About Us

A Community of Nature Lovers

Hikers and bikers can enjoy many unmaintained trails within the FBLWA.

A registered Canadian charity, the FBWHT was established in 2001, by a group of local volunteers who loved the wild lands of the Chebucto Peninsula and wanted the area preserved for future generations.

By combining the talents, knowledge and skills of its’ founding volunteers, the Trust successfully lobbied the Nova Scotia government to declare 8, 600 hectares of public wilderness lands on the Chebucto Peninsula, a designated wilderness area.  That special designation was achieved in October 2011 and the area named the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area.

Map of the Chebucto Peninsula.

It includes five distinct watersheds, rivers, lakes and even a settler route that is estimated to be about 200 years old.  Named the Old St. Margaret’s Bay Road, this overgrown trail was once used as a busy horse and buggy route from the metropolis of Halifax to the beaches of Seabright and St. Margaret’s Bay. 

The area continues to be a nature retreat for hikers, bikers, ATVers, photographers and paddlers to escape modern life and the surrounding urban communities of Halifax Regional Municipality.

The canoe routes within the FBLWA offer lots of fun and challenges.

Powered by Volunteer Support & Donations

Trust volunteers, who continue to improve trails and signage, host public education events and support public use of the wilderness area rely on annual Memberships and donations to support their work. All donations are tax deductible within Canada.

The Trust’s new Strategic Plan developed in 2020 sets goals and objectives going forward for the stewardship of the wilderness area.

More information about the wilderness area trails can be found in the Walking Guide to the Old St. Margaret’s Bay Road, published as a second-edition by the Trust in 2018. It was shared for free, all 4,000 copies, to the eager community of outdoor enthusiasts interested in the history and landscape of the area. The Walking Guide offers full colour, point-of-interest mapping and lots of history of the now abandoned communities, cemeteries and trails in the FBLWA.

The late Ralph Wheadon (centre) Trust Advisor and knowledgeable woodsman was a long-time steward of the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area.
He was the original fire chief at the small fire depot established at Lewis Lake in 1955. 
Pictured enjoying May Fair, 2018.