AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Rice Lake is a sprawling, low-depth Northwoods lake in Barron County, Wisconsin, its western shore folded right into the small city of Rice Lake. Covering roughly 859–939 acres with about 18.5 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth near 19 feet, it is a wide, accessible water built for boats, paddles and anglers rather than remote wilderness.↗↗↗
The lake is an impoundment of the Red Cedar River, held a few inches from its normal level by an 18-foot dam and split into two basins by the County C bridge. That engineered, developed character is exactly the appeal: public boat landings, a downtown within walking distance of the water, sandy beaches and a trail network ring the lake, so you can fish from a pontoon in the morning and be at a supper club by evening.↗↗
For most visitors the headline is fishing—Rice Lake is a certified Class A1 Musky Lake, prized for trophy muskellunge alongside largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and a famously abundant bluegill population that keeps the ice busy all winter.
