Short answer: No. Centerville, Peltier, Reshanau, and the other Rice Creek Chain lakes are connected by water, but you can't take a boat from one lake to the next. Your boat stays on the lake your dock is on. The three lakes in the chain that are fully recreational for boating are Centerville, Peltier, and Reshanau. If running between lakes from your own dock is what you want, that's a different kind of chain, like the lakes around Lindstrom.
This one surprises buyers. "Chain of lakes" sounds like miles of boating. Here it means the lakes are linked by Rice Creek and a big county park, not by a boat route.
What "chain" means here
The Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve is an Anoka County park in Centerville and Lino Lakes. It's woods, wetland, and about a dozen lakes tied together by Rice Creek. Centerville and Peltier sit at the top. Below the dam on Peltier come George Watch, Marshan, Rice, and Baldwin. Lake Reshanau is part of the chain too.
Most of that shoreline is park, not houses. That's the real draw. Not boating between lakes.
Pick the lake, not the chain
When you buy here, the lake your home sits on is your boating. If boating is a big part of why you want a lake home, focus on Centerville, Peltier, and Reshanau. Those are the fully recreational lakes in the chain. Then judge that lake on its own: size, depth, and the rules for motors. Pull size and depth from the DNR's LakeFinder, and check motor rules with the DNR and Anoka County Parks.
Kayaks and canoes are a different story
Paddlers can follow Rice Creek below the Peltier dam through George Watch, Marshan, Rice, and Baldwin. Getting between Peltier and the lakes below it means carrying around the dam. Anoka County puts the full Rice Creek Water Trail at about 23 miles from the Peltier launch.
Several lakes in the park don't allow motorboats at all, so it stays quiet. Some paddlers report heavy weeds on George Watch by late summer, so spring and early summer tend to be easiest.
Buying here? Ask these three things
- How big is the lake the home is on, and does it fit how you want to use the water?
- What are the motor rules on that lake?
- If you paddle, where's the nearest put-in on Rice Creek?
Quick FAQ
Can I take my boat from Centerville Lake to Peltier Lake? No. They're connected by water, but not by a route you can boat.
Which Rice Creek Chain lakes are best for boating? Centerville, Peltier, and Reshanau. They're the fully recreational lakes in the chain. Several of the others don't allow motorboats.
Where's the public boat launch? Next to the dam on Peltier Lake, inside the park reserve.
Is Lake Reshanau part of the chain? Yes. It's one of the Rice Creek Chain lakes in Lino Lakes.
Where can you boat between lakes from your dock? The lakes around Lindstrom are the closest example most people know. The Rice Creek Chain doesn't work that way.
Looking at a home on Centerville, Peltier, or Reshanau and want the honest read on what life on that lake is like? Send me the address.
Tim Ornell | Realtor, Real Broker Luxury Division (NASDAQ: REAX) | 651.263.9480 | ornellgroup.com
Sources: MN DNR: Peltier Lake · Anoka County Parks: Canoe/Kayak Launch Locations · Press Publications: Rice Creek Chain of Lakes · Twin Cities Outdoors: Paddling in Anoka County · Twin Cities Outdoors: Kayaking the Rice Creek Chain · MN DNR LakeFinder
