Rice Lake City Park
Managed by City of Rice Lake
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Rice Lake
Rice Lake has 13 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
6% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 20 acres are parks and preserves, 4.8 per 1,000 residents. 5% of Rice Lake’s land is conserved, about 974 acres.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #246 of 274 in Minnesota. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
974 acres · of 32.7 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
20 ac
4.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
6%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rice Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rice Lake is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #246 of 274 in Minnesota. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rice Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MN town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · MN 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (20 acres) · MN 24 · U.S. 13CParks close to home6% of residents within a half mile of a park · MN 95% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 32%
LessMore
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (274)Ahead of 10%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
974 conserved acres
5% of Rice Lake’s land. Who manages Rice Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources598 ac
State fish & wildlife376 ac
State Resource Management Area · 598 acState Conservation Area · 376 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 598 | Open |
| Lester River State Aquatic Management Area (St. Louis) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 333 | Restricted |
| Amity Creek State Aquatic Management Area (St. Louis) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 38 | Restricted |
| Beaver River State Aquatic Management Area (St. Louis) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4 | Restricted |
| Tischer Creek State Aquatic Management Area (St. Louis) State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
5 places to go in Rice Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rice Lake
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Rice Lake
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Rice Lake
Bald Eagle Camp site
DirectionsWhite Pines Camp Stie
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 12.7 mi
CJ Ramstad/North Shore State Trail5.8 mi
Superior Hiking Trail3.8 mi
White Pines Camp Site0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Soccer
2Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Rice Lake
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 24 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 77 | 75 | 66 | 52 | 36 | 23 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
February is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rice Lake →
Next door
Rice Lake and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice Lake | 5% | 0.4 | 5 | 6% | C |
| Duluth | 10% | 2.4 | 61 | 92% | A |
| Canosia Township | 3% | 0.4 | 4 | 13% | C |
| Gnesen Township | 4% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rice Lake
How much of Rice Lake is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Minnesota town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Rice Lake’s trails?
Rice Lake City Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rice Lake?
9,757 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rice Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 621 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rice Lake have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #246 of 274 in Minnesota. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Rice Lake neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →