Port of Halifax walking tour

This scavenger hunt has a difficulty level of NORMAL.

Buy either an individual or a group ticket. The ideal group size is 3 to 6, but it is not limited to that. Children are welcome and will enjoy most of the challenges.

After purchase, to begin your hunt, you will need to head to the Port of Halifax Terminal at 1215 Marginal Rd, Halifax, NS B3H 4P8. This is the starting location.

Once there, stand outside, log in to this website, and begin your hunt, or go to My Account and follow the instructions.

Ancient history

Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia. In fact, the Citadel on the Hill dominates the city, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Two major universities are here: Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University.

Halifax is on the ancestral lands of the Mi’kmaq, one of Canada’s First Nations. They were there mainly to fish, long before the arrival of Europeans.

Initially, the first colony settled on the peninsula near the current port. The city of Halifax, founded in 1749, honours the 2nd Earl of Halifax with its name. This led the colony’s capital to move from Annapolis Royal to Halifax.

The city’s founding sparked Father Le Loutre’s war because the colony broke the pact agreed with the Mi’kmaq in 1726. 13 ships of settlers and one sloop of war arrived simultaneously to establish and defend the colony.

Fortifications (the Citadel, among others) were erected to defend the new colony from the Mi’kmaq, Acadians, and French. Other forts were established in Sackville, Dartmouth, and Lawrencetown.

Recent History

Disaster struck the city in 1917 during the Great War, when two ships, including one carrying munitions, collided near the port. The explosion devastated the Richmond district, killing 2,000 people and injuring 9,000 others.