After Nearly Half A Decade Of Closures, Popular Minnesota State Park Attraction To Reopen This Year

A popular attraction at a Northern Minnesota state park is getting ready to welcome visitors for what they hope is their first full season in about a half-decade.

The ever-popular underground mine tours at Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park near Tower, Minnesota have faced a few years of unrelated circumstances that have left visitors unable to explore the depths of one of the region's most unique and popular attractions.

After overcoming their most recent obstacle, there's some good news on the horizon!

What are the underground mine tours at Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park all about?

The park offers visitors the opportunity to travel 2,341 feet below the surface, deep into the shaft of the Soudan Underground Mine on Minnesota's Iron Range. Yep, that's nearly a half mile into the earth!

The park highlights that this 90-minute tour exploring such a deep mine and part of the country's rich mining history is among the most unique tours in the country.

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The park's website explains that the iron mine operated from 1882-1962 before being gifted to the State of Minnesota to be turned into a state park in 1965.

What have been the obstacles preventing visitors from touring the mine?

The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and a multi-million dollar restoration project kept visitors from touring the mine from 2020 through May of 2024.

Only a couple of weeks after reopening to the public last May, torrential rainfall on the Iron Range forced the attraction to close to visitors in June.

The combination of torrential rain and a suspected lightning strike impacting their pumping system led to several feet of water accumulating in the mine. This led to an unfortunate and unexpected closure that kept the mine closed to visitors for the rest of the 2024 season.

Good news on the horizon for Soudan Underground Mine tours

After being open for only a couple of weeks before being forced to shut down very early for the rest of their season, the park is getting ready to welcome visitors once again!

The park's website now highlights that mine tours will resume once again in the spring of 2025. Specifics about when the mine will reopen to tours have yet to be announced for this year, but it's great news that they'll be able to welcome visitors back once again!

Most years, the underground mine tours start up Memorial Day weekend and run daily through the end of September. I'd guess that might be the same timeline for this year.

If you do want to visit, you'll want to reserve your tickets in advance. Tour sizes are limited and often sell out. You can reserve tickets via the park's website.