Soudan Underground Mine State Park - Soudan, Minnesota - State Park and Mine

Soudan Underground Mine State Park is located at Stuntz Bay Road in the unincorporated community of Soudan near Tower, Minnesota. To get there drivers should take U.S. Highway 169 towards Ely, follow the signs and Soudan is located 2 miles east of Tower. It is also approximately 85 miles from Duluth International Airport via US-53 S.

The park is at the site of the Soudan Underground Mine and is along the south shore of Lake Vermilion. The mine is the oldest, deepest and richest iron mine in Minnesota and is a U.S National Historic Landmark. During the summer months there are daily tours of the mine, where visitors are lowered in an 80-year-old electric mine hoist to level 27, the mine's lowest level at 2,341 feet below ground.

Visitors should wear warm dress and sturdy shoes when taking a tour of the mine and no bags or strollers are allowed. A guide will explain about its history dating back to its opening in the late 19th century when ore's high oxygen content was used to make high-quality steel in open-hearth furnaces. Technology changed over time and as a result the mine was no longer needed with it subsequently closing in 1962.

Above ground is the dry house, drill shop, crusher house and engine house open for visitors to explore. They also can walk the boardwalk past one of the deepest open mine pits or walk along a northern hardwood conifer forest, past the famous Soudan Iron Formation. A map of the trails can be obtained from the park office, while the Visitor Center offers both maps and brochures about the area.

The 1,300 acre park is also home to various species of birds and other wildlife such as northern songbirds, loons, hawks, owls, white-tailed deer, black bear and timber wolves. The trees are a wonderful sight too with white and Norway pine, aspen and birch and white cedar amongst the highlights. Visitors can participate in numerous activities here apart from the tour of the mine such as snowmobiling in the winter.

The park office is located at the end of entrance Road as is open Monday to Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day, while the rest of the year its opening times are more limited. The Visitor Center has a Nature Store, various interpretive exhibits, a tour center and visitors will also find handicap accessible restrooms here. The exhibits displayed at the Visitor Center focus on the mine as well as natural history and physics, and there are other exhibits on display elsewhere in the park and mine buildings.

There are no camping facilities at this park so visitors wishing to stay in the area overnight or longer will need to seek accommodation elsewhere. The nearest hotels are located in Tower with Fortune Bay Resort & Casino located about six and a half miles away in Bois forte Road. Still in Tower, the Bay View Lodge is a little further away in Bay View Drive, approximately 10 miles from the state park.