Cub Lake and The Pool Loop

The walk starts at the Cub Lake Trailhead on Fern Lake Road, at the west end of Moraine Park; the lot is small, but the Moraine Park shuttle stops here. The trail crosses the edge of the meadows and climbs to Cub Lake, covered in yellow pond lilies in summer, then goes over a low rise and down to The Pool, where a bridge crosses the Big Thompson River. The Fern Lake Trail leads back beside the river, past Arch Rocks, to the Fern Lake Trailhead, and a short walk down Fern Lake Road returns you to the start. Parts of the loop pass through forest burned in the 2012 Fern Lake Fire.

The loop is 6.1 miles (9.8 km) with 620 feet (190 m) of climbing; allow about 3 hours. The grade is Easy: a fair distance, but on good trails with only gentle climbs.

During the elk rut, September 1 to October 31, the Moraine Park meadows are closed to off-trail walking from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m.; keep well back from elk, as bulls can be aggressive. Summer thunderstorms are common, so head back if storms are building. Moraine Park is in the Bear Lake Road corridor: from May 22 to October 18, 2026, a Timed Entry+ Bear Lake Road reservation is needed to drive in between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.