A man paddles a kayak to the north end of Long Lake, nearly a mile from the launch. Once upon a time, this area was part of the Bonnet Slough, which began about 3.5 miles north, flowed through the park and then ended less than a half mile south of the park. At some point, the lake area was cut off from the slough, perhaps as the neighboring lands were developed. During the 1940s, it's believed that Hugh Taylor Birch himself had it dredged and over time it filled with watercreating this cool little lake, a remant of the old slough that once flowed through here. Over the decades, keeping the lake clean from the effects of stormwater runoff and encroaching invasive plants has been a major priority for park staff. In a comments section of the most recent management plan for Hugh Taylor Birch State Park (August 2020), a neighboring property owner noted how he had started seeing more and more wildlife in the vicinity of the lake.
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