Barron County Fairgrounds
Park
30 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad Passsenger Station · Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Rice Lake
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Rice Lake
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 320 acres are parks and preserves, 35 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Barron County Fairgrounds (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #72 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
243 acres · of 9.0 sq mi of land
Trails
6.4 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
320 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.2 mi
7.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Rice Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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 86% of U.S. towns, #72 of 362 in Wisconsin. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rice Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical WI town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WI 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (320 acres) · WI 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WI 90% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 80%
Water is 11% of Rice Lake’s area (1 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. 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
The longest trail network is Barron County Fairgrounds, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hiawatha Park
Park
36 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Lumber Hall of Fame & Boat Landing
Park
6 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Barron County Fairgrounds30 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsLumber Hall of Fame & Boat Landing6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsShudlick Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Hiawatha Park36 acres
Clanton Park20 acres
DirectionsFred Tate Memorial Field6 acres
DirectionsRoux Park6 acres
DirectionsFuture Farmers of America Park4 acres
DirectionsLakefront Park3 acres
DirectionsVeterans Park3 acres
DirectionsIndian Mounds Park2 acres
DirectionsHunters Memorial Park1 acres
Who protects it
243 conserved acres
4% of Rice Lake’s land. Water is left out: Rice Lake has 9.0 square miles of land and 1.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Rice Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city194 ac
State natural resources48 ac
Other state land2 ac
Local Park · 147 acState Park · 45 acLocal Recreation Area · 35 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 14 acState Recreation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moon Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 64 | Open |
| Wild Rivers State Trail State Park | State natural resources | 45 | Open |
| Hiawatha Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Earl Clanton Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Nora Cemetary Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Cedar Side Trail Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Rice Lake Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Fred Tate Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Lumber Hall Of Fame & Boat Landing Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Rice Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rice Lake
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Rice Lake
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Rice Lake
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.3 miHorses · 3.3 miUnpaved · 3.3 mi
Wild Rivers State Trail3.3 mi
Cedarside Walking Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Wild Rivers State TrailBike route
3.3 miCourts & fields
9Baseball
8Soccer
8Tennis
5Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 27 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 56 | 40 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
January is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rice Lake →
Next door
Rice Lake and its neighbors
Rice Lake has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 | 4% | 0.7 | 35 | 99%+ | A |
| Stanley | 1% | under 0.1 | 67 | 32% | 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
Where can I hike in Rice Lake?
The longest trail networks: Barron County Fairgrounds, 0.6 miles; Lumber Hall of Fame & Boat Landing, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rice Lake is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Wisconsin 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?
Barron County Fairgrounds and Hiawatha Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rice Lake?
7.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.2 of off-road paths. Named routes: Wild Rivers State Trail.
Is there public land near Rice Lake?
19,442 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rice Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 320 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rice Lake have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #72 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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 →