Spanish Lake (Ascension Parish)
Spanish Lake is located in the Bluff Swamp on the Iberville - Ascension Parish line. It is fed into by Alligator Bayou, Brand Bayou, Bayou Braud, and Bayou Paul. Spanish Lake is a part of the Bluff Swamp Wildlife Refuge and Botanical Gardens, a national non-profit organization which has preserved of Bluff Swamp.
Spanish Lake/Alligator Bayou was the former home of Miss Earline's Alligator Hilton. The rustic bar was located about 10 miles South of LSU and was a favorite meeting place for Sunday afternoons/nights. Miss Earline would make a jambalaya out of chicken and whatever varmints were dragged out of the swamp that morning. Other times she would serve her homemade spaghetti. Miss Earline would proudly show the loaded 12 gauge she had behind the bar to keep the peace, and the walls of the bar were covered floor-to-ceiling with the dollar bills of past patrons. The Alligator Hilton was an essential piece of the LSU experience in the 1980s/early 90s.
