Margaree Island Lighthouse

Margaree Island Lighthouse stands on Margaree Island, also known as Sea Wolf Island, roughly 4 kilometres off the west coast of Cape Breton Island between Margaree Harbour and Inverness. The island is ringed by cliffs and submerged rocks with strong tidal flow and swell rolling around it, so the light was vital to the area's fishermen. It was first established in 1854 as a square wooden tower with an attached keeper's dwelling, likely placed in operation with the opening of navigation in 1855.

The wooden tower was practically rebuilt in 1908 as a new octagonal lighthouse after the old building became dilapidated, and in 1921 it received a second-order Fresnel lens, evidence of its importance as one of Nova Scotia's major coastal lights. Between 1957 and 1960 a new reinforced concrete lighthouse was built on the island to replace the old wooden tower, and the light was automated in 1971, ending more than a century of resident keepers.

The concrete tower still stands today and continues to operate as an automated aid owned by the Canadian Coast Guard. In 1982 the surrounding island was designated the Sea Wolf Island National Wildlife Area to protect breeding seabirds, including more than two percent of the entire Canadian population of Great Cormorants. Because the island is cliff-ringed and difficult to land on, the lighthouse is best seen from boat passages or from viewpoints along the Ceilidh Trail.