Rice Lake State Park - Summer 2023

Rice Lake State Park was our family's first stop on our quest to complete the Minnesota State Parks Hiking Club and Passport Club. It was one of the stops on our drive from Southwest Minnesota to Southeast Minnesota for a 2-night family getaway in Lewiston, MN. You can read our full trip agenda here.

This small state park is on the north side of Rice Lake near Owatonna, MN. The park office wasn't open the day we were there, so we stopped to get the passport stamp outside of the office and grabbed a park map so my daughters could "navigate." When the office is open, they have birding kits, GPS units, and kids activities to check out.

We did the Hiking Club Trail, which is 2.4 miles. The AllTrails map is called Rice Lake Trail and can be found here. AllTrails estimates that it takes 45 minutes, though we knew with a 7-, 5-, and 3-year-old, it would take longer. We started with a snack in the picnic shelter area near the playground to show our girls where they would get to play when we completed the hike.

We normally do loops counterclockwise (old habits die hard for former track athletes), but we decided to do this loop clockwise so we could end along the lake, which was a calm and peaceful way to wrap up the hike.

The loop started on a tree-lined path, some dirt and some grass, but all flat. When we looped around into the thicker section of the woods, it started to get pretty buggy, so we tried to move though that section quickly. If you use the AllTrails map to navigate, there is one difference in the official Hiking Club Trail near the walk-in campsite. The AllTrails map goes left and the Hiking Club Trail goes right, but they both come back together soon after.

We found the Hiking Club password and hustled to the lake, where the breeze kept the bugs away as we walked the final section of the trail. The girls picked up walking sticks and we enjoyed a more leisurely stroll the rest of the way, crossing a wooden bridge, and finally ending up at the playground.

We always enjoy unique playgrounds, so this wooden structure provided some excitement. The open metal slide was too hot, but they enjoyed the tube slide, fire pole, and tire swing. The highlight was actually hanging metal chains that they swung back and forth on. They definitely don't make playgrounds like they used to!

Before we left the park, I asked each girl what was one thing they remembered from the hike. My 5-year-old said "A robin," 7 y.o. said "Bugs," and 3 y.o. said "More bugs." Despite this, we all enjoyed the park. It was flat, easy, well-maintained, and peaceful.

Location: Rice Lake, Merton Township, MN 55060, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trail of Small Wonders 2023 - Limited Time Event at Westwood Hills Nature Center

Image
Our family loves nature and loves free, so nature centers are a favorite for us. When planning a play date for my daughter and her friends at Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, we got the added bonus of checking out the Trail of Small Wonders. This year's event ends on July 29, so hurry over to check it out! Westwood Hills Nature Center is fun in itself. We first discovered it two summers ago, when we explored some of the 160 acres of trails, and saw a deer, turtles, and beekeepers working in the apiary. The nature center building is home to a few raptors outside and other small animals inside by the exhibits. The outdoor play area was being built at the time, so we were excited to return and see the final result. There is a small playground, a flowing water activity, and a nature play area where the kids built a fort with large branches. Now for the highlight of the day - The Trail of Small Wonders! The St. Louis Park Friends of the Arts offered a workshop on buildin
Read more

Whitewater State Park - Chimney Rock and Hiking Club Trail - Summer 2023

Image
This park had me at "No mosquitos!" Whitewater State Park (Altura, MN) is known for Chimney Rock and for not having (many) mosquitos due to very little standing water. We visited this park with our 7-, 5-, and 3-year-old on our trip to Lewiston, MN . I knew these trails would be a bit of a challenge for my children, which is why I wanted to start the day at this park. Make sure you bring plenty of water and be ready to take breaks. The Visitor Center had a lot of fun activities and we spent time there both before and after our hike. My children especially enjoyed the taxidermy animals, ranger outfits, and magnetic fishing activity. The Hiking Club Trail at this park is interesting, because the booklet tells you to just hike from the Visitor Center to the end of it and then loop back on the paved road/trails. The AllTrails version of this, Coyote Point Trail to Dakota Trail , has you going out and back on the same trail. Since we wanted to see Chimney Rock anyway, we decided t
Read more

George Crosby Manitou State Park in the Fall

Image
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost Have you heard of George Crosby Manitou State Park? This park is one of the least-visited state parks, despite it's location on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Is it "less traveled" due to quality? Absolutely not! There are two main reasons why this park isn't spoken of: location and trail difficulty.  It's off the main roads, so the park is a 20-minute drive from Highway 61. The trails themselves are tough - full of rocks and roots, narrow, and not always well-marked. This is by design - the park is intentionally under-developed to create more of a wilderness experience. This is precisely the reason I chose George Crosby Manitou as one of the stops on our North Shore weekend last fall (read about our full weekend and find our agenda here ). Huge bonus - it has a cascade waterfall! To get to the park, navigat
Read more