I had a nice time on the paddle. The lake is pretty. It's a cypress stand with plenty of open water and good depth. We saw eagles and ducks, but not real close. Access is by permit or ranger tour only. Here is a YouTube video of the lake if you would like a better idea of the area.
The weather was perfect and the 5 other participants plus 2 rangers were pleasant companions. One couple plus Ranger Ryan expressed interest in the BCCC.
The rangers are set up for a maximum of 12 participants but 6 or 8 is a typical number. Special paddles, even a full moon night paddle, could probably be arranged.
The paddle was scheduled from 1 pm to 3 pm. In reality, the actual paddling is only about 1 hour. It would be a good choice for small children and first time paddlers. The $5 fee includes a tandem canoe although you can bring your own boat..
Because the paddle is short, in the the future I will try to combine 2 activities when I visit the park. I can imagine combining a BCCC Training program on Poplar Lake with a dutch oven demo and an guided tour of Eagle Lake.
I missed the Dutch Oven Biscuit demo today. I heard that the biscuits tasted great and I did get the recipe which I posted
here. The description of the activity follows, but I've seen other Dutch Oven demos announced such as Peach Cobbler.