Soudan Underground Mine Tours Resume Memorial Day Weekend After Flood Damage

After two years of silence 2,300 feet underground, the hoisting equipment at Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park will start moving again on May 23, the first day of Memorial Day weekend and the official start of the mine's 2026 public tour season.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced the return on March 30, framing it as the culmination of a multi-year recovery effort following extensive flooding in mid-2024 that forced the closure of northeastern Minnesota's most distinctive heritage attraction. The season will run through October 18, 2026.

For the Tower and Soudan area, the timing could not come soon enough. The mine's two-year absence from the regional tourism calendar hit local hospitality and service businesses during what should have been back-to-back peak summer and fall visitation seasons. The Timberjay, which covers the Iron Range communities most directly affected, documented the mine's role as an economic and cultural anchor for the region, with ripple effects on businesses that depend on visitor traffic the mine reliably generates from Memorial Day through mid-October.

The tour itself remains one of the most singular experiences in St. Louis County: visitors descend more than 2,300 feet to the mine's 27th level in historic hoisting equipment, then ride nearly a mile underground by train to the mining stopes where iron ore was once extracted. The combination of industrial heritage and genuine subterranean scale is not replicated anywhere else on the Iron Range.

The DNR opened online reservations on April 1, and given pent-up demand after two summers without tours and the mine's constrained underground capacity, early booking is critical. Tickets are required for adults and children ages 5 through 12; children 4 and under are admitted free. Visitors should come prepared with proper footwear and should be aware that the underground portions have limited accessibility options.

Not everything will be fully operational when the first group descends in May. Some specialized offerings, including science lab tours, may remain limited while DNR staff complete repairs and safety checks that are still ongoing. The department said it will publish updates if schedules or available services change before or during the season.

The mine's return gives St. Louis County's summer tourism calendar its most irreplaceable anchor experience back after two lost seasons.