Fern Lake Trail

Fern Lake is the longer, quieter alternative to the Bear Lake corridor: 3.8 miles up the Big Thompson from the end of the Fern Lake Road in Moraine Park, past The Pool and Fern Falls, to a subalpine lake at 9,530 feet under Notchtop and the Little Matterhorn. The grade is easy for the first 2 miles and steady after, the round trip is 7.8 miles, and the crowd thins past the falls.

From the Fern Lake trailhead, the trail follows the Big Thompson River upstream through a canyon of boulders and fir, nearly level, past the Arch Rocks at about 1.2 miles to The Pool at 1.7 miles, where the river churns through a rock chute below a footbridge. This is the family turnaround.

Across the bridge the trail climbs more steadily through forest burned in the 2020 East Troublesome Fire and earlier fires, with the regrowth coming in, to Fern Falls at 2.7 miles, a 60-foot cascade beside the trail. The last mile switchbacks up to Fern Lake and the backcountry patrol cabin at its outlet, with the peaks of the Divide across the water. Odessa Lake is another mile and 500 feet up for a longer day, and the trail continues to Bear Lake for a point-to-point using the shuttle. Return the same way.

The Fern Lake trailhead is at the end of Fern Lake Road in Moraine Park, off Bear Lake Road: turn onto Moraine Park Campground Road 1.3 miles up Bear Lake Road and follow the signs. The lot is small and fills early. The free park shuttle's Moraine Park route does not drive all the way in; it stops at the Fern Lake bus stop just under a mile short of the trailhead, so riders walk the last stretch of road, and the last bus leaves that stop at 7:30 PM. The Bear Lake corridor timed-entry permit and the park entrance fee apply. Toilets at the trailhead.

No dogs anywhere on park trails. The walk to The Pool is flat and fine for kids; the full trip to the lake is why the listing is for older ones. Carry two liters and a filter for the lake. The burn scar has standing dead trees that fall in wind; do not linger under them. Camping at Fern Lake is at designated backcountry sites with a permit from the park. Estes Park is 20 minutes away. The RMNP region page has the permit details, and Cub Lake shares the Moraine Park trailheads for a loop.