Flin Flon
A Copper And Zinc Mining Town Founded In The 1920s And Named For A Science Fiction Character, With A Giant Statue Of The Fictional Flintabbatey Flonatin Who Gave The Town Its Name, Houses Built Into The Bare Rock, Lakes And Boreal Forest Around It, And Trails And A Famous Summer Festival. Straddling The Border And Reached By Highway From The Pas, A Stop For People Travelling In Northern Manitoba · Flin Flon, Manitoba
Flin Flon is a mining town of about 5,000 people on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border, around 600 km north-west of Winnipeg on the Canadian Shield. It grew from the 1920s around a copper and zinc mine and takes its name from a character in a pulp science-fiction novel, Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, whose statue stands at the south end of town. The ground is bare rock, so streets climb and drop over outcrops, and many houses sit built into or on top of the granite, with stairs and boardwalks in places where roads could not be cut. Lakes lie in every direction, with boreal forest of spruce, jack pine and birch around them. In summer the Trout Festival is the big event (confirm dates), and parts of the Trans-Canada Trail pass near town. The drive is long: The Pas is about 2 hours away, and fuel and services thin out between. I am unsure whether Hudbay mine tours run for visitors, so ask locally. Mosquitoes and distances are the main burdens.
Flin Flon, a mining town on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border about 600 km north-west of Winnipeg, built over rock on the Canadian Shield; coordinates approximate, Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada
The town is a working community, open all year, and its streets, statue and lakeshore can be seen at any hour of daylight. Visitor information, the museum and shops keep ordinary business hours, commonly weekdays and some Saturdays, and several attractions open only from late May to early September. The summer festival, usually a long weekend in July or August, brings events, crowds and full hotels - confirm dates well ahead. I am not sure that mine tours are offered to the public, so do not plan around one. Winter is long and cold, with temperatures often below minus 20 C, and some trails and cafes close. Confirm opening hours with the local tourism office before you drive 600 km, and check the highway report in winter.