Big Rice Lake

Big Rice Lake earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. Big Rice Lake is a shallow lake at 13 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. The lake's 642 acres and 6.6 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Big Rice Lake ranks 88 of 95 in Beltrami County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Big Rice Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 14 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.