Rice Lake, Lake in Peterborough County, Canada

Rice Lake stretches about 28 kilometers in length with a maximum width of roughly 5 kilometers and forms part of the Trent-Severn Waterway system in Ontario. The water lies between the villages of Bewdley on the west and Hastings on the east, lined with public boat launches and camping areas.

The Mississauga Indigenous people called this water Pemadashdakota, meaning lake of the burning plains, before European settlement led to changes in water levels. This naming shift marked a turning point in how the lake and its surroundings developed.

The Mississaugas called the lake Pemadashdakota, "lake of the burning plains"; the English name comes from the wild rice that Indigenous people grew and harvested here in large quantities. Today anglers prize the walleye and muskellunge, and a charity poker run boat race starts from Bewdley on the first Saturday after Labour Day, raising funds for the Children's Wish Foundation.

The lake has several public boat launches and camping areas along its shoreline that are easily accessible to visitors. The best time to visit depends on your interests, whether you want to fish, boat, or simply spend time outdoors.

The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway crossed Rice Lake from Harwood to Hiawatha on a 4-kilometre line of wooden trestles, completed in 1854. Winter ice damaged the bridge beyond repair and it was closed within six years; sections of the railway bed are still visible on the south side of the lake.