Rice Lake (Ontario) Lake

Rice Lake is a shallow lake in south-central Ontario in the Kawartha Lakes region, noted for historical stands of wild rice. It is connected to the Trent-Severn Waterway.

A regional destination for boating and angling, the lake is popular with fishers targeting walleye and smallmouth bass and with recreational boaters exploring its shoal-rimmed bays and islands. Facilities and services are concentrated in small lakeside communities and marinas around the shoreline.

Indigenous peoples harvested wild rice and used the lake’s resources for centuries. European settlement in the 19th century brought increased navigation and shoreline development, and the lake was incorporated into broader regional waterways and transport routes.

The lake sits within the mixed-forest and agricultural landscape of south-central Ontario, within the broader Kawartha Lakes area and the southern margin of the Canadian Shield.

• Navigation: Forms part of the Trent-Severn Waterway and is connected to regional navigation and recreational boating networks.
• Wild rice: Historically named for stands of wild rice that grew in its shallows and were harvested by Indigenous peoples.

Rice Lake sits between Peterborough and Cobourg in south-central Ontario. From Toronto, take Highway 401 east to Cobourg or exit north toward Peterborough on Highway 115, then follow local County Roads toward the lake (allow about 1.5-2 hours). Smaller communities around the lake (Keene, Bewdley, Hastings) are reached by county roads; the closest VIA Rail stations are in Cobourg and Port Hope with onward car or taxi transfer.

• Use one of the smaller, lesser-known boat launches (e.g., at Keene or Bewdley) to avoid the weekend crowds at the bigger ramps.
• Spring and autumn are the best times for anglers chasing walleye; the lake is famous for its slab-sided, stump-haunted fishing.
• Drive the Rice Lake Trail - the backroads along the south shore reveal drowned tree stumps that look like a drowned forest at low water; use a local map (county roads change names).
• Avoid the hottest July long weekends if solitude is the goal; early mornings at sunrise are quiet.