Rice Lake State Park

We had a perfectly nice trip here. The park is well cared for, hot showers, a nice lake for canoeing and some nice walking trails.

But I didn't love it. It is very wooded and was very damp. The sites were fine and you are not.on too of your neighbors.and the facilities all were good. The showers were above average.

The lake is cute and small, think canoe or kayak (they rent both). Not sure if there is a place to swim, I didn't see any.

The most interesting thing is the canoe in camping.

I didn't love because it was damp and buggy. We did enjoy, seems good for laying around and reading a book.

We camped here in the spring, just a few days after the area got 2” of rain. The trails were mostly soft, but passable. Only 4 miles of trails, but lots of water to paddle on. The staff were knowledgeable and very helpful. Campground was very quiet!

We stayed here one night as a stop over off I-35, which was just 15 mins away making this great for thru travelers.

I initially wanted to give this 5 stars because it's a nice campground with well-maintained sites. We had a great firepit, good hammock trees, and the lake was just a short walk away from the campground.

We decided to lower our rating due to 3 factors: mosquitoes, older bathrooms, and no dump station. These should not dissuade you at all - nothing was terrible - but we decided this means it's not a 5 star stop.

A note on mosquitoes - it's a wetland! They should be there! All the same, go here knowing you're on their turf.

Happy camping!

On the rate, don't forget to include the $7 per vehicle per night charge. The park is pretty and rustic, but the campground is a mess. Very few of the spots are even close to level. Their is only electric, no sewer dump station or water. The lake itself is virtually unusable, water level is low and putting a kayak in requires slogging through marsh to open water. The campsites are cramped and not cleaned. The "office" is rarely open, and the only staff I have seen is the park ranger running around at 6:30 am to leave notes on your car stating that it must be moved. There is a sign at the office that tells you that you must reserve online and write your receipt number on a sheet of paper and leave it on your windshield.
The first night, I parked the car in front of the rig on bare dirt, very close to the rig. I got hit with a note saying that I must move it to overflow parking 150 yards away. I have expensive equipment in my jeep and don't want it that far from my rig, so the next night I park it in front of the rig, on gravel and off the street. I get a "Second notice" stating I must move it to the overflow parking. Mind you, my jeep is a 97 wrangler, very small and parked on the gravel and off the road. There is nothing in the rules stating additional vehicles must be parked in overflow, simply that they have overflow parking if needed. Fortunately, we are leaving today so I won't have to worry about this, but I definitely will not be staying here again.