08/31/2026
Do You Know About Munger Landing
The Munger Landing, located at the bottom of the Smithville neighborhood and just south of Spirit Lake Marina, has experienced many wonderful changes in the last couple of years. The landing consists of a beautiful fishing pier, boat launch, and the only designated swimming beach on the estuary. This beach makes it ideal for launching canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards.
According to greatlakesmud.org, the landing being situated downstream from the US steel plant, caused it to be a heavily polluted area of the estuary. Contaminated by PCBs and dioxins/ furans, the cleanup was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources using various funds from both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Using dredging to remove contaminates, and then placing a layer of sand over residual contamination, followed by a second layer of sand and biomedium, the area now provides habitat conducive to native fish and plant life.
https://www.greatlakesmud.org/munger-landing---st-louis-river-aoc.html
A fun fact, provided by https://www.stlouisriver.org/news/munger-landing-project-updates is that work done over the winter, using an ice bridge, minimizes damage to wetland areas.
The Munger Landing is a very easy paddle from Spirit Lake Marina, with a beautiful birding island directly west, causing the landing to reside in one of the calmest parts of the estuary, even on the windiest of days. It is a great place to gather with friends and family for relaxing and lazy paddle afternoons, or is a beautiful starting paddle for larger adventures. Call, stop in, or visit our website to find out more about renting a canoe and kayak to get you out on this beautiful section of river.
121 Spring Street, at the bottom of the Riverside Neighborhood
spiritlakemarinarv.com
218-628-3578
Sources: https://www.stlouisriver.org/news/munger-landing-project-updates
https://www.greatlakesmud.org/munger-landing---st-louis-river-aoc.html