Rice Lake State Park — Hotel in Owatonna

First the pro's of this park: Nice wooded area, with a lot of campsites available. You can drive-in camp, walk-in camp, or canoe-in camp. The bathroom facilities are updated but can be crowded since there a bit smaller and there are so many campsites available. The campground was very well-groomed and taken-care of. And they provided water to wash pots and pans.

The cons: The campground is extremely overpriced for what you get in return. We spent $21to tent camp (plus having to buy wood at $6.00 per bundle since they won't allow you to bring wood in), AND also a $7.00 parking fee to keep our truck in the campground. The price came to $40 to camp one night here, which was completely excessive in our opinion. We felt that everything in this campground was controlled and regulated in a way that made us feel like we weren't even camping in nature. We received a sheet of rules from the park ranger on duty and it made us feel like we weren't to be trusted. The sheet told us exactly how to park our vehicles in the small designated campsite areas, that we couldn't gather any kindling or firewood, that we couldn't put up a clothesline to dry any items we had (we had been camping for days from previous parks), that we couldn't have any alcohol, and a whole number of other regulations that made us feel like we were in camping prison.

Additionally the campsites were very close to each other, and each campsite had a specific spot made of mulch for the tents to be put on. The park was very busy with a lot of children and families, which could be good or bad for some campers depending on what you are looking for while camping. Overall, I didn't feel that the rest of the park was that nice. A very small boat landing area for canoes and kayaks, some small picnic areas, and no view of the lake or water from any parking space within the park. To view the water you had to hike the trails.

We felt that for $40 this was a rip-off of a park to camp in. We felt that if you are forced to spend that type of money for camping in your tent, that the park should be super beautiful, kept up, spacious, and with the restrictive rules left out of the experience. We will definitely not be...

Some State Parks offer excitement, some provide limitless potential for recreational activities, some are great for backpacking, while others are iconic in their history. The uniqueness that each park provides the great state of Minnesota is a testament to the importance of the preservation of our land.

So what does Rice Lake State Park offer? The answer, is restorative relaxation.

History has been aligning this land to become a place of peace since the Ojibwa people first inhabited it, farming wild rice from the lake, with rumors they would sink their canoes in the lake before heading south for winter. Unfortunately, the lake can no longer support the growth of wild rice with runoff silting all but a small patch of growth on the North Central side of the lake. Today cattails surround the shore, providing home to the impressive abundance of waterfowl that the lake is now managed for.

The land then had its time as farm field and Isaac Walton campground before becoming designated as a State Park in 1963. Now the park provides a variety of camping options; non-electric, electric, cart-in, walk-in, group, and canoe-in sites, so there's a spot for anyone. Be mindful however that, Reservations are REQUIRED and Group, Walk-ins, Cart-ins, and Canoe sites DO NOT have access to the showers as they are considered Primitive Sites and the age of the building's plumbing cannot support all campsite areas.

Periodically events are held by the local astronomy club or Friends of RLSP group. With a gorgeous Candlelight Walk held in Jan/Feb along the frosty trails. Canoe and kayak rentals are available during office hours. Check in with the staff during office hours to get helpful info on events, kids activities like Jr. Ranger books, and trail and lake conditions.

If you're looking for thrills and frills, I would suggest to look elsewhere. Rice Lake State Park is a quintessential example of peace and quiet. So bring your birding kit or stop by the office to borrow one of theirs, and come enjoy some...

We stayed at Walk-in site 5. It was great except for that there was a fairly loud, large group at the group campsite. The park itself is fairly small, but had enough for our quick, with-child camping trip. The park staff was very friendly and helpful. The grill on the fire pit for walk-in site 5 is fixed which made it more challenging to get the fire going under the grill area of the pit. Not a big deal, but our friends were staying at site 4 and their pit hinged open. Much easier to work with so we ended up cooking at their site more frequently than at ours. I noticed that walk-in site 1 had a grill that swung out and up and down, which would have been even better. All of the walk-in sites are very shady, which is what I prefer. So shady, in fact, that we almost didn't put up our sun-shade alcove. If rain hadn't been in the forecast, we probably would have forgone it.

The walk-in sites were very secluded from the main, loop campground which we loved. They were also far enough away from each other that you didn't feel like you were camping with people in the next site. You could hear them, but only if they were loud or you were trying to listen.

We drove by the main camping loops. It looked like loop A was mostly tents and loop B was mostly RVs.

Pros: Shady, secluded walk-in campsites. Close to the city. Easy-access walk-in and cart-in sites. Clean vault toilets. Nice, friendly staff.

Cons: No lake access (which we knew going in, but is something to keep in mind). Loud group camping group. Small park (not a big deal for us, but others might...