Colorado trails · Fern Creek Trail
Fern Creek Trail
A 13.4-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 2,733 ft of climbing, topping out at 12,008 ft. Reaches Little Ruby Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by USFS Divide Ranger District.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 48% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 4.5. It gives back about 3,687 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Little Ruby Lake (lake)
- Wee Ruby Reservoir (lake)
- Fuchs Reservoir (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
Fern Creek Trailhead # 815. About 2 h 40 min drive (90 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Gunnison. 37.73816, -107.10132 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:49 a.m., the sun rises at 7:15 a.m. and sets at 6:32 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:59 p.m. (MDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 26.9-mile round trip works out to roughly 12 h 42 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Ivy Creek Trail — 6.8 mi
- Ute Creek Trail — 13.3 mi
- Middle Fork Trail — 15.7 mi
- West Fork Trail — 21.7 mi