Rice Lake

Rice Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season. Phosphorus is the parameter holding the grade back — runoff from the surrounding watershed appears to keep nutrient levels elevated through the summer.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. At 73 acres, Rice Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Rice Lake sits at rank 2 of 3 in Grant County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Rice Lake has no invasive species recorded in Wisconsin state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. 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.