Situated on the eastern side of the entrance to Halifax Harbour, McNabs Island has provided a scenic and historic backdrop to the lives of metro residents for over two centuries. Its strategic location was utilized by the military to guard the harbour, her fertile soils provided an important source of food for early settlers, and the beaches, woodlands, open fields and scenery have attracted local residents for leisure-time pursuits since the 1700's.

McNab Island History

Friends of McNab Island

MCNABS ISLAND’S LIGHTHOUSES

As you approach McNabs Island, one of the first sites you see is the Maugers Beach Lighthouse.  This iconic structure is the most recent, and only remaining, light on the island.  In earlier years, two other island lighthouses, the Sherbrooke Tower Lighthouse, and the McNabs Island Lighthouse, helped guide mariners safely into Halifax Harbour.

Maugers Beach Lighthouse (Built 1941-1945)

McNabs Island’s only remaining lighthouse was built near the site of Sherbrooke Tower during the Second World War.  A symbolic structure for many, Maugers Beach Lighthouse was the first or last, Landmark to be seen by immigrants and soldiers as they arrived or departed the continent.  In more recent years, this concrete lighthouse has served as an Environment Canada Weather Station.