Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve, Minnesota, United States

5D.W. Bauer 5:00 PM Nov 3, 2019

Good trails, a beach, and several lakes.
We visit this park often, usually for biking on the trails but sometimes for swimming, fishing, or canoeing. An Anoka country parks pass is needed for the main entrance, but you can park for free outside the park and bike or walk in. Trails bisect the park in several places. To get a loop trail, you will have to leave the park. Riding around Centerville Lake is nice and gives a nice loop. The trails on the west edge of the park cross Rice Creek and go over a board walk and a long wooded bridge along Rice Lake. The beach has bathrooms and an outdoor shower. It might have had indoor shower, I did not notice. There is usually a lot of families at the beach in summer on weekends, but I almost always find a free picnic table if I want it. The sand of the beach is kept clean and the swimming area is roped off. If you get deep towards the ropes, you might find weeds. Centerville Lake is good for fishing panfish like Sunfish and Crappies. There is a campground and a boat landing. A canoe route goes through west part of the park, along Rice Creek. I believe the nature center has canoe rentals. Sometimes you might be lucky enough to see River Otters, as well as Bald Eagles, Osprey, and deer. You will probably see carp too.

4Pete_and_Tara 5:00 PM Mar 5, 2016

Many Opportunities for Families
We love this local park for a lot of reasons. There is great camping, a nice swimming beach and great trails for hiking and biking. It is very expansive and encompasses a lot of the local lakes with connecting trails. The park is well kept and never crowded. It is a great place to stop while traveling or for a quick family get away.