REGIONAL— Construction on the new state campground designed specifically for off-road vehicles is well underway just east of Soudan, with an opening set for July 2025.
The new facility, dubbed the Murray Spur campground, will connect to the Prospectors Loop ATV trail, a trail system that connects Ely, Babbitt, Embarrass, Tower, and Soudan through forest roads and wooded trails. The network also connects riders with an ever-growing network of off-road vehicle trails in the region stretching from the North Shore to the Canadian border.
Another trail in the works will provide campers with direct access to both Tower and Soudan, where gas stations, restaurants, and other services are available.
The campground was part of the original concept for the Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park, but the idea ran into opposition from lawmakers and outdoors groups that opposed the lifting of a longstanding prohibition on ATVs and other off-road vehicles in state parks.
The small section of park land, about 400 acres, located just south of Hwy. 169 near the Murray forest management road, was re-designated as a state recreation area in 2020 to allow for construction of the OHV campground. Despite its new designation, state park staff will manage the new campground just as it manages other camping facilities within the park itself.
Park assistant manager Jim DeVries said the new campground will include 27 large, pull-thru campsites, which will be considerably wider than those found in most state park sites, to allow for loading, unloading, and maneuvering of off-road vehicles. Like most other state park campgrounds, facilities will include a shower house and vault toilets. The new campground is also slated to include an ATV wash station, which DeVries said is intended to help reduce the spread of invasive species, since seeds from invasive plants like dandelion and tansy are frequent hitchhikers on ATVs.
The new sites will provide for either tent camping or RVs.
In 2020, the park received $5.8 million in bonding funds from the Legislature to help move the project forward.