Hecla Island, Man.
HECLA? Heck, yeah! This cheeky little slogan might yet tumble forth from an ad copywriter’s lips, but — for now, anyway — it seems too boisterous for a place as sedate as Hecla. But the easy-going pace of life is just part of what makes this island in Lake Winnipeg in Hecla/grindstone Provincial Park so appealing. Add rugged limestone cliffs, Grassy Narrows Marsh (a prime spot to see wildlife such as bald eagles, otters and grey wolves), Gull Harbour Beach’s shallow waters and sandbars, and a thriving Icelandic heritage, and you’ve got a winning blend of outdoor adventure and culture that won’t overwhelm you. In fact, the most boisterous the place gets is the first long weekend in August, when there’s spillover from the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba in nearby Gimli. “That’s when we have our annual parade, which is one of the province’s best, if I do say so myself,” says Sharon Holtz, who runs Hecla’s Solmundson Gesta Hus B&B. “And it’s followed by our annual traffic jam.”