The Carlson Family, Wilderness Pioneers

Arthur Carlson (1907-1997) explored Woodland Caribou Park 55 years before it was designated a park. He immigrated from Sweden in 1928 looking for a wilderness adventure and he became part of the Red Lake Gold rush. In 1929 on Douglas Lake, Arthur spent a hard winter. He would get up and check the rabbit snares to determine whether there would be breakfast that day. In 1947, after years of hunting, prospecting and trapping near the headwaters of the Gammon River, Arthur with his wife Florence decided to construct a remote fishing resort on Douglas Lake. As pioneers in this business, they invented and built a camp with advice from their longtime guests. During the 1950's Arthur also began running guided canoe trips down the Gammon River to Manitoba. For a man who had won the canoe races at Red Lake's July 1st Celebrations for a number of years, this was a natural progression.

Three Generations in the Wilderness

Now more than half a century later, Florence is still at Viking Island as the gardener and historian. We are Arthur's sons, Hugh and Craig, and we run Viking Outposts and Viking Outpost Air and Viking Island Lodge with our families. Some of our guests have been returning for over 50 years. We enjoy providing our style of tailor made wilderness vacations to sportsmen.