Wellington Lake — Attraction in Four Corners States

I find it funny most people writing reviews on here have said how awful their experiences with the management team have been. Looks like I'm in the right place.

I've been to many many lakes in the great state of Colorado, mainly to paddleboard. So when I saw pictures of some fellow acquaintances paddle boarding at this lake, I wanted to join in on the fun.

An hour and a half drive into the mountains didn't seem too bad, except when we were met with 11 miles of bumpy dirt road up to the lake... the experience was justified considering how secluded the lake was. When we finally arrived, we noticed the sign "all vehicles must register at the office." No problemo. There were no parking spots by the office, except for an area I assumed would be okay to park in being that I left enough space for the park ranger to park if he/she came back, hinted by the signs.

I had maybe taken 2 steps out of my car when I was met with a condescending "is that your car?" Startled, I said "yes". He replied "you need to move, there are CLEARLY signs saying you cannot park there, move your car to the other side of the office, there are spots." Shell shocked, I hopped back into my car and pulled it around to the other side of the office. Guess what? There were no spots. Considering the attitude I was met with, I thought I would take it upon myself to create my own parking spot once again. But wait, there's more...

Finally, into the office we went. "Hi, I'm here to paddleboard on the lake." Office lady: "Do you have a reservation?" Me: "No." Office lady: "Well you need one, and we currently are sold out for the entire weekend." Me: "Oh I didn't know, I haven't been here before."

She then proceeded to speed mumble through telling me how I definitely can't just park and use the lake without a reservation because it would be a $200 fine. Cool. Me: "So you're saying we have to leave after driving an hour and a half up here?" Her: Hands me a pamphlet about the lake. Me: Trying to find information on this pamphlet about paddle boarding and reservations. Surprise! There isn't any. Her: "If you take an immediate left out of here, there's another 11 mile dirt road that takes you into town."

When I tell you I looked like a kid who dropped their ice cream cone on the pavement, I did. I left the office disheveled and disappointed. I longingly looked out at the lake that had about 4 people on it and wondered "sold out?" I saw more dogs than people on the lake.

Sure, you could argue I could have checked the website before going up there. When I finally received cell service after making it into town, I checked the website. "You don't need a pass, but you can get one, but you also don't need one because we do walk-ups, but you can call to reserve ahead of time, but you don't really have to do that." The Bible makes more sense.

I give 0 starts for the managerial experience. 1 star for the seclusion, 1 star for how nice...

First thing you should know: the dirt road in is both long and incredibly bumpy. Thousands of oversized trucks pulling thousands of oversized trailers, boats, and other machines have absolutely wrecked that road and if you're in anything smaller than a crossover SUV, prepare for an exceedingly slow and uncomfortable ride.

Check in isn't until 2:00pm and they'll charge you an exorbitant day-use fee if you get there early, so the first day was a wash. Check out is at noon, but the store/office doesn't open until 9:00am, so the last day is also a wash. We were only able to spend one night, so we felt like the lake wasn't really for us. This definitely feels like the kind of place rich people want to keep secret from us poor folk.

Site 10 is secluded, which means it's a hike to literally anything, including the bathrooms, trash, lake, and farthest of all, the store. It's also on the side of a hill, which is a pretty dumb place to tell people to pitch their tents; there were two and only two possible places to put your tent. Good luck if you have 3 of them.

The flies bit us ferociously from the moment the sun came up. Bug spray did not phase them, even the 99% DEET stuff I brought. They bite through layers, so your ankles are not as safe as you think they are.

The lake is beautiful. The scenery is stunning and the wildlife was amazing, except for the fish. We tried multiple colors of rooster tails, spoons, and flies, fishing the entire north end of the lake both at night and sunrise. Not one bite. We wanted to ask advice from the store, but by the time they were open, we had to pack up.

Last thought: this entire area is heavily patrolled. What I mean is that everything is clean, almost to an unnatural point. I couldn't even find a suitable stick on the ground to make a marshmallow stick out of. There is simply no deadwood anywhere near the camps. This was weird, to say the least.

I have conflicting feelings about Wellington Lake. It's beautiful and quite close to Denver, but it feels like a place made for rich people, by rich people. It's nitpicky, but...

A good friend and I went to Wellington Lake last fall. The 5 miles of dirt road - approaching the lake - were really rough (i.e. severe washboard). Just FYI. Perhaps they've fixed the road by now.

The front desk was a-ok. We were approached at the campsite - via an employee on a golf cart - when we backed our kayaks into the water - and we we're told to use the boat ramp. No problem.

At the boat ramp, we were approached by another employee - on a golf cart - and scolded for using the beach area - next to the boat ramp - to load our kayaks. We couldn't tell the difference between the boat ramps and the beach area. True story.

As we were leaving the next day, we turned around - at the end of the lake - and off to the side - to grab a sandwich. We were approached again - by the same employee on a golf cart - and were told to "keep moving" and that there was no designated parking area. The sign stated "event parking area" (or similar). We dropped our sandwiches and headed out. Indeed, there were "keep off" signs EVERYWHERE along the road.

Perhaps the staff was worn down from the busy tourist season. My friend and I are both 60+ years old and have been around this great country - with nothing near the rudeness shown by the staff at Wellington Lake.

Perhaps, they'll take a look at their customer service, but thought you would like to know in the meantime. We would skip it for sure. Too many other beautiful places to go in Colorado -...