Fern Lake — Hotel in Estes Park

Beautiful lake here, I believe Hallett Peak is set behind the lake if you're viewing from the northern shore (where the trail comes up from the direction of the trailhead). Looks to be a popular spot to fish, as well, and certainly less traveled than the trails between Bear, Nymph, Dream, and Emerald Lakes.

Unfortunately, as our kids were too pooped at the end of this climb, we didn't make it to Odessa or Spruce Lakes - that would've added another 3.5 miles or so to our hike, and the nearly 8 we did from the trail to this point and...

Starting from Fern Lake Trailhead, this is a medium difficulty trail with a consistent climb to Fern Lake. I also hiked to Spruce Lake which added 1.5 miles. Round trip, this was a 9.5 mile hike with an elevation gain of 1,800 feet. Not a very technical trail and should be manageable for most people. If you are looking for an easier hike, you can just hike to Fern Falls. Turning around at the falls cuts the total hike down to around 4 miles and requires much less of an elevation gain as most of the ascent takes place in the...

It may not be the most impressive mountain lake you’ll see in RMNP, but I enjoyed that the hike and time at this lake was calmer and had much less traffic than many of the cliche hikes in the park. The lake is surrounded by trees and craggy mountains are close to give some awesome lake...