Boat launch – Picnic shelter loop from Rice Lake State Park

Hiking trails & Routes

United States

Minnesota

Steele County

Boat launch – Picnic shelter loop from Rice Lake State Park

Easy

4.8

(8927)

14,331

hikers

Boat launch – Picnic shelter loop from Rice Lake State Park

01:23

5.37km

20m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: August 4, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

84 m

boat launch

Highlight • Rest Area

This year the cattails have been growing in so thick that it hasn't been passable by kayaks and paddleboards. Still nice to see the water.

Tip by

357 m

Lakeside campsites

Highlight • Rest Area

These sites have L in their name, they'd be fun to stay at some time.

Tip by

516 m

Picnic shelter

Highlight • Rest Area

Big classic picnic shelter

Tip by

712 m

Trailhead of the Rice Lake State Park Hiking Club Trail

Highlight • Trail

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has developed a Hiking Club program that features a trail in each of its 68 state parks and recreational areas (dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/clubs.html). Sometimes the trailhead …

Tip by

1.58 km

Rice Lake State Park

Park

3.23 km

Shelter

Highlight • Rest Area

Not sure if you can use this as a camping area, but it has a shelter, picnic table, fire pit, and a hand pump for water. The pump is chained though, as most hand pumps are these days.

Tip by

4.33 km

Rice Lake State Park sign

Highlight • Structure

Cool sign, and it's right on the hiking club hiking trail, so you can get pictures at it.

Tip by

5.37 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

5.03 km

314 m

Surfaces

3.34 km

1.69 km

237 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Today

Sunday 11 October

28°C

16°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 24.0 km/h

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

September 28, 2025,Hike at Rice Lake State Park

I've been wanting to paddle and hike at Rice Lake State Park all year, keep waiting for them to say it's easy to launch boats, but they keep not saying that because of the cat tails. Today I decided to at least go for a hike there and try to get more highlights and thumbs ups if I can. Plus …