Go Underground Minnesota To The Enormous Cadillac Of Mines

Go Underground Minnesota To The Enormous Cadillac Of Mines

 

Take A Road Trip To Minnesota’s Newest State Park

 

Although the park’s geology is worth a road trip in itself, you will fall in love with this state park.  Don’t miss this beautiful drive into Minnesota’s Arrowhead region through small towns and relaxing roads.  Its nicely crafted campgrounds and beautiful lakeshore will make going home challenging.

 

Our son visited while on a road trip with his university class when he was a geology major. For this reason, we wanted to share from a geologist’s view. 

 

Before You Enter The Mine

 

If you have ever wanted to see what the Earth looks like under your feet, head to Minnesota’s Arrowhead where the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park is located. Soudan is in a well-known area, because of the Iron Range, where around 70% of the nation’s iron ore comes from. 

 

Most likely the items that you use daily contain steel like your car, magnets on the fridge, and even some medications. If you want to see where some of the items originate, drive north from Duluth, Minnesota along the Vermillion – Mesabi ranges where there are large active open-pit iron ore mines. 

 

Once you arrive at the 4,000-acre state park be sure to stop for information since there are many activities there. Some activities include camping, hiking, biking, boating, and touring the deepest mine in Minnesota. 

While exploring the park, keep your eyes out for exposed rock formations throughout the park called the Banded Iron Formation, otherwise known as BIF. These exposed geological rock formations are easy to find since they show up with red and black stripes. Some even sparkle too. In the formation, there are three different rocks. These include hematite, chert, and magnetite. 

 

Tip: If you see the sparkling rocks, try sticking a magnet to them since Banded Iron Formation rocks are magnetic.

A Brief History Of The Soudan Underground Mine

 

The Soudan Underground Mine was first opened in the late 1800s by prospectors looking for gold. Nevertheless, in 1901 the mine was bought out by the United States Steel Corporation. Due to production costs of iron ore rising and technology changing, it closed in 1962. In 1965, the United States Steel Corporation donated it to the state of Minnesota to use for education on mining. Ultimately, the mine was referred to as “The Cadillac of Mines” when in operation.

 

Take a road trip through Minnesota small towns to see Vibrant Fur Trading Life On Lake Superior At Fort William in Thunder Bay, Ontario. This historic fur trading fort will take you back in time through fun living history exhibits.

 

Time To Go Underground Minnesota To The Enormous Cadillac Of Mines

Before you go underground into the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine for the 1.5-hour tour you need to do two things. First, put on your hard hat, which the mine tour provides, then walk on special mats to remove spores off shoes. The mat protects the mine’s bat population from White Nose Syndrome.  

 

Now, the fun starts when you travel in the elevator cage that takes you underground to the 27th level.  It only holds a few people at a time, but it feels like you are getting into a steel cage with a door and small windows to see out. The cage starts to move after the tour guide closes the doors and latches them by hand. At that moment it starts moving underground for around three minutes, although it feels like forever. 

When the half-mile underground journey is finished, a small rail car ride waits for you. At this point, many people will have to bend over due to the tunnel being so short. After waiting for everyone to arrive at the rail car from the elevator, we traveled another three-quarters of a mile to the end of the tunnel.

 

Following this, we walked a short distance to another elevator cage that would take us down even further to the deepest part of the mine.  At the bottom of this shaft, another display showed us where they blasted and drilled the rock. 

 

See how iron ore is moved by massive ships on Lake Superior after it leaves a mine. 3 Exciting Places To See Massive Ships On Lake Superior

 

What To Look For During The Mine Tour

As you explore the mine be sure to look around. You will see mannequins wearing hard hats with big lights and tools showing how they mined iron ore before it closed. Even the tools and clothing are original from when the mine was open.

Tip: Before you leave or while waiting for the tour to begin, check out the buildings around the mine that include a headframe for the mine, engine house, crusher, drill shop, dry house, and machine shop.  You will find the visitor’s center in the dry house.

 

The Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park Is So Much More Than Geology

 

While some people travel to the park for outdoor activities, we recommend exploring this unique mine by taking a tour.  This mine offers tours from Memorial Day Weekend to the end of September and costs $15 for adults (13+), $10 for youth (5-12), and free for children under 5.  

 

Since the average temperature is a chilly 51 degrees you should bring a jacket or sweatshirt and wear sturdy closed-toe shoes for safety.  Definitely take your camera to capture those moments!   

 

Virginia (29 miles) and Hibbing (51 miles) Minnesota have the closest accommodations, but several campgrounds inside the park are worth taking a close look at.  The park campsites come with and without electricity.  

 

Two boat-in campsites are available on a first-come basis.  How fun would this be!

 

The park also has 8 NEW camper cabins, with two being accessible. They have heat, Wi-Fi, and electricity but no plumbing, although they share a heated restroom with flush toilets and a shower building.  To point out, no pets are allowed in the cabins.

 

Wildlife you might see includes black bears, deer, timber wolves, and fishers.  Loons, owls, hawks, and northern songbirds also live here.

 

Other activities include hiking, biking, fishing, boating, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and of course, picnics. You can walk or bike to town on a paved pathway that connects the campgrounds to the town of Soudan. Since you will be away from cities try stargazing too.

 

In fact, the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park also has over seven miles of hiking trails.

 

Notably, there is a wheelchair-accessible trail from the parking lot to the waterfront at the Armstrong Bay day-use area.

 

Here’s another fun Midwest road trip you should take through small towns. Fantastic Ways To Have A Remarkable Wisconsin Cranberry Experience

 

Final Thoughts

Everything about this tour was mind-blowing. If you ever get the chance to take the tour, I will highly recommend it and it’s less than 3 ½ hours from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. 

 

This is a fun state park filled with so many fun things to do besides the mine tour.  It’s worth the drive to the Minnesota Northwoods alone for the beauty of its forest, lake, over 7 miles of hiking trails, and ten continuous miles of lakeshore.  

 

Be sure to plan enough time to visit small towns on your road trip.  Minnesota’s Arrowhead region has plenty of unique small towns you will enjoy.  Did you know Bob Dylan was from Hibbing?

 

Fall is a fantastic time to go for leaf-peeping too.

 

Thanks for reading Go Underground Minnesota To The Enormous Cadillac Of Mines!

 

Tom and Kristi