McNabs Island Guided Tours for 2026

Join our McNabs Island Guided Tours on Sundays in July and August

The Friends of McNabs Island Society is offering a variety of guided tours this summer. Join our heritage or coastal tours or try forest bathing. All our tours begin with a 30-minute boat ride aboard the Captain’s Pride departing from Fisherman’s Cove in Eastern Passage

Tickets are now on sale via Eventbrite!

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/friends-of-mcnabs-island-society-10724104906

McNabs Island North End Heritage Tour July 5, August 2 and August 23

South End Heritage Tour July 19 and August 16:

Learn why the Island was important to the Mi’kmaw First Nations, the early French settlers, and the British, who built several forts on the island to protect the Port of Halifax.
Admire the panoramic view from Fort McNab National Historic Site and learn more about the endangered barn swallows that live in the fort. Discover where Midway King, Bill Lynch, got his start in the fairground business. Learn the tragic story of the SS England, quarantined with cholera off McNabs Island in 1866.

McNabs Island Coastal Shoreline Tour July 12 and August 9:

Learn about the changing shape of the island as beaches and coves come and go. Stroll along sandy Maughers Beach, which didn’t exist 80 years ago. Walk around peaceful McNabs Pond, which has changed from a cove to a tidal inlet, then to a freshwater pond and now back to a tidal inlet again.

Forest Bathing Hike on July 26, 2026

Join the Friends of McNabs Island and Wil Brunner, a certified Nature and Forest Therapist, with www.softpinewellness.ca for a Forest Bathing Tour on McNabs Island.
Experience Forest Bathing, Japanese Shinrin-Yoku, and welcome a mindful sense of calm and exploration through a new perspective.

All our tours include a visit the Teahouse Outdoor Education Centre located in the English Gardens not far from Garrison Pier. At the end of the day, relax on the beach and dip your toes into the cool waters of Halifax Harbour.
Departure for our Summer Tours with A&M Sea Charters is at 9:30 AM from 87 Government Wharf Rd in Fisherman's Cove, Eastern Passage. The boat leaves McNabs Island at 4:00 PM arriving back in Eastern Passage at 4:30 PM. Space is limited to 24 people per trip.

Get your tickets early!

$40 per Adult (non-members), (Forest Bathing $50)

$30 per Adult for Friends of McNabs Island Society members, (Forest Bathing $40)

$20 for children/youth 16 and under, (Forest Bathing $30)

Babies and toddlers 4 years old and younger are FREE courtesy of the Friends of McNabs Island Even our youngest visitors need a ticket!

For Tickets, go to Eventbrite: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/friends-of-mcnabs-island-society-10724104906

Contact us for more details. info@mcnabsisland.ca

35th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Missed Vanessa Smith's presentation on Peter McNab and his Island? Watch it here.

This year’s guest speaker was archaeologist Vanessa Smith, who presented an engaging story of Peter McNab and his Island - the early colonial history of Peter McNab and his family who settled on the island in the late eighteenth century.

Vanessa Smith is the Curator/Registrar of Archaeology at the Nova Scotia Museum. Vanessa’s connection to McNabs Island began during her honours thesis work in archaeology at Saint Mary’s University where she researched the McNab Family and the Scottish settlement on McNabs Island. Vanessa went on to complete a master’s degree in Archaeology from the University of Glasgow. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University.

Vanessa regularly participates as a tour guide at our McNabs Island Fall Foliage Tours where she shares her knowledge of the island’s history with visitors.

Image: Vanessa Smith in the McNab Family Cemetery, photo by Cathy McCarthy

McNabs Island 35th Anniversary Beach Cleanup


Celebrate Environment Week and Oceans Week by helping the Friends of McNabs Island
Society clean up McNabs Island Provincial Park on Sunday June 1st, 2025 (rain date June 8th).

Registration for Tickets opens on Eventbrite in May: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/friends-of-mcnabs-island-society-10724104906

For more detailed information: https://mcnabsisland.ca/events or info@mcnabsisland.ca

Departure Location is from the HALIFAX waterfront!

In Halifax, meet at Ambassatours, Cable Wharf, 1751 Lower Water St on the Halifax Waterfront
(beside Cows ice-cream) by 9:15 am for the 9:30 departure. Space is limited so everyone MUST
pre-register to guarantee your spot.

There will also be a limited departure from Eastern Passage for eager volunteers willing to help
haul garbage back to the Passage for pickup. Please contact us by email if you want to help
from Eastern Passage info@mcnabsisland.ca

Dress for the weather and island environment. Wear sturdy sneakers or hiking books. Bring
sunscreen, sunhats, insect repellent, work gloves, drinking water, a lunch and ENTHUSIASM.

We will supply the garbage bags and FREE transportation to the island for volunteers willing to
clean up the beaches. Sorry no bicycles or dogs on this trip. Note: the cleanup is not suitable for
very young children (under 5 years) as there could be hazards found on the beaches.

Over the past 35 years, volunteers have collected more than 17,150 bags of garbage and
recyclables from the beaches of McNabs and Lawlor Islands Provincial Park.

This year, we do NOT have any funding for this expensive cleanup. We are covering the costs
through donations to the Friends of McNabs Island Society. If you can make a tax-deductible
donation, we would really appreciate it!

To register: follow the link to Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/friends-of-mcnabs-island-society-10724104906
This event registration fills up very quickly, so add your name to the waitlist on Eventbrite if the
event is full.

For more information: info@mcnabsisland.ca or use the “contact us” link on our website.

Friends of McNabs Island AGM April 9 2025

Watch Dan Conlin's presentation "McNabs Island: An Island Circled by Wrecks" here.


Dan Conlin Explores McNabs Island from Halifax Harbour. (Photo Credit: Colin Timm, Pier 21)

You are invited to the Friends of McNab's Island Society’s 34th Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, April 9th in the Auditorium of the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History at 1747 Summer Street in Halifax. Doors open at 6:30 and the meeting starts at 7:00.

Join historian Dan Conlin for a fascinating illustrated talk about the shipwrecks that encircle McNabs Island. Many of these wrecks are still visible at low tide.

"McNab Island has been the final destination for countless vessels for centuries. Their evocative timbers and rusty fittings still have secrets to reveal and stories to tell.”–Dan Conlin.

Dan Conlin is a historian, author and retired museum curator in Halifax. Born in Berwick Nova Scotia, Dan studied journalism and history at Carleton University in Ottawa and then worked as a producer for CBC Radio in Ontario. He returned home to pursue a Master’s in History at Saint Mary’s University. One of his first steps in reconnecting with the province was to join the Friends of McNabs Island. He wrote the chapter on lighthouses and shipwrecks for the Friends’ Discover McNabs Island guide book.

Dan was curator at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic for 19 years where he was responsible for many successful exhibits including the Titanic display. He was also curator for a Pirates exhibit which led to his first book Pirates of the Atlantic: Robbery, Murder and Mayhem off Canada’s East Coast. His second book, War through the Lens: the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit was based on personal interviews and research that Dan conducted for his undergraduate thesis.

From 2014 until his retirement in November 2024, Dan was curator at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. His last show at Pier 21was "A History Exposed", the first national exhibition on the history of slavery in Canada, including a profile of the McNabs Island merchant and slaveholder, Joshua Mauger.


The spine of the shipwreck ‘The Brant’ in Wreck Cove on McNabs Island. (Photo Credit: Catherine McCarthy)

DISCOVER MCNABS ISLAND ON A GUIDED HERITAGE OR COASTAL TOUR THIS SUMMER!

McNabs Island Guided Tours will be held on Sundays in July and August in 2024.

Tours begin with a 30-minute boat ride aboard A&M Sea Charters’ Captain’s Pride out of Fisherman’s Cove

Eastern Passage and docking at Garrison Pier on McNabs Island.

Tickets go on sale via Eventbrite April 15, 2024.

Hike through Canadian history on a McNabs Island Heritage Tour!

  • Learn why the Island was important to the Mi’kmaw First Nations, the early French settlers,
    and the British, who built several forts on the island to protect the Port of Halifax.
  • Admire the panoramic view from Fort McNab National Historic Site and learn more about
    the endangered barn swallows that live in the fort.
  • Discover where Midway King, Bill Lynch, got his start in the fairground business.
  • Learn the tragic story of the SS England, quarantined with cholera off McNabs Island in
    1866.
  • Visit the English Gardens, the ruins of the A. J. Davis Bottling Plant, and stop by the
    Teahouse Outdoor Education Centre to learn more about McNabs Island.
  • At the end of the day, stroll along Maughers Beach and watch the tide roll in.

Hike along the changing coastline of McNabs Island on a Shoreline Tour!

  • Visit the newly restored Teahouse Outdoor Education Centre for an island orientation.
  • Learn about the changing shape of the island as beaches and coves come and go.
  • As sea levels rise, and more storms batter the coastline, more changes to the island are in
    store.
  • Stroll along sandy Maughers Beach, which didn’t exist 80 years ago.
  • Walk around peaceful McNabs Pond, which has changed from a cove to a tidal inlet, then
    to a freshwater pond and now back to a tidal inlet again.
  • Visit Fort McNab and learn how this historic hilltop with its panoramic view was created.
  • Turn to the south and the Atlantic Ocean and see if you can spot disappearing Little
    Thrumcap.
  • At the end of the day, dip your toes in the cool waters of Halifax Harbour.

Guided Tours are scheduled for July 7, 14, 21, 28, and August 11, 18 and 25.

Departure for our Summer Tours is with A&M Sea Charters, 87 Government Wharf Rd in
Fisherman's Cove, Eastern Passage.

Space is limited to 26 people per trip. Get your tickets early!

Times: 9:30-3:30

Note: an additional tour from 10:30 -4:30 will be added if there is a demand.

Cost of Tickets:
$40 per Adult (non-members),
$30 per Adult for Friends of McNabs Island Society members,
$20 for children/youth 16 and under,
Babies and toddlers 3 years old and younger are Free courtesy of the Friends of McNabs Island
but still need a ticket.

For Tickets link to Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/friends-of-mcnabs-island-society-10724104906
For more information: https://mcnabsisland.ca/events or info@mcnabsisland.ca
Private Guided Tours for schools, conferences, businesses and networking groups:
If your school, group, business or organization is interested in a Guided Heritage or Nature or
Shoreline Tour our island interpreters and guides are available to assist you in planning your
guided tour of McNabs Island.
Learn more about the early history of Canada and our Maritime coastal environment on a field
trip to McNabs Island. Your group will cover the cost of transportation for your group and our
guides. A donation to the Friends of McNabs Island to help with our island projects would be
greatly appreciated.
Contact us for more details. info@mcnabsisland.ca