Hiking
At Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Meander through a mixture of upland and lowland hardwood forest, small grasslands and marsh on over 4.5 miles of hiking trails at Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge!
Hours
Daily, sunrise to sunset.
Locations
The entirety of the refuge, including Twin Lakes, Mandy Lake, CCC Camp, North Bog and Photo Blind Trails, is open to hiking.
Know Before You Go
- No collection of wildflowers, animals, artifacts or stones is permitted.
- Dogs are allowed outdoors anywhere that visitors are, as long as they are on a leash.
- Ticks are abundant from late May–early July. Mosquitoes and deer flies are abundant from June–August. Insect repellent and other precautions should be used!
- Please refer to the full list of refuge rules and policies before visiting.
Points of Interest
- CCC Camp Trail: 1-mile loop, mowed. There was an active CCC Camp onsite from 1939 to 1941 that helped with the initial development of the refuge. The camp included 23 buildings in total and the foundation of one building is visible on this trail.
- Mandy Lake Trail: 1.5-mile loop, natural surface. In late April and May look closely for spring flowers that bloom for a short period of time.
- North Bog Trail: 1-mile loop, mowed.
- Twin Lakes Accessible Trail: 0.3-mile loop, paved. Loops through the woods and has signage detailing the variety of birds to keep an eye out for.
- Twin Lakes Trail: 0.75-miles loop, natural surface. During the fall season, the colors are beautiful in this stretch.
- Warren-Nelson Photo Blind Trail: 0.07-mile out-and-back.
