Hecla Provincial Park, Hecla Island

Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park includes Hecla Island, Grindstone, Black Island and a number of other small islands in Lake Winnipeg, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. The park lies adjacent to the northeast side of the Rural Municipality of Bifrost in Manitoba, Canada.The Government of Manitoba designated Hecla Island a provincial park in 1969. Grindstone Provincial Park was added in 1997 to create Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park.The park is 1084km2 in size. The park is considered to be a Class V protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories.The island was settled by the second wave of Icelandic immigrants in 1876. The population thrived for a number of years until faced with the hardships of winters, disease and poor economic outlook for commercial fishing and farming. The only school on the island closed in 1970.Landscapes are varied, and include areas of coniferous and mixed forests, limestone cliffs and silica sand beaches, as well as marshes, bogs, fens and wet meadows. Classified as a Natural Park, its purpose is to preserve areas that are representative of the Mid Boreal Lowland portion of the Manitoba Lowlands Natural Region; and accommodate a diversity of recreational opportunities and resource uses.Currently, Hecla Island boasts a number of tourist attractions from a campground, resort hotel . In 2013 the resort was purchased by new owners and operates as Lakeview Resorts The resort features sandy beaches, summer homes, a full-service marina, Lighthouse trail and world class 18-hole golf course.