Rice Lake State Park



My family at Rice Lake State Park from left to right:  Brayden, Brenna, me,
Brock, Brigham, Bralynne, Brynn, Brett holding Brooke, and Brielle



Rice Lake State Park

A little football by the Rice Lake!

Having fun in the playground

Rice Lake State Park geographically is the the headwaters of the south branch of the middle fork of the Zumbro River.  Whew!  That's a lot to get out!  Much like Forestville (Forestville/ Mystery Cave State Park) down the road, Rice Lake and the river had a dam to provide power for the mill down river in Wasioja.  Soon, the lake was depleted of water and the mill shut down.  North of town there was a Stage Coach route, too.  When the railroad came through the area by-passing Rice Lake, the little communities fate was sealed.  The only remains of the village today is the Rice Lake Church, which was built back in 1857.  Of course, the park is here to tell that story and among other things, the geology of this area.  That's a pretty neat story, too.  Most of this area was once on the bottom of a shallow sea covering most of North America.  On the sea bed, layers of sediment accumulated and when the sea dried, the layers turned to rock, hundreds of feet thick.  Its very similar rock to that found along the Mississippi River in the bluffs area.  During the time all this sediment was turning to rock, glaciers covered Minnesota four different times.  Most of the Rice Lake area was formed during the "Kansan Ice Age."  Pretty cool, huh?  For more cool stuff, check this park out!  Lots of great trails and scenary to enjoy!



Teaching Brynn about Rice Lake





Rice Lake overview

 



Brayden and I on the tire swing