Poplar River (Lake Superior)

[6] Due to the many lakes located in this largely flat watershed, Poplar, along with its neighbors the Temperance, Cross, and Cascade rivers, has a more stable flow and a warmer average water temperature.

[9] In 1923, another dam was installed to power the nearby township of Lutsen,[10] the only hydropower plant on a North Shore stream.

[5] The lower stretch of the Poplar River serves as a fishery for pink, chinook, and coho salmon in the spring, and rainbow and brook trout in the fall.

[3] In the lower portions, spawning grounds for brook trout are limited by a recent buildup in silt, and warm water temperatures in the summer are stressful on the population.

[3] The populations of warmwater species such as smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish, and bluegill have been increasing in these regions over recent surveys.

[9] However, the Poplar, like neighboring streams with flat uplands and steep, narrow beds near their mouths, is not conducive to log driving.

Rustic campgrounds in the Superior National Forest have no fees, but no drinking water or garbage disposal facilities.