Did you know that Rocky Mountain National Park runs a free shuttle service to many of its most popular destinations from May 23 to October 19? Last summer, our family decided to use the shuttle to hike from Bear Lake to the Fern Lake Trailhead (9.2 miles), and we hopped on the shuttle to ride back up.
Rocky Mountain National Park Shuttles
The Bear Lake Route includes stops at Park & Ride, Bierstadt Lake Trailhead, Glacier Gorge Trailhead, and Bear Lake. You can expect buses to arrive every 10-15 minutes from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm.
The Moraine Park Shuttle Route includes stops at Park & Ride, Sprague Lake/Glacier Creek Stables, Glacier Basin Campground, Hollowell Park, Tuxedo Park, Moraine Park Campground, Cub Lake Trailhead, and Fern Lake Bus Stop. Buses run every 60 minutes.
For this route, we parked our vehicle at the Park & Ride lot, hopped on the Bear Lake Shuttle and got off at Bear Lake to begin this hike. At the end, we walked from the Fern Lake Trailhead to the Fern Lake Bus stop and took the Moraine Park Shuttle back to Park & Ride. You can find maps and more information here.
Bear Lake
Bear Lake is an iconic and popular destination. The elevation at Bear Lake is 9,475 ft. Although the Bear Lake area is very busy, this route down to Lake Odessa can be much more peaceful.
We veered off the Bear Lake loop trail towards the Flattop Mountain and Odessa Lake trail. This part of the trail gains elevation. We followed the signs towards Odessa Lake.
We hiked on July 13th. Our daughters were happy to see a few spots of snow to slip around on, but mostly the trails were cleared of winter snow. The National Park website warns, ‘This trail often has treacherous snow fields into late-June and early July. Ask a Ranger about trail conditions before committing to this hike.’ There are ranger stations at the park entrances as well as at Bear Lake.
With the snowmelt, we encountered pesky mosquitoes on this section of the trail.
Two Rivers Lake and Lake Helene
Rockymountainhikingtrails.com describes this somewhat confusing section of the trail, ‘Roughly 3.2 miles from the trailhead hikers will arrive at an unmarked side trail that leads to Lake Helene on your left. Immediately past this junction the main trail makes a sharp turn to the right, and begins descending rapidly. If you’ve reached this point you’ve obviously gone too far. It’s unclear why the national park doesn’t have a trail marker here, but Lake Helene should not be passed. If anything, this is a great place to take a short break.’
We decided to take their advice by adding Lake Helene on as a short snack break spot.
Heading Down Odessa Gorge
Lake Odessa
This is the first time we hiked to Lake Odessa. We loved the wildflowers along the trail leading up to it, the wooden bridge we crossed on the way, and the clear waters of this alpine lake. It was a serene, magical spot.
At this point, we could turn back up toward Bear Lake, and the hike would have been 8.8 miles round-trip. We decided to continue down toward Fern Lake.
Fern Lake
I’m posting this picture of the ‘Privy’ or outdoor basic toilet we found near Fern Lake because if you’ve ever hiked with kids, you know it is always helpful to know where to go.
Damage from East Troublesome Fire
Around Fern Lake, there is visible damage from the 2020 wildfires. We enjoyed the beautiful wildflowers that flourish in the burn area; however, this part of the trail felt very hot from the lack of shade.
Fern Falls
I love Fern Falls, you can feel the cool mist as the water pours down the mountainside. It’s such a welcome feeling!
The Pool
The Pool felt like the (almost) finish line. From here, we had 1.7 miles to the trailhead. One additional feature to look forward to on the way is Arch Rocks.
Once we got to the Fern Lake trailhead, we had to walk along the road for nearly a mile to the Fern Lake bus stop and wait for 30-50 minutes for the shuttle. A year later, I can’t remember exactly how long we waited, but it felt like a long time! We were hot, dusty, and exhausted at this point.
Overall, this hike was a wonderful way to see Bear Lake, Lake Helene, Lake Odessa, Fern Lake, Fern Falls, The Pool, Arch Rocks, and more in 9.2+ (mostly) downhill miles.
What’s your favorite hike in Rocky Mountain National Park? Please post in the comments about the hikes we should try this summer.
rocky mountain tot 