The Falls at Wellington Lake

For our first close-in camping trip of the year, we decided to stay the night at Wellington Lake. It's about 20 minutes outside of Bailey (or less, depending on the washboards), and a very nice wooded drive in. The Lake is first-come-first-serve camping, and they charge per person for day or overnight access (it's all the same price). The lake is nice, although a bit barren looking upon first entering the area; however, the campsites range from lake-view sites (they told me at the front desk that these fill up by Thursday on most summer weekends, so get there early), to some nice large and secluded forest spots. We didn't have our canoe, and so happily opted for the second choice. It was very secluded and quiet--a great spot.

Wellington Lake Falls, from Above

Anyhow, in the morning we woke up at 8-ish and had a little breakfast, and took the advice we'd received from the lady at check-in to do the Waterfall hike. Although not overly strenuous, it's a gorgeous little walk. The trail begins in a very green and flowery meadow, and  quickly is covered in dense wet forest. It's magical feeling, really, almost like a trail in Oregon or like something out of a Grimm story. The hike heads up the hill, and branches off to the longer Castle trail hike, which we didn't take this time, but rather went to the falls and hiked next to them for another half mile or so. There are some gorgeous cave-like structures under some of the falls, and the views of the lake and hills beyond from the boulders above are quite nice.

On the way out, we stopped in at the Cutthroat Cafe for a more proper breakfast. I believe I had the breakfast burrito, which is about my favorite thing after a nice hike. Overall, it was a fantastic day.

To get there: Heading South on 285, take a left immediately at the bottom of Crow Hill (right before you get into Downtown Bailey) and head take the road that follows the Platte out of two for 11 miles.