North Shore Adventure Park in Silver Bay, Minn., will soon be home to rock and ice climbing, mountain bike trails with a terrain park, an aerial ropes course, zip line, and more attractions.
“Eleanor”, the future home of rock climbing at North Shore Adventure Park
The three acre park, just off Highway 61 on the north shore of Lake Superior, was once a gas station, which is currently being demolished. “It just needs a little love and tender care, I think, to really reach its potential,” said Alice Tibbetts, an investor in the project. “We hope the project will boost tourism and create a more vibrant community.”
The decades-old gas station housed several fuel tanks which leaked, contaminating the site. According to the developers, pollution cleanup is being funded by a grant from the State of Minnesota, with a cost-share grant and demo grant through the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, and staff assistance from the City of Silver Bay.
“I noticed this beautiful little cliff behind this gas station when moving here nearly two years ago, and we gave it a name: Eleanor,” said Phil Huston, another investor in the project. “I’m hoping we can make it attractive and we can point out some of the other wonderful qualities of Silver Bay that maybe people don’t know about.”
Developers hope to have a soft opening for the rock-climbing wall in early July. They are also hoping to gain an additional ten acres of land to expand the attractions beyond the rock wall. The zip line, ropes course, and mountain biking are being included in future phases of construction.
