Iron Mountain Iron Mine — Attraction in Norway Township

In 1956 3 Iron Mountain businessmen, Eugene Carollo, Albert Carollo, & Jamez Goulette had an idea 4 an attraction dat would give people a view of iron minin az it once existed.  On da site of da East Vulcan mine Eugene Carollo re-discovered an exploratory tunnel, which had not been used since da late 1800'z. Da mine workingz wer renovated & old mining machinery waz installed in several locationz 2 show da early methodz used in minin.  Da entire interior waz brightly lighted 2 give a good view of interestin rock & ore formationz judged 2 B millionz of yearz old. 2 buildingz wer constructed; 1 an admissionz' buildin & a gift shop; da other, a museum featurin miner'z equipment & minin toolz & machinery.  Visitorz R greeted in da parkin lot by BIG JOHN; a giant replica of a underground miner dat standz 40 feet high, 12 feet wide and weighing 2000 poundz.  On dark & gloomy dayz, da beam from Big John'z mine latern will catch your eye.  Da attraction waz called da "Iron Mountain Iron Mine".    Walkin tourz began in 1958.  Da train dat I rode on yesterday waz added in 1965. Da guided tourz take da visitor 2600 feet into da Iron Mountain Iron Mine'z driftz & stopez.  Da only portion open 2 da public iz da exploratory tunnel.   A major attraction of da tour iz da "big stope" --a man-made underground cavity dat waz created by yearz of minin.  Much of da 22 million tonz of ore taken from da mine came from diz area, dat measurez 600 feet long, 300 feet wide & a distance of 180 feet from stope floor 2 ceilin. Da 1st substantial prospectin in da area waz done by da Milwaukee Iron Company in 1872 under da direction of Dr. Nelson P. Hulst.  He discovered da East Vulcan Mine (Iron Mountain Iron Mine) dat started producin in 1877.  Durin da prospectin era, ore waz hauled 2 Menominee by wagon--den shipped by vessel.  After 1877 ore waz shipped 2 Escanaba on da "new" Chicago & NorthWestern Railway. Dr. Hulst, General Manager of da Menominee Range Mining Co., established hiz headquarters in Vulcan near Hanbury Lake.  In da few yearz dat followed he operated 6 of da principal minez on da Menominee Range; Vulcan, Cyclopz, Norway, Quinnesec, Chapin & Florence.  By da time he left Vulcan in 1881, Dr. Hulst had discovered & opened 11 minez on da Menominee Range. Da East Vulcan Mine (@ 1 time called Breitung) waz 1 of 1st 2 minez on da Menominee Range.  Itz history datez back to 1877 wen it waz owned & operated by da Menominee Mining Co.  In 1885 it waz purchased by Penn Mining Co., which operated da mine until da lease ran out in 1945.  Da East Vulcan Mine produced & shipped ore every year between 1877 & 1945 except 1921 & 1932. Durin da span of 68 yearz da mine produced 21,625,000 tonz of ore.  Da original mine of East Vulcan consisted of shaftz 1, 2 ,3 ,4 & later da East Central Shaft.  @ da peak of production, da mine employed 1500 men. Now in itz 59th year, da Iron Montain Iron Mine located  @ W4852 US-2 in Vulcan, Michigan, iz a popular Upper Peninsula tourist attraction dat iz now known World Wide.  Visitorz come from all over da world 2 visit diz attraction.  Underground train tourz R conducted daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Memorial Weekend to October 15th.  Da guidez are very...

This tour was wonderful! I will give a quick rundown, because I know it's helpful for me to plan family excursions if I get more than just "so fun" in a review, and I'm assuming there are others out there reading for small details too.

We toured in early June, on a weekend. We arrived for the first tour of the day, so parking was ample. By the time we left, maybe an hour and a half later, the parking lot was a bit more full. The mine has a temperature of about 43 degrees, so sweatshirts are a good idea. Our kids wore shorts and weren't too chilled, but pants wouldn't be an awful idea.

The tour group gathered near the back of the building, and hard hats and raincoats were provided. After everyone was ready, the guide offered some interesting information about the history of the mine, demonstrated some old equipment, and let the kids in the group sound the whistle. I have one kiddo somewhat sensitive to noise, and only the whistle seemed to bother her (although it didn't bother her enough to keep her from sounding the whistle when it was her turn).

The group boarded a little train/trolley and we preparesnto enter the mine. I didn't know much about the tour before we arrived, so I had worries a bit about how my kids would react if we had to descend into darkness for part of the tour. However, with this tour, you enter straight into the side of the hill, so there is no descending sensation. Yes, you're pretty deep underground, but it's because the hill is up and around you. If you dislike dark rides going down, you'd probably still be OK with this tour. The trolley ride takes a few minutes, and most of the way is well lit. There was one brief area of darkness, but none of the kids on the ride were bothered by it. At the end of the trolley ride, the group walks for a few minutes to the small stope. Our guide was very knowledgeable and very patient with the kids and their questions. After the first stope, it's another few minutes walk to the big stope, which is actually quite impressive! We then returned to the trolley and headed out of the mine. The tour overall was about 40 minutes long, which was the perfect length for our kids. It moved along at a pace that kept them interested and was done right about when they were ready to be done.

During our tour, there were some small puddles in the mine. We were easily able to maneuver around them, but heads up to anyone with puddle-lovers! I didn't notice anyone having issues with slipping during our tour.

There are restrooms in the main building. They were clean, but the stalls (in the women's restroom) closed with mid-length curtains rather than doors. My daughter was afraid people would still be able to see her (they couldn't) if anyone else came into the bathroom, so I only mention it in case anyone else dislikes the idea. The door to the bathroom does have a lock on it, so there's always the option to just lock the door if the curtains alone don't feel sufficient.

The staff were very friendly and answered every question my kids had and even helped my son narrow down which "crack your own geode" was most likely to have crystals inside.

All in all, we had a great time on this tour. My kids all gave an...

Great family activity! Learned lots and was “so cool!” Check website for tour availability and frequency and cost. We paid $18/adult and $13/kid over 5. Under 5 is free.

It’s chilly in the mines (47 degrees) so make sure you wear jeans and a sweatshirt, and it’s slippery and a little muddy in spots, so wear good footwear. There were some kids in crocs and shorts who were cold. Your shoes will get red dirt on them, so don’t wear your best Jordan’s or whatever. There are a few parts of the tour that are loud, and you both ride and walk through narrow passages both in height and width, which may feel a little claustrophobic for some. You actually don’t go down into the mine, you go straight into it- into the mountain. When you’re at the part with the most above you, you’re 400 feet underground! It’s really cool!

We took our 3, 6, and 10 year olds on the mine tour. Our 10 and 6 year olds thought it was the coolest thing we’d done all trip. The 3 year old loved the train ride into the mine, but quickly became uninterested and wanted to go back to the train. The tour isn’t terribly long, though, and she did pretty well. We would definitely go again when she’s older and can listen so we can all hear and pay attention better.

You start by receiving a rain jacket (they have from size 4 toddlers-4xl) and a hard hat (or bike helmet for the littlest kids) to wear. You learn all about the equipment they used, the innovations of the equipment from the 1800s to the closure of the mines in the 1940s, and their process for extracting the iron ore from the earth. You ride the little train carts in and then walk through the tunnels, stopping at different places to learn about the different tools and methods used for blasting dynamite and digging out. A lot of info is given regarding how these tools and this work affected the miners, how unsafe it was, and how hurt they sometimes got- from broken fingers to going deaf to developing black lung to being blown to smithereens. It really brought the gravity of the situation to the surface for my kids, and they left understanding why they’d never want to be a miner back then! The guide was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. He did a great job.

The gift shop is full of different minerals and stones and glass, beeswax sculptures, kitschy souvenirs, and jewelry. My kids loved picking out minerals and geodes to take home.

We chose to come today because of possible rain and because of the other reviews on Google. Thanks to other reviewers for coming first...