Great River Energy – Mesabi Trail Tour

All routes start & finish at the "Miners Dry House" at the Pioneer Mine Museum in Ely - 102 Miners Lake Landing Road, Ely, MN

The Turn-Around for Route #1 is just off Hwy 169, between Robich Rd & Twin Lakes Road - also a rest stop for all other routes - sorry no specific address, but you won't miss it when riding the tour.

This year's tour travels through some remote forested areas. There was no community near by for the first turn-around, so we found a wide spot on the trail to put up a tent (and toilets) so you can stop and take a break before returning to Ely, or before you continue on to enjoy more of the Mesabi Trail.

All routes start & finish at the "Miners Dry House" at the Pioneer Mine Museum in Ely - 102 Miners Lake Landing Road, Ely, MN.

The Turn-Around for Route #2 is at the Mesabi Trail kiosk near the Eagles Nest Township Hall - also a rest stop & storm shelter - 1553 Bear Head Lake State Road, Ely, MN

Eagles Nest Township just a few miles away from Bear Head State Park, and home to four beautiful lakes - Eagles Nest One thru Four. The Mesabi Trail leading into Eagles Nest will take you through the wilds of the boreal forest special to the Ely area - you'll already feel like you're in the BWCAW.

All routes start & finish at the "Miners Dry House" at the Pioneer Mine Museum in Ely - 102 Miners Lake Landing Road, Ely, MN.

The Turn-Around for Route #3 is in Soudan - also a rest stop & storm shelter - exact location TBD.

Soudan is located at the east end of Lake Vermilion just a couple of miles from Tower, and home to the Lake Vermilion - Soudan Underground Mine State Park. Covering 40,000 acres, Lake Vermilion stretches from Tower to Cook and is surrounded by the Superior National Forest and borders the BWCA, Fortune Bay Resort, Casino and Golf Course are only about 10 minutes away.

Tour start and finish activities will be held a the Miners Dry Building at the Pioneer Mine Museum location - 102 Miners Lake Landing Road, Ely, MN .

Ely has a long history of underground & open pit mining, from 1889 to 1967. Our start/finish location will give you a taste of some of that history. The Miners Dry Building is the old locker room, where miners changed clothes before & after their shifts; it's been renovated and turned into a community center. The Pioneer Mine "A" headframe is just steps away from the dry. The headframe consists of a series of large pulleys which hauled men and supplies into the depths of the 1,700 ft underground shaft.

Just outside the entrance to the Miners Dry, you will pick up the Trezona Trail, which connects to the Mesabi Trail about a mile later. The Trezona covers 3.65 miles around Miners Lake and past several of Ely's original mining sites. Miners Lake is the old underground mine - when it was closed, the shafts filled with groundwater and collapsed, forming a very deep lake offering a variety of recreation opportunities.