Split Rock Lighthouse State Park to add new campground

BEAVER BAY, Minn. (AP) - One of Minnesota’s more popular state parks is getting a new campground.

Work continues this year on a project to add Split Rock Lighthouse State Park’s first drive-in camping option. The Shipwreck Creek campground is tentatively planned to open in the fall, with 46 sites with electric service and a modern shower and bathroom facility.

The park near Beaver Bay currently has only walk-in and cart-in campsites.

Park manager Katie Foshay tells Minnesota Public Radio News that lots of people are looking for the drive-in sites.

The project also includes a parking lot for hikers and mountain bikers, to access both the Gitchi-Gami State Trail and a network of new mountain bike trails being constructed by Lake County adjacent to the park. Twelve miles are already built, with another 10 miles planned for this summer.

The $7.5 million cost for the design, permitting and construction of the campground project is from the Parks & Trails Legacy Fund. Lake County received a $1.6 million grant from the state that went toward the access road.