Bill Murray of the Wildlands Conservancy welcomed attendees to a sunset paddle at Mauch Chunk Lake Thursday with a goal in mind.

“I’ll tell you briefly what we are going to do: have a lot of fun,” he said.

The event, presented by the Wildlands Conservancy and the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation’s Women in Business Committee, brought just under a dozen to the Carbon County park for a one-hour paddle.

Billed as a canoe ride, attendees could borrow a canoe from the conservancy - or bring their own watercraft.

For Cleo Fogal, of Jim Thorpe, that meant cruising the water in her yellow and blue kayak.

And for Jess Kohutka, CCEDC’s member relations manager, it meant gliding along on her paddleboard.

“I’m going to sit so I can fit in with the kayakers,” Kohutka said before taking off from Boat Launch B.

Kathy Henderson, CCEDC’s executive director, chose to watch the action from the shoreline.

She snapped photos of her grandson, Mason Post-Bowers, 4, who was nestled between family members on a canoe.

“This is our second year” for the event, Henderson said. “We had so much fun with it last year that we wanted to do it again.”

Thursday’s temperatures topped out in the lower 80s, but a breeze kept attendees cool.

“It is a beautiful day,” Henderson said.

Bottled water was kept in any ice-filled chest, and bagged dinners were ready for the paddlers’ return.

Before they set off, Bill Murray shared facts about the lake and the area in a question-and-answer format.

Kohutka knew that Mauch Chunk translates to “Sleeping Bear,” a Lenni Lenape phrase used to describe the shape of a nearby mountain.

But the size of the lake tripped up attendees.

It measures 345 acres, Bill Murry said.

Christine Murray, an environmental educator for the Wildlands Conservancy, talked about the nonprofit organization’s mission to preserve natural areas.

She brought an opossum and wood turtle, along with fur from a mink and muskrat.

Event sponsors were Andreas Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning, Lehigh Valley Health Network, and Blue Mountain Resort.