Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park, Provincial park with islands in Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park covers 1,084 square kilometres and includes Hecla Island, the Grindstone peninsula, Black Island and several smaller islands in Lake Winnipeg. The terrain combines limestone cliffs, silica sand beaches, marshes, bogs, fens and wet meadows with coniferous and mixed forests. The park protects the Mid Boreal Lowland portion of the Manitoba Lowlands Natural Region.
The protected area was established in 1969 by Manitoba Conservation as a major nature conservation site and managed under international protection standards. Creation of the park reflected broader efforts to safeguard the region's natural habitats.
Icelandic settlers arrived on Hecla Island in 1876 and named it Mikley, with their heritage still visible in the buildings and ways of life that shaped the community.
Hecla Village holds a bed and breakfast in a restored historic Icelandic home run by commercial fishers, and the General Store there is open from May to September. The privately operated marina and 18-hole golf course at Gull Harbour are independent of the provincial park. Grindstone has its own general store and more than 350 privately owned cottages.
Hecla Island was settled in 1876 by a second wave of Icelandic immigrants who first called it Mikley, meaning "the magnificent island". The island's only school closed in 1970, and the historic village now holds a replica classroom and a park interpretive centre. The park also protects large colonies of American white pelicans.
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