Spruce Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park
- Date hiked: 07/05/2020
- Hiked from: Fern Lake Trailhead
- Distance hiked: 9.2 Miles RT
- Total elevation gain: 1,670 ft
- Maintained trail: Yes – Travel 3.8 miles on Fern Lake Trail then take a right at the sign indicating Spruce Lake. The trail is marked as unimproved, but is easy to follow. From the trail junction it’s a one mile hike to Spruce Lake.
- Overall Difficulty: 5/10 – Moderate elevation gain.
- Overall Views: 6/10 – The Pool, Fern Falls and Fern Lake are scenic destinations along the trail. An extra 1.5 miles round trip are added to the distance if parking in the shuttle bus overflow lot. The far banks of Spruce Lake are closed due to Boreal Toad conservation efforts.
The hike to Spruce Lake was part of a trio lake hike. We had also hiked to Fern Lake and the less traveled Loomis Lake.
Spruce Lake offers great fishing and back country wilderness camping (permit required). It’s lightly trafficked and you have a good chance of finding a bit of solitude here.
Our Hiking Video – Arriving at Spruce Lake