Area Attractions

Fortune Bay Resort Casino

1430 Bois Forte Rd., Tower, MN 55790;

218-753-6400 or 1-800-992-7529;

Open 365 days a year; 174 deluxe rooms and suites, many overlooking beautiful Lake Vermilion

* 24 hour casino

* 84 Full Service slip marina

* Conference center

* RV park

* Bois Forte Heritage Center

Website: www.fortunebay.com/casino

Soudan Underground Mine State Park

This park is home to Minnesota's oldest iron ore mine, where visitors can learn about how mining shaped the history and culture of the Iron Range. Explore the dry house, drill shop, crusher house and engine house, and take the boardwalk past one of the deepest open mine pits. Take an underground mine tour and travel a half mile beneath the earth to the deepest area that was mined. And don't miss the hiking trails that take you through a northern hardwood conifer forest, past the famous Soudan Iron Formation!

2015 Soudan Underground Mine Interpretive Tours

Mine Tours

May 23rd through September 30 & Oct 3, 4, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 Call for tour times

The tour leads visitors through the world of underground mining. Visitors don hard hats and enter a "cage" for the descent into the mine. The 1 1/2-hour mine tour will take you half a mile down into the earth. Once underground you will be treated to a 3/4-mile train ride to the last and deepest area mined. The mine is 51 F year-around, so remember to bring a warm jacket or sweater and sturdy shoes. The park offers group tours to schools, colleges, organizations and businesses. Tours meet at the visitor center.

Physics Lab Tours

May 23rd through September 30 & Oct 3, 4, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 Call for tour times

The Soudan Underground Laboratory is the leading deep underground science and engineering laboratory in the United States today. Scientists from around the world have been working at Soudan for 25 years trying to answer basic questions about the Universe in which we live: Is matter completely stable? What is the nature of the fundamental forces? Can we identify the Dark Matter that seems to permeate our Universe? Learn about our first neutrino events using the neutrino beam from Fermilab and see the massive MINOS detector (Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search). Learn about CDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) and its continued search for a WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles).
Tours meet at the visitor center.

Location Main Park Entrance 1302 McKinley Park Road Soudan, MN 55782

Mailing Address and Winter Entrance 1379 Stuntz Bay Road, P.O. Box 335 Soudan, MN 55782

Phone: 218-753-2245

Email: soudanmine.stateparks@state.mn.us

Download the Soudan Underground Mine Brochure: http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/destinations/state_parks/soudan_underground_mine/mine_tours.pdf

Website: www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/soudan_underground_mine/index.html

The Wilderness At Fortune Bay

National Accolades for The Wilderness at Fortune Bay:

#1 - Top 50 Golf Courses You Can Play in America – Golfnewsnet 2017
#8 Overall, #1 Public - Best Golf Courses in Minnesota - Golf Digest 2017/2018
#42 - Best Resort Courses – Golfweek 2017
#57 - America's 100 Greatest You Can Play - Golf Digest 2017/2018
#2 - Best: State-by-State Courses You Can Play – Golfweek 2017
#8, #1 in MN - Best Casino Courses in America - Golfweek 2016
#1 in MN - Best 19th hole bar/restaurant – Golf Advisor 2016

Discover the scenic beauty of the new 18-hole Wilderness at Fortune Bay, part of Northern Minnesota’s premiere vacation destination at Fortune Bay Resort Casino. Carved from the beautiful landscape surrounding the shores of Lake Vermilion, the course offers some of the most scenic panoramas of any Midwest golf resort. But don’t be too drawn in by its dramatic views, this Minnesota golf getaway can serve up some of the most challenging play you’ve ever experienced.Designed by Texas golf course architect Jeffrey D. Brauer, The Wilderness measures approximately 7,207 from the back tees, giving long hitters all they can handle. With fours sets of tees, golfers of all abilities can pick a challenge best suited to their skill level. In addition, all carts at The Wilderness come equipped with a GPS system designed to maintain a sufficient pace of play and enhance the experience of those playing the course for the first time.

Located just hours North of the Twin Cities, few areas in Minnesota can match the scenic beauty of Tower and the Iron Trail region. Spectacular views of Lake Vermillion atop a high granite ridge are just one of the many wonders to discover at The Wilderness. The surrounding woodlands make for an enjoyable experience even on days when par is rare. The Wilderness at Fortune Bay with its vast array of amenities is also the perfect venue for outings and special events. This Minnesota resort features comfortable accommodations, casual dining, pool, fitness center, game room, a newly remodeled casino and much more. For your next Midwest golf getaway, just head North and experience all that The Wilderness at Fortune Bay has to offer for yourself.

Website: www.golfthewilderness.com

Call 800-992-4680

PIER 77

MINI - GOLF

WEBSITE

www.pier77minigolf.com

Pier 77 Mini-Golf is a family owned business dedicated to family fun. Have fun golfing our spectacular mini-golf course with unique northwoods themes and enjoy your choice of refreshments in our clubhouse.

Our establishment is nestled in the northwoods by the shores of Lake Vermilion, and contains the essentials for an afternoon of mini-golfing: 18 holes, followed by a soft-serve ice cream, malts, pizza, coffee and Wi-Fi access. We also provide a mosquito free golfing environment for your golfing pleasure.

Pier 77, LLC
4066 County Rd 77
Tower, MN 55790

Phone: 218-753-6004

Email: info@pier77minigolf.com

THE NORTH AMERICAN BEAR CENTER

Great things await you inside! The North American Bear Center is the only black bear and wildlife educational facility of its kind. Dedicated to replacing old myths with facts, people learn from the bears themselves about bear behavior, ecology, and their relations with humans.

We work closely with our partners at the Wildlife Research Institute and renowned bear biologist Dr. Lynn Rogers to create exhibits and content for the bear center. You can spend hours or days exploring all of our exhibits and videos about black bear behavior and animals that coexist with black bears in the northwoods.

Dr. Rogers’s trust-based research methods combining scientific observation with modern technology reveal more about black bear life than was ever learned with traps and tranquilizers. Attitudes change as bears themselves refute our most deeply held misconceptions.

Never has education been so important. Bear habitat is shrinking worldwide as people move into bear habitat and refuse to coexist with animals they fear. The future of the bears that live around these people depends upon knowledge and attitude.

The videos of wild bears featured at the North American Bear Center let people learn from the bears themselves. They include videos on vocalizations, body language, mating, fighting, nursing, hibernation, care of cubs, exiting from the den, foraging for different classes of food, playing.

All bear mounts, which include polar, black, and brown/grizzly, are posed naturally. A huge life-sized replica of an extinct short-faced bear skeleton dominates the main exhibit area. A wall of windows overlooks the bear enclosure with its pond and waterfalls. Subtle background sounds of bears foraging, cubs nursing, and birds singing fill the air–all natural sounds that come from 60+ exhibits featuring TVs playing high-definition video footage of wild black bears, brown/grizzly, and polar bears as they go about their daily activities in the forests, coastal regions and tundra.

On Facebook @ www.facebook.com/NorthAmericanBearCenter

Website @ www.bear.org

North American Bear Center
1926 Highway 169,
Ely, MN 55731

218-365-7879 • 877-365-7879

Mailing Address:
PO Box 161
Ely, MN 55731