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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Campground opening date remains uncertain

Grand opening now planned for spring 2018

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 8/16/17

BREITUNG TWP— Minnesotans may have to wait until next spring to make use of the new campground at the Lake Vermilion Soudan Underground Mine State Park. With the summer winding down, the Department …

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Campground opening date remains uncertain

Grand opening now planned for spring 2018

Posted

BREITUNG TWP— Minnesotans may have to wait until next spring to make use of the new campground at the Lake Vermilion Soudan Underground Mine State Park. With the summer winding down, the Department of Natural Resources still has no firm date for when the multi-million dollar facility will actually open to the public.

The campground, which was originally scheduled to open this past spring, has suffered from unrelated construction delays elsewhere in the park, along with technical issues ranging from the campground’s wi-fi to water filtration.

The delayed opening is, in part, a reflection of the decision by top DNR officials to hold off opening the campground until all systems are fully operational and related park infrastructure is completed. The campground is located nearly five miles from the park entrance, and DNR officials decided that they needed more informational resources, such as an information center and wayfaring signs, before opening the campground to users.

The self-service information center, located about three-quarters of a mile into the park, was originally scheduled for completion at the end of June. But contractors were still working on the facility as of this week and Park Manager Jim Essig said there is no longer a firm completion date.

DNR officials also wanted the state park entrance sign, located along Hwy. 169, to be installed before the campground opened. The base of the sign was completed in late July, but when the actual sign arrived, the color scheme was off, which required shipping it back for repainting. Similar issues with materials have plagued the various park projects for weeks, according to Minnesota State Park Director Erika Rivers, who added: “It appears that we may be able to open at least part of the campground in September.”

But the DNR is now planning a grand opening for the full campground next spring.

While other projects have caused much of the delay, Essig said a few items do still remain on the campground’s punchlist that will have to be completed before the campground’s opening. The campground has also experienced some technical glitches with the facility’s complicated water and wastewater system and its Internet connectivity. Essig said it appears that the technical issues with the campground’s wi-fi system have been resolved. The park is supposed to be Minnesota’s first truly 21st century state park, with full Internet connectivity at key locations, particularly the campground.

Rivers said resource managers also want to give the new vegetation planted around the campground more time to become established to prevent erosion as a result of heavy foot traffic.