Discover Blacks Harbour

Coast, Island Connection, and Fishing History

Blacks Harbour lies on the tidal waters of the Bay of Fundy. The community combines a specific ferry connection with a coastal area near Pea Point and a history presented at the Blacks Harbour Heritage Museum. This gives you the opportunity to decide whether the island connection, nature, or local history should be the focus of your trip.

The Ferry to Grand Manan Island

The ferry travels across the Bay of Fundy between Blacks Harbour on Route 178 and North Head on Grand Manan Island. Blacks Harbour is the departure point named for this connection; North Head is on the island and is the destination. If you include Grand Manan Island in your travel plans, you can take this connection into account as a point of reference in its own right. The ferry route makes the community’s connection to the island concrete, without confusing Blacks Harbour with Grand Manan Island: they are two distinct places on opposite sides of the route.

Coastal Area and Nature at Pea Point

The Connors Bros. Nature Preserve at Pea Point covers 43 hectares (100 acres) and has 2 kilometres of coastline. Its area and designated coastline give the nature preserve a clearly defined spatial character. The preserve can be reached via Wallace Cove Road in Blacks Harbour. This gives you a specific reference point for your plans, both for the natural area itself and for its named access road.

Pea Point is also a stopover site for the eastern population of the Harlequin Duck, an endangered species. Visitors interested in birds and natural connections will find a special link here to this population’s migration. This adds a specific natural-history dimension to the coastal theme: Pea Point is notable not only for its location on the Bay of Fundy, but also for its importance as a stopover site for the Harlequin Duck.

History and Art in the Community

The Blacks Harbour Heritage Museum presents the history of life on the Bay of Fundy in the fishing village of Blacks Harbour. One focus is the early years of the Connors brothers and their sardine factory, founded in 1889. This connects the community’s history with fishing and a specific chapter in local economic history. If you would like to learn about your destination not only through its scenery but also through the development of the fishing village, the museum offers a distinct way to explore this theme.

Blacks Harbour is home to the public artwork “Passage of Light” in Main Street Park. The sculpture was created by Bulgarian sculptor Petre Petrov and is part of the International Sculpture Trail. This adds another distinct cultural connection to the fishing history. In planning your trip, you can also discover the community through its public art and the artwork’s connection to this sculpture trail.

Lighthouse and Access

Nearby, the Pea Point Lighthouse on Pea Island was first commissioned in 1878. There is an important distinction at the lighthouse grounds at the Connors Bros. Nature Preserve at Pea Point: the grounds are open to the public, but the lighthouse tower is closed. This lets you plan a visit to the site without assuming that the tower is accessible.

These different themes shape the character of the destination, without requiring a set itinerary.

More community pages: Bocabec, Saint James, Fairhaven, Grand Manan, Saint Andrews, St Stephen, St George, Caithness.

For the broader travel overview: Charlotte County.