Rice Portage Lake
Carlton County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Rice Portage Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Eutrophic
- 51 ft max depth
- Public access
Rice Portage Lake in Carlton County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 43 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.9 µg/L.
Rice Portage Lake is a productive, nutrient-rich eutrophic lake in Carlton County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 51 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available. Compared to the 21 other monitored lakes in Carlton County, Rice Portage Lake ranks #13 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2024-10-16. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
If you are planning to stay, you can search lake houses and cabins around Rice Portage Lake on Vrbo, or look for a hotel room near the lake on Booking.com or Expedia.
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyModerate algae
Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Rice Portage Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Rice Portage Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Rice Portage Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 1.3 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 43 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 4.9 µg/L. TSI 59.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 1.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 43µg/L | Poor GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 4.9µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 59 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Rice Portage Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Rice Portage Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Public Water Access Sites — PerchPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Lake Details
Max depth
~51 ft est.
Public access
Yes
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Rice Portage Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
31 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
561 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
5.8 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,283 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Rice Portage Lake
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Fishing Rice Portage Lake
Water Quality Trend: Worsening
Based on 5 years of monitoring (2020–2024).
Water clarity
Improving4 years
Phosphorus
Worsening+44.5 µg/L/yr4 years
Chlorophyll-a
Worsening+0.52 µg/L/yr5 years
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Rice Portage Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Rice Portage Lake, 8 ft tall.
- Normal storage
- 1,400 ac-ft
- Hazard class
- Undetermined
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID MN00809 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Carlton County
Frequently asked questions about Rice Portage Lake
Where is Rice Portage Lake?
- Rice Portage Lake is a lake in Carlton County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Rice Portage Lake?
- Rice Portage Lake in Carlton County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 1.3 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 43 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 4.9 µg/L.
Is Rice Portage Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Rice Portage Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Rice Portage Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 51 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Rice Portage Lake?
- Public access to Rice Portage Lake is listed as yes on the lake record. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
73 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2020–2024. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa (MN)
FONDULAC_WQX73 samples · 2020–2024
Analytical methods
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Color, APHA Platinum-Cobalt
- For determination of Copper by the Bicinchoninate method.
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder