Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/59721
INTERLAKE 67 Gimli Harbour OCEANS ON THE PRAIRIES Rich in cultural history and natural beauty, the Interlake is enviably located between the shores of Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba, directly north of Winnipeg. With its limestone quarries, rock cliffs, farms, marshes and sandy beaches, the landscape is as varied as its population. Aboriginal settlements, Scottish and French voyageurs and Icelandic pioneers were among its early inhabitants and you can follow in their footsteps to this day, without venturing far from modern-day boardwalks and lakeside resorts. Commercial anglers, cottagers, sailors and sunseekers flock to the great lakes of Manitoba. Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site recalls the heyday of the Hudson's Bay Co. trading post, which served Ojibway and Cree First Nations, settlers and fur traders alike. In nearby Selkirk, the annual Highland Games celebrate the Scottish workers who flocked to the region during the fur-trade era. Farther north in Gimli, the largest Icelandic community outside of Iceland celebrates its heritage with the Islendingadagurinn Icelandic Festival every summer. Take a photo with Gimli's Viking statue, stroll along the outdoor art gallery on the Gimli seawall and peruse artifacts from the 1870s in the New Iceland Heritage Museum. A few kilometres south, it's easy to imagine the historical grandeur of Winnipeg Beach when the town celebrates Boardwalk Days in July. In the early 1900s, grand Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre Take a ferry to Hecla Island in Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park, drop a line at a popular fishing spot such as St. Andrews Lock & Dam and visit St. Laurent to look for Manipogo, Lake Manitoba's cousin to the Loch Ness Monster. You can't miss the red-sided garter snakes at the Narcisse Snake Dens, and Oak Hammock Marsh is a prime viewing area for small mammals, reptiles and migratory birds. Visit once, and you may want to make an annual migration yourself. hotels, a dance hall, rollercoaster and the boardwalk drew Winnipeggers by the thousands. Dozens of local artists display their works in galleries and gift shops that dot cottage country. And along with beach concessions, you'll find some of Manitoba's finest restaurants in the area, as well as luxury spas and golf courses.