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Canada
Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park, Manitoba
Name
In the spring of 1997 Hecla Provincial Park and its close neighbour Grindstone
Provincial Park were merged to form Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park. However,
the old names for the two separate parks still remain in common use.
Location
Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park is on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg,
about eighty or so miles due north of the city of Winnipeg.
From the mainland Highway 8 runs over a causeway onto Hecla Island,
through Grassy Narrows Marsh, then continues on to Hecla Village and Gull
Harbour, near where it terminates. This road is certainly paved at least
as far as Grassy Narrows Marsh. Beyond there the Rand McNally road atlas
shows it as being paved all the way to its terminus but the official Manitoba
road map shows it as changing to being unpaved at some point between Grassy
Narrows and Hecla Village. Hecla Village is about ten miles from Grassy
Narrows Marsh; Gull Harbour is about fifteen miles from Grassy Narrows
Marsh.
An unpaved road runs from Highway 8 into the Grindstone area of the
park on the mainland but this road does not extent as far as Grindstone
Point.
What to See and Do
Immediately after passing over the causeway onto Hecla Island Highway 8
passes through the wetlands area of Grassy Narrows Marsh. From the Grassy
Narrows Marsh parking area a number of trails lead over boardwalks through
the marshes to lookout points from which an extensive range of ducks, birds
and other wetlands wildlife can be seen. I seem to recollect that you need
to exit from the main highway some distance before the parking area, the
two roads then running parallel to each other for half a mile or so.
Just beyond Grassy Narrows Marsh is the entrance gate into the park
proper. Since we only had a limited amount of time and spent it exploring
the marshes, we have not yet ventured beyond. Nor have we explored the
Grindstone area at all.
Some Ideas for Places to Stay
The little town of Gimli, on the lake shore south of the park, was founded
by Icelandic immigrants and has a Viking theme. It's a fairly pleasant
resort town, but because of that accommodation is relatively expensive.
The small farming town of Arborg, south west of the park, provides cheaper
accommodation options but is less interesting than Gimli.
Accommodation might also be available in Hecla Village and Gull Harbour.
External Links
Manitoba
State and Provincial Parks
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