Fern Falls
| Trail Features: | Waterfalls, Fall Aspens, Wildflowers |  |
|||
| Trail Location: | Fern Lake Trailhead | ||||
| Roundtrip Length: | 5.2 Miles | ||||
| Trailhead Elevation: | 8165 Feet | ||||
| Total Elevation Gain: | 700 Feet | ||||
| Avg. Elev Gain / Mile: | 269 Feet | ||||
| Highest Elevation: | 8850 Feet | ||||
| Trail Difficulty Rating: | 6.60 (moderate) | ||||
| Parking Lot Latitude | 40.35483 | ||||
| Parking Lot Longitude | -105.63109 | ||||
Trail Description:
The hike to Fern Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park begins from the Moraine Park area. To reach the trailhead from Bear Lake Road, follow Moraine Park Road for a half-mile to an unmarked junction, just before reaching the Moraine Park Campground. Turn left at the junction and drive roughly 1.9 miles to the Fern Lake Trailhead. Along the way you'll pass the Fern Lake shuttle stop. You will have the option of taking the free hiker shuttle from the Moraine Park Visitor Center, but you'll have to walk an additional eight-tenths of mile along the dirt road to reach the trailhead.
The Fern Lake Trail follows the Big Thompson River all the way to The Pool, and alternates between forest and a few open areas that provide some pretty good views of the Big Thompson Valley. Along the way you'll pass through a mixed forest of aspens, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, cottonwoods and willows, as well as a variety of wildflowers in the spring and summer.
This trail was mostly constructed and maintained by lodge keepers and local tourism boosters in the early 1900s. As a result of its roll in early park tourism, the Fern Lake Trail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Roughly 1.2 miles from the trailhead hikers will pass through Arch Rocks, a couple of house-sized rocks that presumably landed on this spot when a large boulder fell from the cliffs above and split apart.
At 1.7 miles you'll arrive at the Cub Lake Trail junction. This also marks the spot where Fern Creek meets the Big Thompson River. This confluence forms the turbulent waters known as The Pool, and is a popular area for picnics and fishing. Many hikers will combine the Fern Lake Trail with the Cub Lake Trail to create a relatively easy loop hike.
Located near The Pool is the former site of the Forest Inn. Established in 1917, the Forest Inn featured a lodge, dining room, lounge and several cabins throughout its lifespan. The resort was sold to the National Park Service in 1952, and was razed in 1959.
Much of the area around The Pool was scorched during the Fern Lake Fire in the fall of 2012. The wildfire burned 3500 acres in the lower Forest Canyon, Cub Lake and Moraine Park areas. It's believed it was sparked by an illegal campfire on October 9th. Although it was a low intensity fire, and for the most part remained under control, it still forced the closure of most trails in the Moraine Park and Bear Lake Road areas for several weeks. That all changed on November 30th when a fierce wind storm brought 70 mph gusts that pushed the fire 3 miles in only 35 minutes, and more than doubled its size as it raced across Moraine Park. At its peak more than 600 fire fighters fought the blaze. The fire was all but fully extinguished when heavy snow arrived in mid-December.
Roughly two-tenths of a mile beyond The Pool is the side trail that leads to the Old Forest Inn Backcountry Campsite, which contains two individual sites. Just past the campsite the trail begins a relentless climb of almost 400 feet over the course of the next seven-tenths of a mile. During this stretch you'll begin passing through areas that were severly burned during the East Troublesome Fire of 2020. This historic fire scorched nearly 29,000 acres within the park boundaries, making it the largest wildfire in Rocky Mountain National Park history.
At roughly 2.6 miles from the trailhead hikers will finally reach Fern Falls, a beautiful 60-foot waterfall that plunges down Fern Creek in multiple tiers.
From this point hikers will have the option of continuing along the same trail for another 1.2 miles (while ascending another 650 feet) to visit Fern Lake.
