Agency-listedWard CountyFree
Rice Lake Park (Ward County)
Drive-up · Ward County · ND · 48.01167, -101.52711
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →Ward County lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
FREE primitive camping at Rice Lake, a Ward County park about 15 miles south of Minot (roughly 30 minutes off US-83). Per Ward County's own page: a few basic campsites, a 3-consecutive-day limit, first-come / first-served (no reservations), and NO running water, electric, or hookups -- pack in your own water and be fully self-contained. There is a swimming beach, a boat ramp, and a fishing pier. The county charges for the picnic pavilion but lists no fee for camping, and travelers report the campsites are free. Because the county page does not state the price in writing, confirm the current rules with Ward County (Parks) before you go. A genuine quiet, free overnight stop near Minot; leave it better than you found it.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Rice Lake Park (Ward County)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,081 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Rice Lake Park (Ward County)NIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Rice Lake Park (Ward County) · Ward County · ND
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- FFuel13 mi
- GGrocery13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- AAir-up17 mi
- RxPharmacy17 mi
- HHardware17 mi
- MMechanic17 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- OOutfitter27 mi
- LLaundry45 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: fuel & food sit about 13 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Water, Dump, Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Rice Lake Park (Ward County)
Access
Drive-up
Land
Ward County
Elevation
2,081 ft
Ground slope
2.7% · flat
Nearest rail line
~9.1 mi · main line
State
ND
Coordinates
48.01167, -101.52711
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Rice Lake Park (Ward County) · Ward County · ND (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRice Lake · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~13.2 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~13.2 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~16.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicLegacy Health Clinic · ~17.0 mi
- HardwareThe Home Depot · ~16.9 mi
- Nearest rail line~9.1 mi · main line
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
EV charging — from Rice Lake Park (Ward County) · Ward County · ND — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.8 mi straight-line NE — Pinnacle Express, Minot, ND (at a gas station) · Non-Networked · CHAdeMO, CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-06-06 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach5 within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 15 within 100 · 18 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)17.7 mi — Minot, ND - Tesla Supercharger, Minot
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.7 mi — Minot Automotive Center (at an auto repair) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-07-03 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast charger$0.39 per minute (as listed by AFDC)
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 256632 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Rice Lake Park (Ward County) · Ward County · ND — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~25.0 mi N · FWS
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~26.9 mi N · FWS
Coming out here — Rice Lake Park (Ward County) · Ward County · ND
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Rice Lake as a perennial lake or pond, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 2.7% — flat. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~9.1 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Rice Lake Park (Ward County) elsewhere
How we know this — Rice Lake Park (Ward County)
Stay limit
3 nights (Limited to 3 Consecutive Days)
Source
public land records
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Source: OFFICIAL Ward County page co.ward.nd.us/525/Rice-Lake (read 2026-07-26), 'Camping' section verbatim: 'Limited to 3 Consecutive Days'; 'No Reservations (first come, first serve)'; 'No Running Water, Electric, or Water Services'. The page lists NO camping fee (it DOES charge $20/day + $3 for the picnic Pavilion, so a fee schedule exists but camping is priced at nothing). HONESTY: the official page is SILENT on the camping PRICE -- it never says 'free' -- so this is NOT high. The affirmative FREE claim is from The Dyrt (thedyrt.com/camping/north-dakota/rice-lake-county-park, read 2026-07-26: 'There are few campsites that are free', 'no water or electric hookups'), corroborated by OSM camp_site way/806655650 tagged fee=no and Visit Minot (visitminot.org/campgrounds: 'Primitive camping ... first-come, first-serve', silent on price). Reputable community listing states free + coordinate -> med. Coordinate: OSM camp_site way/806655650 centroid 48.011667,-101.527108 (~15 mi SSW of Minot). Ingest 2026-07-26.
--- NIGHTSHIFT REVIEW 2026-08-21 (fire 1220, leftover backlog) --- HOLDS UP. Re-read the official Ward County page co.ward.nd.us/525/Rice-Lake this fire; the Camping section is still verbatim as recorded -- 'Limited to 3 Consecutive Days', 'No Reservations (first come, first serve)', 'No Running Water, Electric, or Water Services'. The asymmetry that makes this bankable is also unchanged and worth restating: the same page DOES publish a fee schedule ($20/day for the picnic pavilion plus a $3.00 reservation fee, and a $10 cancellation fee) and prices camping at nothing. The page still never prints the word 'free', so this stays MEDIUM exactly as the ingest argued. Corroboration re-checked live: OSM way 806655650 is still present (v5), now named 'Rice Lake Park Public Campground', still tourism=camp_site and still fee=no, at this coordinate. APPROVED.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Rice Lake Park (Ward County)
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Rice Lake Park (Ward County)
Camping near a reservoir →Water on public land →Dumping grey & black →Power off-grid →All field notes →