Flin Flon Manitoba was named for a character in a science fiction novel, and it's where the Canadian Government has grown marijuana

Flin Flon, Manitoba - One of the city's curious and controversial claims to fame is that an abandoned mine shaft was used to grow marijuana for the Canadian Federal Goverment. This stopped in 2009 (CBC report) The marijuana was grown for Health Canada, for people who required it for medical purposes. Flin Flon has several curious 'claims to fame'. The mining community got its name from a character in a dime-store novel 'The Sunless City', which was found there by several prospectors who were portaging the Churchill River in 1915. A statue of the character Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, which was designed by American cartoonist Al Capp, creator of t of L'il Abner, now stands at the edge of town. Flin Flon also once minted it's own $3 coin, which was legal tender for one year.

Where: Flin Flon is on the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border, about 740 km/460 mi north of Winnipeg, on the same latitude as Copenhagen and Moscow . One of the towns most popular events is its Trout Festival, held anually on Canada Day weekend. The month-long derby often produces winners weighting as much as 18km/40lbs. Grass River Provincial Park (with 150 lakes), popular for canoeing, camping and fishing, is about 30 km / 20mi east of town (75 km / 45 mi north of The Pas).

Canada’s Coolest:

Welcome to a new feature on Canada Cool. I'll be presenting different 'Coolest' lists with my favorites and I encourage you to nominate suggestions from your own experiences. You can Twitter @CanadaCool or email [email protected]. Let me know what makes your suggestion exceptionally cool. Remember, by contributing your comments you are giving Canada Cool permission to quote you. Only a selection of submissions will be included, but all comments and submissions are greatly appreciated!

The first feature is: Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives

Here are some of my favorites...

The Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta - This 229 km (142 mi) Rocky Mountain route from Banff/Lake Louise to Jasper passes 100 frozen rivers and nudges the base of the Athabasca Glacier - the most accessible glacier in the world. You can stop and explore it. It spills down from the Columbia Icefield, an area of ice so massive that you could fit the entire population of North America on it with each person getting at least a square metre of space.

The Corridor, Algonquin Park, Ontario – this 56-km stretch of Hwy 60 cuts through the southwest section of Algonquin Park. Less than three hours north of Toronto the park is a nature-lover's paradise with 7,725 km of lakes, rivers, forest, trails, camping, comfortable lodges and 2000 km of canoe routes. Offers hiking trails to stop and enjoy, but what makes it really cool is that it’s one of the best places in North America to spot moose (especially in May and June). And, on Thursday nights in August up to 600 cars will gather to listen to wolves howl.

The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia – Driving this 303 km (187 mile) route is like riding a roller-coaster: the road snakes around hairpin turns, rises to heights over 365 metres (1200 ft), weaves around headlands revealing spectacular coastal scenery, and plunges down to sea level taking you into the heart of small fishing communities. The most dramatic scenery is between the Cape Breton Highlands National Park entrance near Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay, so go slow. And, plan some flexibility into your schedule, so you can drive it on a clear day.

And here are some of your nominations for 'Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives'...

More from Canada’s Coolest

'Canada's Coolest' topics we'll be publishing in the future:

• Golf Course Features
• Haunted Hotels
• Hotel Special Services

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