North Shore Adventure Park nearing completion in Silver Bay

There is a lot of activity at the corner of Highway 61 and Outer Drive in Silver Bay as the North Shore Adventure Park comes closer to reality. Developer Phil Huston says the park’s grand opening will be May 24.
 
The project started in the summer of 2017 when the old gas station and gift shop on Highway 61 were torn down to make way for the first phase of the North Shore Adventure Park: an outdoor climbing gym.  

The demolition took two days, with some additional time to clean up petroleum pollution from the former gas station, which had been constructed in 1956 and never upgraded. The pollution cleanup was funded with a $147,000 grant from the State of Minnesota, with a cost-share grant and a demolition grant of $50,000 through Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and staff assistance from the City of Silver Bay.
 
The adventure park opened in July 2017 with a basic climbing wall, using the rocky cliff that had been hidden by the gas station all those years. Developer and climber Huston said the “small cliff with big cliff features” is perfect for teaching beginning climbers.
 
The climbing wall was also used by the Lake County Rescue Squad to practice climbing rescues.
 
Meanwhile, plans continued for an aerial ropes course, a zip line, and a climbing tower.
 
Huston and partners purchased two parcels of land adjacent to the corner lot for $20,900 in November. Along with the sale, the Silver Bay City Council approved a development agreement for the site.
 
Conditions of the development agreement secured the allowance of a 40-foot-wide ATV trail and utility easement on the property.
 
The project is now nearing completion and WTIP’s Rhonda Silence contacted Phil Huston to learn more.