Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park - Vermilion Ridge Campground

🌲 Introduction / Overview: Minnesota's Next-Generation State Park Camping

As one of the newest additions to the cherished Minnesota State Park system, the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park offers a unique blend of natural beauty, deep history, and cutting-edge recreational facilities. At the heart of its development lies the Vermilion Ridge Campground, a modern camping facility designed for the 21st-century camper. Far from a rustic, decades-old loop, this is a "brand new campground," as one visitor described it, featuring spacious, well-appointed sites and top-of-the-line amenities.

Situated in the Northwoods, near the historic town of Tower, the campground provides visitors with direct access to the vast shoreline of Lake Vermilion and the unique geological and historical attractions of Minnesota's oldest, deepest iron ore mine. The commitment to quality is evident in the user feedback, which praises the campground as "one of the top campgrounds in the state park system." It’s built to accommodate every type of outdoor enthusiast, from tent campers enjoying the woods to RVers needing full hookups, all while ensuring a comfortable, accessible, and high-quality experience.

The Vermilion Ridge Campground is more than just a place to stay; it is your gateway to exploring the rugged beauty of the Vermilion Range, offering a convenient and peaceful basecamp for hiking, boating, fishing, and diving into the rich mining history of the region. The state park's focus on energy efficiency and modern design truly makes this a flagship destination for Minnesota State Park camping.

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🧭 Location and Accessibility: Gateway to the Vermilion Range

Vermilion Ridge Campground is ideally positioned within the larger Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park, located near the town of Tower, Minnesota. This area is easily accessible off a major highway, though visitors should take note that GPS systems may sometimes direct them incorrectly to the older mine entrance, so following state park signage is recommended upon arrival in the Tower area.

The facility’s approximate address and contact point is:

Old, MN-169, Tower, MN 55790, USA (Part of Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park)

While the campground loop itself does not sit directly on the lakeshore, it offers excellent access to the park’s many attractions:

• Proximity to Lake Vermilion: Public water access, a boat launch, and fishing piers are available at locations like Cable Bay and Armstrong Bay Day Use Area, making it easy to get out on the 40,000-acre lake.
• Historic Access: The campground is a short distance from the Soudan Underground Mine portion of the park, where visitors can traditionally take tours 2,341 feet underground (Note: Mine tours are occasionally suspended for maintenance or events, so check the MN DNR website for current status).
• Trail Connections: Campers have direct access to wooded trail systems, including those leading to scenic spots like the Onamani Outlook and connections to the Mesabi Trail for extensive biking.

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🏕️ Services Offered

As a next-generation state park facility, Vermilion Ridge Campground offers robust, modern services designed for maximum guest comfort:

• Campsites: The campground features approximately 32 drive-in electric campsites, which can accommodate tents, trailers, and RVs. All electric sites offer 30/50 amp hookups.
• Group Camping: Offers three large group campsites (Ojjig, Maang, and Mooz), designed to hold up to 30 or 50 people, each often featuring screened picnic shelters.
• Camper Cabins: Includes eight modern, year-round camper cabins that provide heat, electricity, and Wi-Fi, sleeping up to six people, offering an excellent alternative to traditional camping.
• Essential Hookups: Sites include electric hookups and individual fire rings and picnic tables. Drinking water is available throughout the park.
• Sanitary Facilities: Features brand-new, modern shower buildings with flush toilets, praised by guests for being clean, updated, and using energy-saving features like sensor-activated plumbing.
• R/V Service: A sanitary dump station is conveniently located near the campground entrance.
• Technology: Free Wi-Fi coverage is provided throughout the developed areas of the campground.
• Visitor Services: A Visitor Center, gift shop, and park office are available for information and permits. Firewood is available for purchase from the camp host.

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🌟 Features / Highlights

The Vermilion Ridge Campground distinguishes itself with its spacious design, exceptional facilities, and integrated recreational access:

• Spacious, Private Sites: Sites are intentionally large and "spread out," featuring natural trees and vegetation to ensure a high degree of privacy and seclusion, suitable even for large RVs. One reviewer noted, "You are well away from your neighbors."
• Brand New & Modern Facilities: The campground is celebrated for being new. The restrooms and showers are described as "nicest modern" facilities available, incorporating energy-saving features like solar panels and LED lighting.
• Historic Mine Tours: The campground is an ideal staging point for the iconic Soudan Underground Mine tours, where visitors descend nearly a half-mile below the surface to explore Minnesota’s mining history and the former site of the Soudan Underground Laboratory.
• Four Seasons Recreation: In addition to summer hiking and boating, the park offers groomed snowmobile trails, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing in the winter, supporting year-round recreation.
• Integrated Trail System: Direct access to miles of hiking trails, including the path to the spectacular Onamani Outlook, and connections to regional paved trails like the Mesabi Trail for biking enthusiasts.
• Accessible Design: The new campground features ADA-accessible campsites, accessible camper cabins, and even accessible mine tours (except for the walking drift tour), making the Northwoods experience available to a wider audience.

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📞 Contact Information

For reservations, current tour schedules, or information regarding a Minnesota State Park vehicle permit, please use the official contact details for the park management.

Address:

Old, MN-169, Tower, MN 55790, USA (Use park signage near Tower/Soudan for precise directions)

Primary Phone (Park Office):

(218) 300-7017

Mobile Phone:

+1 218-300-7017

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🥇 What is Worth Choosing: A Seamless Blend of Modern Comfort and Rich History

Minnesotans seeking the very best of both worlds—modern convenience and profound natural/historical significance—will find the Vermilion Ridge Campground to be an outstanding choice. It’s worth choosing for its status as a "top campground" in the state system, offering the largest, most private, and best-equipped sites in the region.

The key value proposition here is the investment in quality: the new, clean, and energy-efficient showers and restrooms, the reliable Wi-Fi, and the wide, level campsites that effortlessly accommodate the largest rigs. Unlike many rustic state parks, this facility feels new and thoughtfully designed. Most compelling, however, is the unmatched opportunity to combine a relaxing lakeside camping trip with the bucket-list experience of touring the Soudan Underground Mine, giving your family a unique historical and educational dimension to their Northwoods adventure that no other campground can offer.