Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake

I understand why this place has had so many negative reviews lately. We have been coming here for years, and it used to be the place to be, but it's clear that isn't the case any longer. When we first made our booking, we asked about why there were so many negative reviews, and their excuse was because of the "Seasonal Park Rangers." It's clear it's not just that. The first day we got there, it was ok. I had accidentally left the door open to the office, and Curtis had an attitude about it and told us to close it even though it was an accident. The attitude absolutely wasn't necessary. It's wasn't a very nice welcome after being on the property for less than 3 minutes. We checked in and got to our camp site and set up camp. The roads have continued to get worse and worse year over year clearly, with little to no maintenance. The camp had a fair amount of trash that we picked up and threw away, but it was shocking to see none the less. The fire pit was cleaned out well and empty, ready to use. The bathrooms weren't very well maintained, but to be fair, they never have been. The second day, we had the pleasure of waking up at 8 am. to construction equipment moving tiny piles of snow around. If I wanted to hear construction equipment, I would have stayed home. No one goes camping to listen to that crap. That day was rather windy, and we had to put away some of our stuff to prevent any damage from occurring. Later that afternoon, the wind started to die down and nearly completely dissipated. We were met by one of the "seasonal park rangers," and we're told there was a red flag warning in effect, and we couldn't have a campfire. Another really frustrating thing to hear when we were excited to have a campfire when it was no longer windy.... He told us we could check in with the facility manager in an hour or so to see if the fire ban had been lifted due to the lack of wind. An hour and half later, with absolutely no wind, we headed over to talk to him. We walked up to the door, and Curtis came out obviously annoyed we were even there. It was quite clear we were bothering him with just our presence. We told him the other ranger told us to come talk to him for updates on the fireban. He stated that they're seasonal rangers, and they don't always know what their talking about. Shouldn't you, Curtis, as the facility manager, train your rangers appropriately? What a joke of an excuse. We asked since it had been an hour and a half with no wind if we could have a fire. He said no as they had received a report saying there would be wind gusts through the night. We asked to see the report, and his attitude grew drastically just at the simple question as we never received any report stating similar facts from the national weather service. We asked if he would be giving a refund for the night due to not only the ridiculous fire ban but the obnoxiously loud and disruptive construction equipment at 8 in the morning. He shook his head and gave us a half-hearted apology, once again, with attitude. I understand if the wind was consistent with how it was during the day. But there had literally been no wind for hours. In fact, the next big gust of wind didn't come till 4:30 in the morning. Not to mention, another camper around the corner from us had a wood camp fire, and Curtis was nowhere in sight to play Paw Patrol and enforce his ridiculous rules. We're adults. We have common sense to not have a fire if it's actually windy and dry. Not to mention, they had over 3 feet of snow just two weeks ago, so everything was muddy and saturated. I understand some people don't have common sense, but this was absolutely ridiculous. Curtis was rude and unprofessional not only once but on two occasions. For having the job title Facility Manager, I'm absolutely shocked at how we were treated. Curtis will be to blame for this place losing money if he continues his employment with Wellington. If you hate your job and the people so much, leave. As I've stated, this place used to be the place to come, but that's no longer the situation. The reviews are true and unfortunate. We left the campsite cleaner than we found it, other than the charcol left in the fire pit from our fire on the first night. Do better, Curtis, do better Wellington, this was ungodly unfortunate and disappointing. Stay away from this place if you want to remotely enjoy your camping experience. In addition, their prices are absolutely insane for what they offer and how they care for their property.

I understand why this place has had so many negative reviews lately. This used to be the place to come, but no more. When we first made our booking, we asked about why there were so many negative reviews, and their excuse was because of the "Seasonal Park Rangers." It's clear it's not just that. The first day we got there, it was ok. I had accidentally left the door open to the office, and Curtis had an attitude about it and told us to close it even though it was an accident. The attitude absolutely wasn't necessary. It's wasn't a very nice welcome after being on the property for less than 3 minutes. We checked in and got to our camp site and set up camp. The roads have continued to get worse and worse year over year clearly, with little to no maintenance. The camp had a fair amount of trash that we picked up and threw away, but it was shocking to see none the less. The fire pit was cleaned out well and empty, ready to use. The bathrooms weren't very well maintained, but to be fair, they never have been. The second day, we had the pleasure of waking up at 8 am. to construction equipment moving tiny piles of snow around. If I wanted to hear construction equipment, I would have stayed home. No one goes camping to listen to that crap. That day was rather windy, and we had to put away some of our stuff to prevent any damage from occurring. Later that afternoon, the wind started to die down and nearly completely dissipated. We were met by one of the "seasonal park rangers," and we're told there was a red flag warning in effect, and we couldn't have a campfire. Another really frustrating thing to hear when we were excited to have a campfire when it was no longer windy.... He told us we could check in with the facility manager in an hour or so to see if the fire ban had been lifted due to the lack of wind. An hour and half later, with absolutely no wind, we headed over to talk to him. We walked up to the door, and Curtis came out obviously annoyed we were even there. It was quite clear we were bothering him with just our presence. We told him the other ranger told us to come talk to him for updates on the fireban. He stated that they're seasonal rangers, and they don't always know what their talking about. Shouldn't you, Curtis, as the facility manager, train your rangers appropriately? What a joke of an excuse. We asked since it had been an hour and a half with no wind if we could have a fire. He said no as they had received a report saying there would be wind gusts through the night. We asked to see the report, and his attitude grew drastically just at the simple question as we never received any report stating similar facts from the national weather service. We asked if he would be giving a refund for the night due to not only the ridiculous fire ban but the obnoxiously loud and disruptive construction equipment at 8 in the morning. He shook his head and gave us a half-hearted apology, once again, with attitude. I understand if the wind was consistent with how it was during the day. But there had literally been no wind for hours. In fact, the next big gust of wind didn't come till 4:30 in the morning. Not to mention, another camper around the corner from us had a wood camp fire, and Curtis was nowhere in sight to play Paw Patrol and enforce his ridiculous rules. We're adults. We have common sense to not have a fire if it's actually windy and dry. Not to mention, they had over 3 feet of snow just two weeks ago, so everything was muddy and saturated. I understand some people don't have common sense, but this was absolutely ridiculous. Curtis was rude and unprofessional not only once but on two occasions. For having the job title Facility Manager, I'm absolutely shocked at how we were treated. Curtis will be to blame for this place losing money if he continues his employment with Wellington. If you hate your job and the people so much, leave. Stay away from this place if you want to remotely enjoy your camping experience. In addition, their prices are absolutely insane for what they offer and how they care for their property.

$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. :(