Five years of hard work by the Lake Vermilion Trail steering committee has recently produced several important results.

The proposed Lake Vermilion Trail (LVT) is now under management by a local Joint Powers Board with representatives from the cities of Cook and Tower, from Beatty Township, from Greenwood Township, from Kugler Township, from Owens Township, from Vermilion Lake Township, and from the Bois Forte Tribe. The Joint Powers Board began meeting this spring to strategize development priorities and to begin a major fundraising campaign.

The first draft of a Master Plan for the LVT will be available for public review in mid-April 2018. Completion of the Master Plan is a critical first step in the grant application process. Assistance in grant writing will be provided by staff from the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC). ARDC’s participation has been made possible by special funds recently received from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB).

Continued success in the grant writing process could lead to actual trail construction as early as the fall of 2019.

The LVT will follow a route through the beautiful natural landscape south of Lake Vermilion between Cook and Tower/Soudan. It will be a premier, paved, and scenic trail providing healthy, safe, non-motorized, and year round transportation and recreation for residents and visitors.

Past and current information about the proposed trail can be found on the LVT website at https://lakevermiliontrail.org and the LVT Facebook page (@lakevermiliontrail).