Rice Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Rice Lake grades a B, with clarity at 14.4 ft and 32 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Wisconsin median. 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.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 19 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 859 acres, Rice Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Within Barron County's 38 graded lakes, Rice Lake ranks 24 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Rice Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 5 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. A documented public access point at Rice Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.