way we went added another mile or so to the normal approach from the campground side.

So give us the lowdown Stich - did you walk around the private property to the East or West?

Either way, that's adding a lot of distance to the original "death march from hell". I'll probably wait til the campground re-opens. Good luck and tell us how it goes...

The mountain just south of the lake "buffalo peak" is public and you can access from there. There aren't any trails but if you go down Stoney Pass road FS560(the road that goes south across the dam) you can pull off after the lake and bushwhack to the castle. Its not a bad hike as long as you don't head uphill above 8400'. The terrain gets kinda steep/gnarly above that point with lots of deadfall.

I wouldn't try fishing though...

Headed out of Bailey there is a spot that is maybe a mile past the Rolling Creek trailhead that you can park and hike up to the ridge to the North of the Castle, then take the ridge South to the Castle. I haven't done the hike, just got the beta from someone who has who pointed out the spot to park..Of course it has been a few years....He told me it was a bit further than the standard approach but not as steep.

I think the Dungeon is going to be baking hot this weekend, so make sure you get an alpine start as the route comes into the sun around 10 or so.

Looked into the situation, and from what I can read in the tea leaves, they are in a board fight over trying to develop the lake into luxury homes. Goodbye pretty lake. I hope the owners will all die a very painful, slow and agonizing death on their way to an eternity spent on the lowest plane of hell. A pox on them and their families. My guess is that within 10 years, most everything on the east side of the divide will be private, with major incursions into what is left of the west side. Enjoy it while it lasts, and show the kids pictures of what we had.

Hey Rowf,
Where did you get this info from re: board members fighting over development?
My contacts which are very close to the situ say this is not the case right now.
Think about it:
Miles from a paved road-surrounded by USFS land- limited winter access at times. Wellington Reservoir Co. watershed is used by many entities downstream i.e City of Brighton, Thornton, others. Also that water flows into the Platte watershed as well.
To have a development built means Heavy road erosion due to construction traffic, threatening water quality in addition to runoff from the completed project. Among other potential problems such as area residents, angry climbers, camper/hikers who are already mad about it closing.
I have camped/climbed in that area for many years and love it very much-A special vibe about it and Lost Creek's Teepee Tower,Wigwam, Sun & Moon etc
For those with any new route info on the Lower formations under the Castle please give me a shout back.
Thanks

none of those really sound like that big of a detractor to keep people from building a subdivision up there. we haven't mad it up there yet, probably will wait until it cools down a bit. thanks for the approach info glenn, brad, and kevin. i will scope that out when we head up there.

Perhaps to you they may not be enough reasons but If you knew the processes as well as I do, the hurdles become numerous. One thing I forgot to add but goes without saying :the real estate market slump.
How many home sites do you see being built right now anywhere in the mountains in general let alone deep in?
Anyway I will not continue this subject here as this site is about climbing etc , not the development debate forum.

Wellington Lake just opened last week for day use and camping:
$ 9 a day.
That means no matter what time you get there they will charge you $9 for each day.
The entry gate is locked at 9 pm each nite so best to get there before then.

It's true! The lake has reopened!! Here's the skinny.... $9 per adult per day. $6 per child per day. They have thinned out he number of campsites on the lake (by about half). fishing licenses are still not required, but fishing is now included in your $9 daily use fee. They no longer have canoes to rent, but you're welcome to bring your own. Also, the camp store is no more, so you're not required to buy their firewood like you used to be. (honor system, yeah yeah, I snuck in my own too).... There's no fire-out by midnight rule any more, keep em burning till the wee hours, you know, so long as you're attending to your embers. Quite time is 10pm til 6 or 8 am can't remember. Lol. Also, dispersed camping along FR 550 is still permitted, thankfully it was exempt from this whole lake fiasco. And if you want to do day use of the lake, it still $9 & $6 respectively. That's about all the info I got when I called up there. For those of you that haven't been following the story, here's what led to the closure.....
theflume.com/main.asp?Secti…

Also, this info is current as of the day I posted it. But feel free to give them peeps at the lake a call and see what the deal may be now. (303) 838-5496

Oh and as always, pack it in, pack it out. Keep Colorado beautiful.

Was up there for a few days past week. Hit the Castle and Baron's Estate plus one we call The Drawbridge but those are for another post.
To clarify.
Campfires out by midnite.
One can find Firewood on your way in there is alot of slash piles from thinning on USFS land.
I never was 'forced' to buy wood from them. Always hiked deep and loaded up.
FR 550 was never involved in any of Wellington Res Co. dealings, It is a USFS road and dispersed camping was never an issue.
The new staff are friendly and helpful, Just keep in mind they are the eyes and ears of the Res. company.
Swimming is allowed now, it had not been previous but not enforced to much since the lake is irrigation purposed.
Sites are good Look the same for the most part. They blew out every other site along the lakeside. Also the Mtn Road sites are gone since they were built haphazardly and not that great to begin with, though close to the Castle trails.
Lake is drawn down right now so there is a huge apron 'beach' around the shoreline. But water level still fine for canoeing swimming etc.
Still the best basecamp for Castle and it's crags !

Clarification about camping/day use fee: it is $9 per PERSON, not per car, as a girl at the entrance told us. My wife and I did not feel like paying $18 and went back to our wilderness campsite............. (For a family of 4, the day use fee would be $36...steep!) I guess they want to discourage big families from coming there..