I hadn’t planned to explore Lake Winnipeg. We were driving home to Alberta after a long road trip out east, and the fastest route was definitely on Trans-Canada Highway 1, south of Winnipeg. When I looked at Google Maps to check our route, I saw the huge expanse of blue dominating most of the province. What’s this Great Lake in Manitoba all about?
I knew I had to explore, so I plugged in a new route. Our trip to the southwest shores of Lake Winnipeg was short and sweet, but I was immediately intrigued by what we could discover there.
The southwestern shores of Lake Winnipeg are in the Treaty One Territory and the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples. These lands are also the homeland of the Métis people.
Vintage vibes of Winnipeg Beach
Winnipeg Beach was our first stop. This vibrant little beach community has been a beachland playground for residents and Winnipeg day-trippers for over 100 years. In 1912, the train used to bring up to 40,000 vacationers to the beach every weekend. Ritzy hotels, piers, parks, boardwalks and picnic spots accommodated the weekend masses back then, and some of these landmarks remain today.
The attractions at Winnipeg Beach used to include a wooden roller coaster, dance hall, carnival grounds and long wooden piers. Though those things are dismantled, the classic boardwalk and beachside strip of cafes, shops, arcades and ice cream joints still give the place that mid-century (and earlier) vibe. The historic Winnipeg Beach water tower, constructed in the 1920s, still towers over the beach and sets the scene of yesteryear for today’s beachgoers.
We got ice cream at the Dairy Bee, which felt like a shop from the 1950s. On the wall inside was a mural of historic Winnipeg Beach. I could imagine walking out with my ice cream cone to see that looming roller coaster and then heading to a dance with an excited crowd.
Thankfully, there weren’t 40,000 people on the beach, just a few visitors on this warm mid-week summer day. We took a long walk on the boardwalk from the ice cream shop towards the water tower and Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park. Children squealed in the waves, windsurfers whipped back and forth offshore, and groups of seniors sat in circles in lawn chairs in the shade.
Winnipeg Beach is a place I will return to in the future. I want to learn and experience more of where “Manitoba comes to play.”
An interesting Icelandic heritage
I had no idea that the southwestern shores of Lake Winnipeg were a landing spot for Icelandic settlers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dubbed New Iceland, the Canadian government set up a reserve for Icelandic settlers to establish a colony along the shores of the lake from Winnipeg Beach to the Icelandic River. These newcomers lived and worked together, spoke their language and practiced their customs. Even today, this region has the largest population of Icelandic people outside of Iceland.
Unfortunately, the forming of New Iceland displaced many Cree, Ojibwe, Anishinaabe and Metis people from their traditional territory and communities. In addition, the new immigrant’s commercial freshwater fishery on Lake Winnipeg infringed on Indigenous fishing territories and damaged the resource. Some attribute the early success of Icelandic colonization to the First Nations here. They shared knowledge about the hard climate and landscape that helped settlers survive. However, as the migrant communities grew, offences against Indigenous claims and populations increased.
You can read more about this settlement and how it impacted local Indigenous groups in White Settler Reserve: New Iceland and the Colonization of the Canadian West by Ryan Eyford.
Gimli
We visited the town of Gimli, which is brimming with Icelandic history and culture. It was the first settlement site in the area and was named Gimli from the Völuspá, an ancient prophecy in the Icelandic writings of the Elder Edda. I learned this from interpretive signage around the massive Viking statue in town.
While visiting Gimli, I learned about the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba. It was first held in Winnipeg between 1890 and 1931 before moving to Gimli in 1932. Called Islendingadagurinn in Icelandic, it is the second oldest ethnic festival in North America. Apparently, not much has changed in the festivities in the past 134 years. It showcases Icelandic culture and heritage through re-enactments, music, entertainment, food, traditional costumes, sports and recreation and more. Attendees can also shop food and craft vendors and take in the annual Islendingadagurinn parade!
The lighthouses and history of Hecla Island
After Gimli, we continued on to Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park and stayed at the Gull Harbour Campground. The campground offers large, private campsites in an aspen forest. There are unserviced and sites with power and water, with flush toilets and hot showers nearby. Gull Harbour campground is within walking distance of beaches, trails, playgrounds and the amenities at Gull Harbour Marina.
Gull Harbour Marina
I walked to Gull Harbour Marina from the campground to discover a scene that looked like it was plucked right out of the Maritimes. The late summer sun reflected off the white hauls of the boats in the marina as I climbed up an old wooden lighthouse to get a better view of the breakwater, harbour and open water. People were coming and going from the restaurant and store here, and a few were bringing boats up the boat launch after a day on the water.
Historically, Gull Harbour was a favourite port for steamships that carried both freight and passengers. These ships also brought supplies and cargo for Hecla Village, including ice cream for the children. When roads were constructed, boat traffic dwindled, but fishing and recreational boats still frequent the harbour.
The Lighthouse Trail
The next day, we hiked the Lighthouse Trail. This is an easy 3.2 km in-and-out trail that leads up a narrow peninsula to two lighthouses. Along the way, you’ll enjoy views of the lake and the hustle of Gull Harbour Marina across the water. Once you arrive, you’ll find a picture-perfect white wooden lighthouse on the rocky outcrop. It is backdropped by 180-degree views of open Lake Winnipeg.
The older wooden lighthouse was built in 1898 to mark the entrance to Gull Harbour and warn boats off the spit of land. A lighthouse keeper lived nearby and kept it lit with a kerosene lantern. In 1926, the taller lighthouse was built, and a hand-wound rotating reflector, kerosene lantern, and foghorn were used. It was automated in 1961 with an electric beacon and manned by a full-time lighthouse keeper until 1970. Nowadays, it is maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard.
Hecla Village
Hecla Village is a historic Icelandic village protected by Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park. Visitors can take a self-guided tour of Hecla Village and explore what life was like for settlers in the 1870s. Interpretive signage shares information about ice houses, sawmills, fishing boats, the Hecla church and cemetery, original homestead houses, a schoolhouse, a community centre, and an operating general store.
I spent quite a lot of time here, imagining what life was like for these people. While most buildings were closed, a 1927 home was open and had a volunteer interpreter there to answer questions. There are homes just outside the historic village that are private residences and summer homes of descendants of the original settlers.
For more information on Hecla Village, download the Hecla Village self-guided walking tour pamphlet.
The southwest shores of Lake Winnipeg were worth the detour
While I hadn’t planned on exploring this part of Manitoba, I’m sure glad I did. The southwest shore of Lake Winnipeg offered outdoor adventure and an interesting history I had never heard of before. Learning new things, experiencing new places and connecting with nature in undiscovered country are the most fulfilling things of being an explorer.
If you have questions about what you read in this story, reach out to us at explore@northernexplorers.ca. We’d love to share more and help facilitate your next adventure in Manitoba.
