Soudan Underground Mine State Park History, Tours Suspended After 2024 Storm

Underground tours at Soudan Underground Mine State Park remain suspended after an extreme weather event in the summer of 2024, the Minnesota DNR says. “According to the Minnesota DNR, all Soudan Underground Minetours are suspended until further notice due to an extreme weather event in the summer of 2024. Park staff are working hard to reclaim the route and hope to be able to provide tours again this summer,” ExploreMinnesota reports.

The site preserves one of the Vermilion Iron Range’s earliest operations and is often described in tourism materials as Minnesota's oldest, deepest and richest iron mine. The property, transferred to the state in 1963 and opened as Soudan Underground Mine State Park in 1965, also hosts the Soudan Underground Laboratory and museum exhibits that include maps of underground levels and photos of miners and mining life.

When the minetours operate, the underground experience is dramatic and technical. ExploreMinnesota’s description says visitors “Don a hardhat and journey 2,341 feet via a cage to the 27th level, ride the rails back into the mine and listen to the stories of mining a century ago.” Regional listings also describe the site as roughly “1/2 mile beneath the earth’s surface,” reflecting differing depth wording across sources.

Above ground, visitors can still take surface tours daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with no reservation required. Surface exhibits include the dry house, drill shop, crusher and engine house, and the park’s interpretive Walking Drift Tour sends visitors on a 3/4 mile path where “Visitors will search for geologic clues on a ¾ mile walk that follows the route miners took to work each day.” Mndigital notes the park’s collections and interpretive materials focused on mining life and the local iron formation.

Practical details vary among listings: the park appears in directories with addresses listed as 1302 McKinley Park Road and as 1302 McKinley Park Rd, Box 335, Soudan, MN 55782, while Minnesota Digital Library material lists 1379 Stuntz Bay Road, PO Box 335, Soudan, MN 55782. Phone numbers given in source materials include (218) 300-7000, (218) 300-7005 and a toll-free line, (888) 646-6367. Access to the park is from MN-169 with approaches via McKinley Park Road or Stuntz Bay Road; nearby communities named in tourism guides include Tower, Peyla and McComber, and Duluth lies about 96 miles to the south.

Science programming remains an active local asset. ExploreMinnesota advertises a “Secrets of the Deep: Science Tour” that outlines experiments conducted in the former physics lab and shows how bacteria found in the mine are being studied for treatments for white-nose syndrome in bats, alternative energy and water purification. The park sits near the Mesabi Trail; Mesabi Trail contact details list 111 Station 44 Road, Eveleth, MN 55734, toll-free 1-877-637-2241 and direct 218-744-1388, and note funding from the LCCMR and the Minnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Local festival ties persist while underground access is paused: Mesabi Trail and Soudan-area materials list Long John Days in February, a Wild Rice Festival on Labor Day weekend and Soudan’s Fourth of July events as community touchpoints. Park staff and regional tourism partners advise checking Soudan Underground Mine State Park’s website and social channels for updates as crews work on reclaiming underground routes; in the meantime surface tours and on-park exhibits provide a tangible look at the mine’s history and science programs for visitors.