The Twin Lakes are located on Highway 82, approximately 20 miles south of Leadville. This area offers a wide range of attractions, including fishing, boating, camping and scenic driving.
The Twin Lakes are natural, glacially formed lakes which have been enlarged to provide additional storage for the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. Water is brought from the Fryingpan River drainage on the western slopes of the Continental Divide to Turquoise Lake and then piped by conduit to the forebay north of Twin Lakes. Additional water is diverted from Grizzly Reservoir (on the Western Slope) to Lake Creek via the Twin Lakes Irrigation Tunnel. Water is then cycled through the power plant for production of electric power.
Surrounding the lakes a, are two historical areas, Twin Lake Village and Interlaken. Twin Lakes Village is located two miles west of the lakes. Prospectors first settled in this area in 1865, naming it Dayton. Then in 1879, a combination of events brought new life to the area. Silver had been discovered in Leadville and Aspen, and the need for a route between the two districts became urgent. Lake Creek Valley (Twin Lakes Village) was the most logical route. At the same time, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad completed its rails into Leadville, with stops at Granite and the Twin Lakes Station, allowing visitors to discover the beauty of the Lake Creek Valley.
By 1885 tourism was thriving. Interlaken, a famous resort on the southern shore of the lower lake, was in full operation, catering to the rich and famous. James V. Dexter, a Denver-Leadville mining magnate, who had purchased the original hotel on the lakeshore, along with 2,000 acres of prime real estate, owned it. The area became a favorite boating, fishing and hunting area. People came from all over to experience the beauty and splendor of the Lake Creek Valley. Today, hikers and history buffs can visit the historic Interlaken by following the Colorado Trail along the south side of the lake, beginning at the dam.
There are five Forest Service Campgrounds in the Twin Lakes area: Dexter, Lakeview, Parry Peak, Twin Peaks and White Star. Campsites at Dexter, Parry Peak and Twin Peaks Campgrounds are first come, first serve. Lakeview and White Star Campgrounds have a combination of first come-first serve sites as well as sites by reservation. Reservations for individual sites are available at White Star and Lakeview Campgrounds as well as group site reservations at Lakeview Campground. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-280-CAMP. Around the lakes, camping is permitted only in campgrounds. Each campground has a manager to assist you with your needs. All campgrounds are equipped with drinking water, toilets, picnic tables, fire rings and trash collection. A RV dump station is available near White Star Campground.
Turquoise Lake was named for the semi-precious stone that was mined in the surrounding area. Most of the mining activity took place in the 1930's when two Navaho Indians discovered nearly a thousand pounds of rough material in the area. The turquoise was found in veins and in nodule form at the Turquoise Chief Mine and Poor Boy Lode. Today, much of the area outside the lake is privately owned, so please be respectful of their rights.
Turquoise Lake Reservoir is located 4 miles west of Leadville. At 10,000 feet, the weather can vary tremendously. Summer temperatures range from 30 degrees nighttime to an occasional 80 degree day. The average daytime temperature is 65 degrees. Weather can change quickly, a hot day can turn to a drenching downpour in a matter of minutes!
Turquoise Lake plays an important part in the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. Authorized in 1962, the project consisted of the expansion of the original diversion of the Fryingpan River through the old Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel after the abandonment of the Colorado Midland Railroad. The project provides water to the residents east of the Rockies and power to all of Colorado, as the water is pumped through the Mount Elbert Power Plant at Twin Lakes.
When the project was expanded, an additional tunnel, the Charles Boustead Tunnel brought water to be stored behind Sugar Loaf Dam from the western slope. From Turquoise Lake, the water travels through a conduit to the Twin Lakes Forebay. The Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel, which was used by the Colorado Midland Railroad, was renamed the Carlton Tunnel when it was opened to auto traffic in 1922. In the 1940's, the tunnel caved in, but the bore was reopened to repair the flume for the water diversion project.
"When the Fryingpan-Arkansas project was undertaken, Turquoise Lake was enlarged to a capacity of seventy thousand acre feet in order to store the water coming in" (Simmons 296). Today the expanded Turquoise Lake serves as one of the most popular recreation areas in Lake County.