Melmerby Beach

History

Melmerby Beach takes its name from the barque "Melmerby," which sank off the beach on October 12th, 1890, returning from Quebec City. The beach park has always been one of Nova Scotia's busiest. Melmerby Beach was one of the original 15 beaches first supervised by the Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service in 1973.

Beach Safety

Melmerby Beach is generally very safe. Hazardous areas of the beach include the fragile sand dunes that house Nova Scotia's most potent poison ivy. Other hazards include jellyfish, which are prominent from early July to early August, and, on occasion, rough surf that develops strong currents, which can make swimming dangerous. The supervised area is marked by two red and yellow flags approximately 200m apart and two red buoys in the water. This area is located directly in front of the first changing area. Lifeguards advise patrons not to enter the sand dunes and to always swim in the supervised area. On days with offshore winds, no inflatables or floatation devices are to be used. Boats and other hard-shell craft are also not permitted in the supervised swimming area.