HECLA ISLAND,
Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba
story by Tim Shuff photo by Phil Hossack
If you visited Hecla Island in the 1880s you would have been at the northern fron- tier of the Republic of New Iceland. The Scandinavian outpost existed as an inde- pendent state within Canada for 12 years and remains the largest population of Icelanders outside their homeland. Situated in the sheltered narrows on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, the world’s 13th largest freshwater lake, Hecla Island is now the centrepiece of Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park. A leisurely four-day paddle beginning and ending at Hecla Island takes you from the restored Hecla Village, past ancient
IT’S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT: The nearby First Nations community of Hollow Water is named from the Ojibway word meaning "Hole in the water," which refers to a whirlpool that forms near Black Island when wind pushes water between Lake Winnipeg’s north and south basins.
GETTING THERE: Hecla Island is connected to the western shore of Lake Winnipeg by a causeway. It’s a two-hour drive north of Winnipeg.
PARK INFO: Campground parking and day use costs $5 for 3 days or $20 for the season. Backcountry camping in Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park is free and unregu- lated (
www.gov.mb.ca/conserva- tion/parks/popular_parks/hecla_g rindstone/).
PILLOW TALK: You can pitch your tent on Hecla Island for $7 or enjoy traditional Icelandic hospitali- ty at the Solmundson Gesta Hús in Hecla Village (
heclatourism.mb.ca)
34 // Summer 2005
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