Bellaire Lake, CO

We have camped a few times at Bellaire Lake in the
Colorado Rocky Mountains.  To get there, you must drive through miles of beetle-killed pine forests and areas ravaged by the High Park Fire of 2012.  Along the drive, I was concerned how the area would look after passing such tortured landscapes.  Luckily, Bellaire Lake is a mostly untouched haven in the mountains near the unincorporated town of Red Feather Lakes.  The lake is small but lovely and a favorite of local fishers.  The site has excellent rock formations and a short trail that leads around the lake and diverges to get a closer look at some wild flowers.    We generally end up there in midsummer.  The campsites and trails still produce many blossoms though areas just a little lower in elevation are spent and waiting the end of summer.

Columbines, the Colorado state flower, abound in the low lying areas under the limbs of Douglas fir and limber pine.  The occasional beetle-killed pine does not detract from the  whimsical flowers below.  I saw columbines of many colors.  Creamy yellow dominated but there were pinks, lavenders and blues.  Penstemons and lupines attract hummingbirds and butterflies.  Yellow wallflowers brighten up the shady forest floor.


Saprophytic pine drops were very common on the trail

down to the lake from most of the camp sites.  I had never seen such a concentration of them!  Lichens of various colors and textures.  The most dramatic are neon green, smooth patches and the nearly black colonies that are very rough and chunky in texture. The recent, unseasonal rain we had just experienced even brought out a few mushrooms.  Puffball mushrooms are just silly.


I am looking forward to another season of hiking and camping in the Colorado mountains, searching for all the beauties Nature kindly provides (and hoping she provides more moisture and less fires this year).