Rice Lake, WI

Rice Lake, Wisconsin Ice Fishing

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"Get Away To It All!"

Many, many millions of years ago, the glaciers began to retreat back to the north, exposing once again what we now know as the state of Wisconsin.  Those sheets of ice may have shaved away most of the rich topsoil from the state, but they also sculpted some of the prettiest areas the country has known.  One of those areas is Barron County, unique because of its majestic stands of conifer and rare hardwood forests, spruce and tamarack bogs, rolling farmland, free-flowing rivers, and jack pine barrens – not to mention the 360-plus lakes and almost 18,000 acres of water! The woods are full of berries and wildflowers and animals both large and small and the waters are full of game fish.
 

Located in the eastern portion of the county in the Red Cedar River valley is the City of Rice Lake, the largest community in Barron County.  British explorers first claimed this area; French explorers set up an early trading post at Rice Lake dealing with the Sioux Indians.  In 1864, Knapp, Stout and Company – a famed Menomonie logging firm – constructed a storage dam on the site of an earlier Indian village and a wild rice bed, and Rice Lake, Wisconsin was born.

I liked the city from the first time that I saw it – more than 50 years ago – traveling north for our annual summer vacation. Today, Rice Lake is not much different, although State Route 53 passes alongside the town instead of through it.  But the area still offers just about all that a vacationer could ask: great fishing, unlimited outdoor recreation in all seasons and plenty of events and festivals. It is also a center for the arts and cultural events, offers excellent restaurants, great lodging, unique shops, and even a four star golf course!  It is an easy place to get to… and a hard place to forget.