Located high in the Rockies at nearly 10,000 feet, Trout Lake is part of the stunning views around Telluride and Ophir. Now a haven for visitors that crave alpine air and residents that delight in Rocky Mountain living, the Trout Lake area originally supported mining camps and gold ore stamp mills.
   Part of Ophir's history dates back to an area called the war of currents. During the end of the 19th century, Edison's ideas of direct current would face the Westinghouse ideas of power transmission using alternating current. The successes of the Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant near Trout Lake help settle the dispute and set the direction of power distribution in America. Completed in 1891, the country's first alternating current power plant is still in service today, utilizing two Pelton wheels and producing 2400 volts of electricity.
   An original Colorado Rocky mountain body of water, Trout Lake was dammed to provide additional water storage for the Ames Power Plant. This cold water lake lives up to its name, holding catches of rainbow, brook, lake, cutthroat and brown trout. Although Colorado's Blue Mesa Reservoir, Roaring Judy Ponds, Twin Lakes, Morrow Point Reservoir and Upper Cataract Lake hold all the state trout records, Trout Lake may one day hold your record catch.

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