Rice Lake

Houghton County, Michigan · MI DNR bathymetric survey

5ft Max
depth

679 acres 1 contour Public access

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Depth scale

The lake

Survey readout

Rice Lake is mapped to a depth of 5 ft on the Michigan DNR survey and covers about 679 acres in Houghton County, Michigan.

Measured from the Michigan DNR inland-lake contour survey.

Deepest mapped contour: 5 ft
Mean depth: 4.1 ft · estimated
Surface area: 679 acres
Estimated volume: 2,761 acre-ft · 900M gal
Shoreline: 5.7 mi · irregular
Aquatic vegetation: 0% of surface · NDVI estimate
Public access: Boat Launch

Additional depth details1 contour

Contour depths: 0–5 ft
Recorded point soundings: 5 ft

100% of the surface sits over water shallower than 10 ft. Depth, area and volume are estimated from the interpolated survey surface — historical reference, not measurement.

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Location

Houghton County, Michigan · 15 nearest of 32 lakes · tap a dot for that lake

Chart data

Provenance

Sources: MI DNR inland lake contours, USGS 3DEP, USDA NAIP (public domain), OpenStreetMap (ODbL), MI DNR Boat Launches.

⚠ Not for navigation

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Map details & sources5 sources

All layers registered to one bounding box; positions in WGS 84.

Survey-derived depth contours drape over USGS 3DEP elevation, with a USDA NAIP aerial basemap and OpenStreetMap shoreline. Colour shows surveyed depth; dark lines are the survey's own isobaths.

Coordinates: 47.16115, -88.28423
MI DNR lake ID: L35835
Basemap: USDA NAIP · public domain
Model size: 2.4 MB

Paddling

Paddling Index methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-08-21

58 / 100MixedData confidence: High

Rice Lake has a mostly natural, lightly developed setting, moderate open-water exposure, some nearby classified roads. No special watercraft restriction is identified in the current source.

Why this score?5 components

Included in the index

Component	Rating	Points of weight	Measurement
Natural setting	Very Good	20.5 of 30	72% natural land cover within 150 m of shore (10% forest, 60% wetland; 18% developed)
Geometric wind exposure	Good	8.0 of 25	mean fetch 2,083 m · 0% of sampled water within 500 m of shelter · moderate open-water fetch
Watercraft controls	None identified	7.5 of 15	No special watercraft restriction identified in the current DNR source. Motors permitted, subject to general law.
Public access	Good	12.8 of 15	1 site with DNR boating-facility records · 1 ramp lane · 5 trailer spaces
Road isolation	Good	8.8 of 15	some nearby classified roads · 6 MDOT-classified segments within 1.2 km, peak 937 vehicles/day

Additional paddling considerations

These describe the lake but are not part of the v1 Paddling Index and do not change the number above.

Wake sensitivity: Low — wide enough that wakes disperse over most of the lake
Aquatic vegetation: Low — approximately 0% mapped coverage · NAIP aerial imagery (NDVI)
Observed motorized activity: Unknown — No lake-level measurement of boat traffic is available. Legal permission to operate motors is not evidence of use.
Wildlife habitat potential: High — 10% forest and 60% wetland cover within 150 m of shore

Compare Michigan lakes by Paddling Index →

How this index is calculated. The Paddling Index is a relative composite derived from lake geometry and public environmental, access, roadway and watercraft-control data. It is not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of an individual outing. Differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful — an 84 and an 82 are broadly comparable. Components and weights: natural setting 30%, geometric wind exposure 25%, watercraft controls 15%, public access 15%, road isolation 15%; observed motorboat activity is weighted 0% because no defensible lake-level measurement exists. Where a component has no data the remaining weights are renormalized and the confidence rating is lowered; below Medium confidence no number is shown. Sources: MI DNR Boating Access Sites (2026-08), MI DNR Watercraft Control Areas (2026-08), USGS/MRLC NLCD Land Cover (2021), MDOT Annual Average Daily Traffic (2025) and MI DNR bathymetric survey outline (0 ft isobath). Conditions change quickly — check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Fish you might catch

from angler catches & active stocking

1 species with recent evidence in this lake — sized relative to each other. Illustrations are AI-generated representative adults in everyday colours, not photographs (provenance).

Northern Pike

Historically stocked, no recent evidence: Tiger Muskellunge (last planted 1991) — not shown above.

Fishing rules for this lake Beta

Size and daily limits for the 1 species found here — 1 with a special rule or closed season.

These are hook-and-line size, daily limit and season rules. Gear, spearing and bow fishing, spawning closures and rod limits are set by other Fisheries Orders and are not shown here.

Northern PikeSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

Beta. This panel is newly published. Every value is parsed from the Michigan DNR fisheries orders and hand-checked against the printed digest, but the coverage and wording are still under review. If anything here disagrees with the Michigan DNR's Fisheries Orders or its printed digest, the DNR is right — the signed Fisheries Order is the legal text; the digest summarises it.

Northern PikeSpecial rulesNamed in a fisheries order for this lake — see the rule text below

Official rule text for this lake

“no size limit on Northern Pike and up to five (5) Northern Pike may be retained in the daily possession limit with only one (1) 24-inches or greater.” — FO-206

From FO-206.26 (eff. 2026-04-01) / FO-215.23A (eff. 2023-09-15) / FO-254.25 (eff. 2025-10-10), checked against the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest · verified 2026-08-24. Regulations can change — Michigan DNR rules are the controlling source; verify current regulations before fishing. Official regulations

Compiled from registered Master Angler catches and Michigan DNR stockings within the last 10 years. Silhouettes are stylized and scaled to typical adult sizes relative to one another. Presence is not a promise — fishing isn’t a sure thing.

Notable catches

Master Angler program · 2003–2025

Master Angler catches recorded on this lake — too few to show a pattern, so they are listed individually.

Northern Pike41.1″ · 2003 · ice fishing · smelt

Northern Pike38″ · 2025 · ice fishing · live bait

Master Angler entries are fish that met the program’s minimum size and were registered by the angler — they show what this lake has produced, not what a day here will produce. A catch on record is history, not a species listing: “Fish you might catch” lists only species with current evidence. Source: Michigan DNR Master Angler data.

DNR stocking

state stocking record · 1979–1991

Fish the Michigan DNR has planted in this lake — what was added, distinct from what a survey netted above.

Tiger muskellunge26,370 stocked · 1979–1991 · 13 plantings

No stockings recorded since 1991 — shown as history.

Source: Michigan DNR Fish Stocking Database.

Non-native species records

No non-native species recorded in the available dataset. This does not confirm that no non-native species are present.

Source: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying nonindigenous species records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.

At the lake

community-mapped amenities · straight-line distance

⛻ Campground≈1.3 mi

🚿 Restrooms / vault toileton the lake · 2 mapped

From OpenStreetMap community mapping — shown only where something is mapped; an amenity missing here may still exist. Distances are straight-line. Verify before you rely on it. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Bait & tackle nearby

licensed retail bait dealers · straight-line distance

Campioni's True Value≈9.2 mi25664 Copper King Way, Calumet · Google · Apple

Freeman Guns≈14.1 mi120 Quincy St, Handcock · Google · Apple

The Bait Shack≈14.6 mi42233 Wilson Memorial Dr., Chassell · Google · Apple

Dealers licensed by the Michigan DNR to sell live bait; listing is not an endorsement. Distances are straight-line, not driving — and call ahead: hours and stock change. Source: Michigan DNR retail bait dealer data.

Quick answers

Rice Lake — common questions

How deep is Rice Lake?

The deepest contour on the Michigan DNR bathymetric survey of Rice Lake is 5 ft. That is the deepest depth the historical survey map records, which may differ from the deepest point of the lake itself.

How big is Rice Lake?

Rice Lake covers about 679 acres in Houghton County, Michigan.

What is the average depth of Rice Lake?

The estimated mean depth of Rice Lake is 4.1 ft, calculated from the survey contours.

What fish are in Rice Lake?

Species with survey, catch or recent-stocking evidence include northern pike. The page shows the evidence behind each.

Is there public access to Rice Lake?

Yes. The Michigan DNR boat-launch data identifies 1 public access site on Rice Lake, including Rice Lake.