Trout Lake, formerly known as Fish Lake and Soda Butte Lake is a 12 acre (0.04856232 km²) popular backcountry lake for hikers and anglers in Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

. The lake is located approximately 0.33 mile (0.5310822 km) north of the Northeast Entrance Road near the confluence of Pebble Creek and Soda Butte Creek

Soda Butte Creek

Soda Butte Creek is an approximately long major tributary of the Lamar River in Yellowstone National Park. It is named for an unusual geologic feature near its mouth. Soda Butte and the creek were named by A. Bart Henderson, a Cooke City miner, in 1870...

. The lake sits in a depression on a high bench above the Soda Butte Creek canyon. A steep trail through a Douglas Fir forest leads to the lake. The trailhead is located at: 44°53′57"N 110°7′21"W.

Trout Lake is a popular area for viewing river otter.

Angling

Trout Lake has always been popular with anglers for its large (14-20") Cutthroat trout

Cutthroat trout

The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...

 and very large (20-30") Rainbow trout

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

 and Rainbow/Cutthroat Hybrids

Cutbow

A Cutbow is a fertile hybrid between a rainbow trout and a cutthroat trout . While cutbow hybrids may occur naturally, most native populations of rainbows and cutthroats were separated by geography or habitat...

. The lake can be easily fished from the shoreline, but many anglers carry in Float tube

Float tube

A float tube, also known as a belly boat or kick boat, is a flotation device which anglers use to fish from. They were originally doughnut-shaped boats with an underwater seat in the "hole", but modern designs include a V-shape with pontoons on either side and the seat raised above the water...

s to access the deeper parts of the lake. Using a float tube on Yellowstone lakes requires a park service boating permit. The lake opens for fishing in mid June, but a section of the lake near the inlet stream is closed until mid-July to protect spawning Cutthroat trout, . All Cutthroat trout and hybrids caught in Trout Lake must be released.