Abandoned Record
About Rice Lake
Rice Lake is a ghost town in Dodge and Steele counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located east of Owatonna, and just north of Rice Lake State Park.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Rice Lake, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Rice Lake is
Historic maps
6 historic USGS maps cover Rice Lake
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1953 Saint Paul sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1953 St Paul sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 Saint Paul sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 St Paul sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1962 Owatonna SE sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1985 Faribault sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Rice Lake
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Minnesota index.
- Fairpoint10.8 mi NE · Goodhue
Sources
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Rice Lake (ghost town), Minnesota": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q7323016.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).