This Minnesota State Park is Now Permanently Closed

It had been one of Minnesota's State Parks for nearly 35 years, but this park is now permanently closed.

Minnesota is, of course, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But hidden amongst those many lakes are some impressively beautiful state parks and recreation areas, though that list just became a little smaller, as the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced it just permanently closed one of those locations.

The North Star State has MANY different parks, and recreational areas that are open to Minnesotans to enjoy. And according to the DNR, just under 10 MILLION (9,857,793  to be precise) visitors head to Minnesota's state parks each year.

ALSO INTERESTING: One of the Least-Popular Parks in the US is in Minnesota

Specifically, Minnesota is home to:

+ 65 state parks
+ 9 recreation areas
+ 9 waysides
+ 4,440 campsites
+ 207 horse campsites
+ 104 group camps
+ 105 water access campsites
+ 644 archaeological and historic cemetery sites
+ 306 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places

But if you were planning a trip to the following state park, you're now out of luck. That's because it has been 'deauthorized as a state park and is now closed,' the DNR said in in a recent release.

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So which state park is now not a state park anymore? That would be the former Hill Annex Mine State Park, in Calumet, Minnesota. It's located on Minnesota's Iron Range northwest of Duluth, a little over three hours north of the Twin Cities.

Hill Annex Mine State Park officially became one of Minnesota's state parks back in 1991. It's located on the site of the former Hill Annex Mine, an open pit mine that, over the course of its 60 years in existence, produced 63 million tons of iron ore and was once the sixth largest producer in the state, the DNR said.

SEE ALSO: These Are Minnesota's Most Snake-Infested Lakes

But it wasn't like your usual state park, however. There weren't any campsites or swimming areas at Hill Annex Mine State Park, but there were instead several tours and artifacts that helped tell the story of mining in Minnesota.

However, when the mine became part of the DNR, there was always the understanding and 'historical expectation that mining would return to this site,' the DNR noted. Which is what's happening now, as a new proposal to return the site to an active mining operation has been filed with the DNR:

Northern News Now explains more:

The Calumet Reclamation Company has proposed a scram mining plan, extracting the iron ore left behind on previous mine sites, including the Hill Annex Mine State Park land. The Minnesota DNR is still evaluating that proposal.

So while you won't be able to head up and take a self-guided tour of Hill Annex Mine any longer, you CAN still head out to any one of Minnesota's many other state parks and recreation areas.

And if you REALLY want to get away, keep scrolling to check out this secluded up north Minnesota cabin that's for sale, but keep in mind it's BYOB-- bring your own boat, because that's the only way you can access it!

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