rice lake national refuge

What a treasure! Displays in the Visitor's center are interesting and drive through the refuge is fabulous!

Rice Lake and the surrounding 18,000 acres is a delight for the wildlife enthusiast. Coming in mid-October during the height of the migrations must be a truly astonishing experience, but it would be most interesting at any time. The visitor center is very informative and the ranger was very willing to give insights about the refuge. The ten stops along the 13 mile drive (gravel, alas, but well maintained) give you a very good feel for the changes this area has seen -- how it was formed by the glaciers and how it has evolved over the past three centuries. The two major lookouts have telescopes to enable you to see far across Mindy and Rice Lakes. The hiking trails are very well laid out, but do be prepared for the horse flies in summer! We saw a bunch of fawns bounding through the woods -- and apparently there were some wolf cubs spotted along a trail just the day before we arrived. The Forest Service has done an excellent job of maintaining this site. A great learning experience.