Arch Rocks in Rocky Mountain National Park

Use Rocky Mountain National Park’s Free Shuttle for an Epic Thru-Hike from Bear Lake to the Fern Lake Trailhead

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.

Rocky Mountain National Park Hike to Alpine Lake

Heading Down Odessa Gorge

Family on Rocky Mountain National Park Hike to Alpine Lake

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.

Lake Odessa in Rocky Mountain National Park

Hiking along Mountain Stream from Lake Odessa in Rocky Mountain National Park

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.

Wildfire damage near Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

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.

Helpful Links & Gear:

RMNP Maps

AllTrails.com

Hiking Backpack with Hydration Pack

UV Protection sunglasses

Hike to Arch Rocks and The Pool in Rocky Mountain National Park

The hike to The Pool in Rocky Mountain National Park is one of our favorite early season hikes. It’s lower starting elevation (8,150 ft) typically means there is less snow than other areas of the park.

The hike begins at the Fern Lake trail head. There is a small non-paved parking area. The road is narrow for two-way vehicle traffic. There is shuttle service and some additional parking .8 miles away from the trail head.

On our late-May hike we enjoyed spotting spring wildflowers, a busy humming bird, and a garter snake.

Arch rocks

40 foot vertical rocks called Arch Rocks are a main attraction along the way to The Pool. The rocks are 1.2 miles from the trail head.

big thompson river

Walking along the Big Thompson River is another highlight of this hike.

The Pool

A wooden bridge crosses over the river. This video shows the water gathering and powerfully flowing into the Big Thompson River. The Pool is 1.7 miles from the Fern Lake trail head. If you turn around at this point, the hike is a total of 3.4 miles. On this trip, we chose to turn around at this point.

Love loop hikes? From The Pool you can split off towards Cub Lake and head back around to the Cub Lake trail head. The final section of the hike between the Cub Lake trail head and the Fern Lake trail head is on a connecting road. This loop is 6 miles.

Fern Falls

Another option to continue the hike is to make your way up to Fern Falls. To hike to the waterfall, you will add approximately 1 mile each way. Most of this section is uphill. If you are up for the challenge, the waterfall is worth the effort!

Fantastic Family Hike to Fern Falls

Fern Falls with a Fussy Baby

fern lake

The name sake of this trail is Fern Lake, which is 3.8 miles from the trail head. It has spectacular views of Notch Top mountain.

The Fern Lake trail head is a launching point to many memorable destinations in Rocky Mountain National Park including Arch Rocks, The Pool, Fern Falls and Fern Lake.

on my mind: Ticks in Rocky Mountain National park

Well, it happened! After five years of living tick free, we found several ticks on my daughter during our most recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, Colorado. We were playing in some areas that had tall grass, so it’s not very surprising, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone who is out enjoying the great outdoors to be checking themselves and their kids. Here is some additional information about ticks found in RMNP.

Make your reservations now: Trail Ridge Road is Open

Trail Ridge Road is a scenic highway that connects Estes Park, Colorado to Grand Lake, Colorado. The road is located within Rocky Mountain National Park, so a park pass and time-entry permit are required to travel on this scenic roadway which will take you above tree-line and into the alpine tundra. Trail Ridge Road opened on June 4, 2020. Here is an article from Estes Park News about the annual ribbon cutting celebration.

New! Visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park can obtain a time-entry permit through Recreation.gov.

Memorial Day in Rocky Mountain National Park

We just reserved our cabin for Memorial Day 2020 in Estes Park. Of course in the back of my mind, I’m thinking we might have to cancel it because we don’t know when Rocky Mountain National Park will reopen and the stay-at-home orders to protect us from getting and spreading Covid-19 will be lifted. Here are the official details.

Since the future is looking foggy, I’m going to take a look back at some of our favorite Memorial Day moments of the past 5 years. I’ve included tons of links to hikes we’ve done over Memorial Day weekend plus a list of the top hikes we recommend this time of year in Rocky Mountain National Park.

2015 – Rocky Mountain National Park with a baby

We took our now 5-year-old daughter to Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time. We hiked up Deer Mountain which is a great early season hike. You can read more here. When we weren’t hiking, we were looking at vacation properties and we ended up buying our first Colorado property which was a two bedroom condo at the historic Mary’s Lake Lodge. Since then, we’ve made countless family memories in our home away from home.

You will see new antlers growing on the elk in May

2016 – Rocky Mountain National Park with a Toddler

The next Memorial Day, our baby was a toddler and she could walk short distances on her own. One of our favorite early season short hikes is Sprague Lake. This loop is less than a mile. We wrote, Toddler Self-Guided Tour of Sprague Lake.

For longer hikes, we decided to graduate from our ergo baby carrier to a new kid carrier. We tried it out for the first time up to Gem Lake. We love the views on this hike. We wrote about it in, Riding High in New Kid Carrier.

But what would we do with the old baby carrier? On this trip we found out we were expecting baby #2.

family photos at sprague lake in rocky mountain national park

2017 – Family Adventures in Rocky Mountain national park

So the following Memorial Day we were back in Rocky Mountain National Park with two little girls. A highlight of our trip was spotting a moose in Sprague Lake. I wrote, Moose Spotting Makes for Memorable Morning Hike Around Sprague Lake.

We also visited the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. This is a less crowded area of the park which has beautiful waterfalls and wildflowers. We posted, Family Friendly Waterfall Hike in Wild Basin. Our baby gave it a thumbs up!

memorial day in estes park

In the town of Estes Park, we enjoyed a ride up the Aerial Tramway. May is also a great time of year to enjoy the restaurants and shops in downtown Estes Park. We have a list of our favorite restaurants here.

Our Trip on The Estes Park Aerial Tramway — Estes Park Aerial Tramway

2018 – buying a cabin in estes park, colorado

The following Memorial Day we picked up the keys to our new cabin. We enjoy having a free-standing property so we don’t have to worry quite so much about our noisy little family disturbing other guests. We can’t get enough of the mountain views, sitting by the fireplace, and home cooked meals on the back deck. It’s in the rental pool at Solitude Cabins, you can learn more about renting it here.

On this Memorial Day weekend the weather was warmer, so we were able to go on some wonderful hikes to Fern Falls and Dream Lake.

Snow hike in Rocky Mountain National Park — Hike to Dream Lake in late May with a few patches of slippery snow near the lake

2019 – Epic road trip to new mexico and colorado

Last year we made our way to Rocky Mountain National Park on Memorial Day weekend, but first we went to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I wrote about traveling with kids to Santa Fe here, and here. Our road trip continued with an afternoon at the Great Sand Dunes National Park which is located in southern Colorado. We spent the night in Buena Vista, Colorado (which was gorgeous) before heading up to lunch at a brewery in Boulder, Colorado and finally Estes Park. During our time in Estes, we hiked in the Upper Beaver Meadows and on a snowy stroll around Bear Lake. My husband enjoyed a solo hike on Hermit Park’s Kruger Rock trail.

Snowy hike around Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

best Memorial Day HikES in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, colorado

> Deer Mountain – 6.2 miles roundtrip with great views.
> Sprague Lake – half mile loop with benches, views and wildlife.
> Bear Lake – half mile loop, higher (9,475 feet) elevation could mean snow
> Nymph Lake & Dream Lake – .5 miles to Nymph Lake, 1.1 miles to Dream.
> Gem Lake – 1.6 miles each way. The views on the way up are the highlight.
> The Pool & Fern Falls – 1.7 miles to the Pool and 2.6 miles to Fern Falls.
> Kruger Rock – 2 miles each way. Hermit Park has separate fee from RMNP.
> Copeland Falls & Calypso Cascades – short waterfall hikes in the Wild Basin.
> Upper Beaver Meadows – 1 mile hike in lower (8,437 feet) elevation.

tips for memorial day weekend in rocky mountain national park

> Scenic drives such as Trail Ridge Road are open seasonally based on weather conditions. Trail Ridge Road typically opens the last week of May. You can get up-to-date information by calling (970) 586-1222.
> Pack layers for changing weather. Higher elevations typically get chillier.
> Expect snow, ice, mud…really anything is possible. Waterproof gear and footwear are helpful. We’ve also used trekking poles to help navigate snow covered trails.
> Estes Park hosts an annual art festival on Memorial Day weekend, for more information about events check out visitestespark.com

Fantastic Family Hike to Fern Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park

I can feel the frustration coming out in my writing when I look back at the last time we made it to Fern Falls with a Fussy Baby.

This time around, I hope I can express my delight with this waterfall hike. We ventured out on May 25th, the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. Although the Rocky Mountain National Park filled up with visitors over the holiday, we lucked out with great parking* close to the Fern Falls trailhead.

A highlight of this lower elevation* hike is the nearly constant view of the Big Thompson River. Most of the hike is very child friendly as long as you watch out for little ones wandering too close to the river, or getting too adventurous on the amazing rock formations.

We started the hike with the hopes of making it to Arch Rocks (1.2 miles) or The Pool (1.7 miles) if we were lucky, but the girls were doing so awesome we decided to hike to Fern Falls which is 2.6 miles each way. That’s a little far for our kids to hike on their own, so we carried them a lot of the way in a deuter kids carrier and an ergo baby carrier.

The distance from The Pool to Fern Falls is a little under a mile, but you gain 400 feet of elevation quickly. I was out of breath but had to remind myself that I was carrying a 16-month-old toddler.

The hike up was totally worth it. Everyone was in a great mood and the waterfall was impressive.

Fern Falls lives up to its name, the surrounding area is lush and damp. We didn’t stop long because mosquitoes were swarming the area.

Trip Tips:

*Fern Lake trailhead has a small non-paved parking area. The road leading to the trailhead becomes narrow for two-way vehicle traffic. There is shuttle service and some additional parking .8 miles away from the trailhead.

*Fern Falls trailhead begins at 8,150 ft of elevation so when I say ‘lower elevation’ I mean low compared to many places in RMNP, but high for those of us from non-mountain regions. Remember to take it easy and drink lots of water!