Gimli

Icelanders fleeing volcanic eruption and hardship arrived on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg in 1875 and established New Iceland, a settlement that operated with its own constitution and council outside Manitoba's boundary until the province expanded around it in 1881. Gimli was its capital and the district remains the largest Icelandic community outside Iceland; Icelandic is still taught and the Islendingadagurinn festival has run each August since 1890. The New Iceland Heritage Museum covers the settlement and the lake fishery. A large Viking statue stands on the harbour front, and the lake beach is long and sandy.

What you actually see

• The Viking statue - a large figure on the harbour marking the settlement.
• The heritage museum - New Iceland's republic years and the lake fishery.
• Islendingadagurinn - the Icelandic festival running each August since 1890.
• The lake beach - long sand on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg.

When to go

June to September for the beach and the August festival; winter brings ice fishing villages out on the lake. The festival weekend fills accommodation across the district.

Honest expectations

Lake Winnipeg has had serious algae blooms in some summers, closing beaches. The town is quiet outside festival weekends. Services thin in winter.

Nearby

Hecla lies north; Winnipeg is south.