Fern Lake

Hiking Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Best-Estes Park Henkes provides detail on 20 walks near Estes Park, from brief and scenic walks to demanding adventure, from the 11,428-foot peak of Twin Sisters Peak. Hiking trails description: Hiking to Fern Lake begins in Moraine Park. From Bear Lake Road, take Moraine Park Road for half a no-marked intersection just before arriving at Moraine Park Campground.

At the intersection, turn off to your right and continue for about 1.9 nautical mile until Fern Lake trail head. On the way you will come past the Fern Lake stop. From the Moraine Park Visitor Center you can take the free hiking shuttles, but you still have to run eight tenth of a mil on the track to get to the track.

Fern Lake follows the Big Thompson River to the pool and changes between woods and some open spaces overlooking the Big Thompson Valley. In the early 1900s, this path was largely laid out and cultivated by hut owners and regional tourist promoters.

Because of its role in early parkland travel, the Fern Lake Trail was included in the 2005 National Register of Historic Places. About 1. 2 mile from the trail head walkers will go through a few house-sized boulders, which probably ended up at this point when a large rock crumbled off the crags.

After 1.7 mile you will arrive at the Cub Lake Trail intersection. It is also the point where Fern Creek encounters the Big Thompson River. In 1952, the residence was purchased by the National Park Service and demolished in 1959. A large part of the area around the pool was burned during Fern Lake Fire in autumn 2012.

Burning 3500 mornings in the lower parts of Forest Canyon, Cub Lake and Moraine Park, the forest fire made it the biggest forest fire in the world. Though it was a low level fire and for the most part stayed under containment, it still compelled the closing of almost all roads in the Moraine Park and Bear Lake Road areas for several wards.

The situation was different on November 30 th, when a violent breeze of 70 meters per hour caused the fire to reach 3 leagues in only 35 mins. It more than doubles its height as it races through Moraine Park. Approximately two tenth of a kilometer behind the pool is the branch leading to the Old Forest Inn Backcountry Campsite, which contains two separate pitches.

Immediately behind the campground, the path begins a merciless ascent of almost 400 ft over the next seven tenth miles to get to the Fern Falls station, a gorgeous 60-foot falls that drops down Fern Creek. The path continues its ascent from the falls and climbs another 650m.

Approximately 3.7 leagues from the trails, you will arrive at the turnoff to the Spruce Lake Track. It is a nice lake that can be accessed by a hike of eight tens of thousands of kilometres along a rather jagged path. Fern Lake Private Campground (four separate campsites) is also situated on this path, about a 10th of a mile from the intersection.

During 2003, two campervans in two separated marquees were bitten and scratched by a wild boar on this campsite. On both occasions, the bears were attacking camper vultures from outside their tent while they were asleep. Last raid of bears, in or around the grounds, took place in 1971, when a man was murdered while tented on privately owned land just outside Grand Lake.

Far Lake is only a 10th of a mile away from this intersection. Shortly before you reach the shoreline you will cross the Fern Lake Patrol cabins. Straight behind the lodge, about 3. 8 mils from the trailerhead, walkers eventually reach Lake Fern. On the northern shores of the lake, there are magnificent vistas of 12,129-foot Notchtop Mountain, 11,586-foot Little Matterhorn, 12,331-foot Knobtop Mountain and 11,018-foot The Gable.

In my view, however, the view from the eastern side of the lake is much better. It takes a 1/4 mil on foot and an ascent of about 50 ft along the path to get to the beautiful area. From this viewpoint, Stones Peak, 12,922 ft high, stands prominent behind the lake.

During the early 1900s, Dr William J. Workman began construction of a fisherman's cottage on the shore of the lake. The result was the Fern Lake Resort, which was to comprise a dinning room, a dorm and block huts for up to 55 in all. The National Park Service demolished the site in 1976 and restored it to its original state.