Colorado, Colorado Hikes, Rocky Mountain National Park, US National Parks

Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Cub Lake

Diana

The Cub Lake trail is one we neglected for nearly four years. It wasn’t intentional. It just never seemed to be at the top of my list. In the summer, I prefer to take advantage of the nice weather and hike in the tundra. In the spring, this trail is a muddy mess. And shortly after I realized this would be a good winter hike, a forest fire burned through the area and the trail was closed for many months.

It has since reopened so, on a sunny day in February, Pat and I made our way down Fern Lake Road to the Cub Lake Trailhead. Initially the road is paved but eventually it turns to dirt. It has some bumps and potholes but should be passable by any car in good weather. We’d gotten a much later start than normal on this particular morning, and with our 10:00am arrival we secured the very last parking spot at the trailhead overflow lot. Thank goodness for our Subaru and its clearance, allowing us to roll up and over the edge of the snowbank and into the lopsided space.

Fern Lake Road is a very scenic drive
Cub Lake Trail

The trail begins in Moraine Park, a large and beautiful meadow. We crossed the Big Thompson River on a bridge and continued across the meadow on a flat trail. This area receives a lot of sun; it was warm and the snow was beginning to melt. After about 0.5 miles (0.8 km), the trail curves 90° to the west and roughly parallels the river as it begins to gradually gain elevation. This area is very marshy.

Moraine Park
Heading west
Hiking along the Big Thompson River (I promise it’s under there somewhere)

Eventually, the trail makes another 90° curve and begins to climb in earnest. The total elevation gain for this hike is 765 feet (233 m), most of which is in this final 0.5 miles (0.8 km). The trail enters the trees – at which point it became much snowier – and zigzags its way up and around a hill to Cub Lake.

Cub Lake is around behind that hill; the trail cuts through the low spot on the left
Why is it that trees always fall at the perfect height where you can’t really go over but you don’t really fit under?

As usual, I assumed that because this was a shorter hike to a lower elevation lake, it would lack the ‘wow’ factor of the higher elevation lakes in Rocky. And, as usual, I was proven wrong. Cub Lake is a lovely destination, even with the remnants of the fire along one shore.

Approaching Cub Lake

The lake was frozen solid; we stepped out onto the ice beneath the backdrop of snow-covered mountains and bright blue skies. I absolutely love walking on frozen alpine lakes (but only when we know it’s safe to do so… in this case, we could see the ice was at least a foot (30 cm) thick). It’s such a fun feeling to walk across the frozen surface, and the patterns in the ice are so neat. In some areas, the ice is clear and you can look down and see air bubbles and other patterns. In the summer, Cub Lake is covered in lilypads. In the winter, the ice freezes around the lilypad stems in circular patterns.

Cub Lake
Ice patterns on Cub Lake
Cub Lake handstand

It was a relatively warm and calm day so we spent about twenty minutes walking across the lake admiring the ice and taking photos. Despite all the cars at the trailhead, there were only two other groups at the lake. Clearly most people either don’t come all the way to Cub Lake or take one of the other trails in the area. I wasn’t complaining. It’s always nice to have some solitude.

I love that we’ve been visiting Rocky for almost four years and there are still new things to see. And I’m glad we finally gave this trail a chance, because we didn’t realize what we were missing.

The Important Stuff

  • Getting there: the Cub Lake hike begins at Cub Lake trailhead off Fern Lake Road; there is limited parking which fills by 8:00am in the summer and 10:00am in the winter. In the summer, consider taking the free park shuttle to the trailhead

  • Fees and passes: there is a $30/car daily or $35/car weekly entrance fee to RMNP; interagency annual passes are accepted. From May-Oct, if you arrive after 5:00am you will also need a timed entry permit to access this trailhead

  • Hiking: if you do this hike as an out-and-back as we did, round trip distance is 5.4 miles (8.7 km) with about 765 feet (235 m) of elevation gain. This trail can also be combined with the Fern Lake Trail to form a loop

  • Other: especially in the winter, pack lots of layers for this hike. The first half of the trail is sunny and exposed. The second half is shady and snowy. It’s windy at the lake. You’ll need a variety of clothes to maintain the proper temperature

For more information, see my posts on visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and winter hiking tips and safety

Published by Diana

Hiking, road-tripping, and handstanding my way around the US (currently) and the world (hopefully in the not-so-distant post-COVID future… if such a thing exists)

44 thoughts on “Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes: Cub Lake”

  1. Pingback: A year in review: 2022 – Handstands Around the World

  8. Great hike as always! I made the trek to Cub Lake two summers ago…and dropped down to The Pool and up to Fern Lake. Long day, long hike but worth it! I really enjoy seeing Cub in winter elements. The ice closeups are amazing. Thank you very much for the post!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it. I haven’t been to Fern in a while (and when I was there, it was pouring rain and I could hardly see it). Sounds like it’s time for a return trip for me.

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  10. Wow, you had really scenic views on this trail! I would be very hesitant to walk (not even to mention making a handstand) on the frozen Club Lake – maybe because I never had the opportunity before to walk on such a lake 😯 … but I must admit, the ice patterns are remarkable!

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    1. It was nervewracking the first time we walked on a frozen lake too, but we can see how thick the ice is (very) so we know it’s safe. Once the ice thins, we won’t walk on it anymore.

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  11. It’s always great to snag the very last parking spot, even if you did have to work for it. This looks like a lovely hike in the winter and I love all the ice formations and patterns on the frozen lake. Nicely done with doing a handstand on the ice! You must have excellent balance!

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    1. If you look really closely you’ll notice that I’m doing a handstand on a patch of snow… it’s too slippery to do it on the ice itself (I would face plant… I learned this the hard way 😂). The snow gives a little bit of traction.

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  12. Doesn’t it feel rather thrilling when you manage to get the last parking spot in a crowded place? Honestly, I find it just as thrilling as the hike itself! Any case, Cub Lake is beautiful in the wintertime; I had no idea that ice patterns could be that complex and gorgeous! I also felt nervous seeing you do the handstand in the middle of the frozen lake, but given you’re more of the expert at hiking, I can assume that you knew that that portion of the lake was thick enough to do so!

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    1. Yes, the ice on these lakes freezes many inches (if not feet) thick. We could see how sturdy it was so we had no problem walking out on it. Once the ice starts to thin in the spring, we stay safely on the shore.

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  16. I loved hikes in the snow and ice fifty years ago, Diana. After living in Florida for many years, I have lost all desire to see snow in person. I did very much enjoy hearing about your adventure and seeing the lovely photos! The handstand was magnificent! ❤

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    1. Ah yes, I could see how snow would be unpleasant now that you’re used to the warm weather. Well, I’ll do my best to show you the snow from afar and you can enjoy it while staying nice and warm 🙂

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  18. It was a joy to join you on this hike to Cub Lake, Diana. Beautiful scenery and a vigorous adventure. Great fun to see the ice patterns and hear about the lily pads… and seeing your handstand on the ice gave me a huge smile. Fantastic!

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  21. Such a beautiful trail, Diana and the frozen ice patterns are so pretty as are the snowy mountain peaks! The frozen lake looks like a perfect place for ice skating! Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva

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