11 Most Fascinating PEI Beaches to Explore
One of the best things to do on Prince Edward Island is to visit the PEI beaches having lengthy miles of brilliant red and white sand and ever-changing sandstone cliffs.
The smallest province in Canada boasts 1100 kilometers of shoreline and more than 800 km of beaches. Due to this, PEI is the ideal location to explore some of Canada’s most outstanding beaches.
There is a beach for everyone on Prince Edward Island because of the island’s very diversified coastline. Whether miles of beautiful white sand, vivid red expanses of shoreline, beaches bordered by jagged cliffs, or grassy dunes extending out to the ocean, there is a beach for everyone.
Beach lovers will like Prince Edward Island for its stunning beaches! Choosing which of the best beaches these magnificent beaches to visit will be the hardest decision you have to make.
1) List of Top PEI Beaches
There is a beach for everyone, whether searching for a day of sunbathing supervised swimming, lounging by the cool ocean air, making sandy forts in the soft, pristine white sand beaches, clamming, or exploring for scallops on beautiful red sand beaches and sea glass. Making a choice is the most challenging part!
Some of the island’s top beaches are on this list of the best beaches in Prince Edward Island. Beach exploration is a summertime activity with an almost endless range of alternatives.
1.1) Singing Sands Beach at Basin Head Provincial Park
On the eastern part of Prince Edward Island, Singing Sands Beach is among the most excellent beaches to see. Basin Head Provincial Park is a gorgeous beach a short distance from the maritime city of Souris. With 14 kilometers of very soft white sand, soft white sand, powdery sand, and refreshment booths.
You’ll be keen on spending all of your time relaxing in the sun and listening to the rhythm of the water splashing on the coastline because of the beach’s magnificent red cliffs at one end.
Singing Sands received its apt name because of its high silica content, which sings or “sings” to you as you walk over it on dry days.
Visit the Basin Head Fisheries Museum, which is close to the parking area, to round off your trip to Singing Sands Beach and take a look back at the region’s once-dominant fisheries.
1.1.1) Accessibility
Flights to Charlottetown Airport, a bridge crossing via New Brunswick, or a boat crossing through Nova Scotia are the three ways to get to Prince Edward Island. You will need your car to go to Basin Head Provincial Park, which is situated on eastern Prince Edward Island. No public transit is available.
But you can hike there if feeling very adventurous. Anyone traveling through the region on foot should visit this magnificent beach near the province-wide Island Walk.
1.2) Cavendish Beach
Cavendish Beach is a must-see while visiting Prince Edward Island! Cavendish Beach is the most well-known of the 60 kilometers of beaches in Prince Edward Island National Park.
With rugged red cliffs, sandstone cliffs on either side, and crashing waves, the broad white sand beach seems to go on forever.
Additionally, there are several beautiful pathways to choose from that go through sands and rocks, through forests, or along walkways across marshlands. After spending the day by the sea, you may tent at Cavendish Beach and unwind by the campfire.
1.2.1) Facilities
During the summer, lifeguards are on duty at Cavendish Beach, restrooms, changing rooms, and food vendors. Being the most visited beach on the island, expect it to be crowded.
You won’t have any trouble finding a location all to yourself, though, thanks to the ample parking and kilometers of coastline!
1.3) Thunder Cove Beach
On Prince Edward Island, Thunder Cove Beach is unquestionably one of the visitors’ favorite best beaches in PEI.
Cove Beach is home to the magnificent Teacup Rock sandstone formation, which may not be as well as the best beaches in PEI, known as Basin Head or Cavendish Beach.
1.3.1) Home to Natural Beauty
Thunder Cove, on the north side of Prince Edward Island, near Kensington, is one of the island’s best-kept secrets and a place you’ll want to keep visiting.
The crimson-red cliffs and silky red sand beach at Thunder Cove give the impression that you are on another planet entirely.
It might be a bit challenging for the daring to locate the magnificent Teacup Rock, especially during high tide. You may find the impressive natural feature by following the coastline’s north shore and navigating through a sea cave.
1.4) Greenwich Beach
Greenwich Beach, which certainly ranks among Prince Edward Island’s best beaches, is one of the island’s most unique beaches.
For its parabolic dune system, beautiful white sand beaches, wide paths, and large trail system, which includes a 700-meter floating boardwalk, Greenwich Beach, a section of PEI National Park, is recognized.
The most amazing dunes on the island are found near Greenwich; they are constantly moving and are at the whim of Mother Nature. The most significant dunes in this peaceful environment are very scarce in North America.
A trip to Greenwich Beach is the perfect family getaway because it has toilets, interpretive signage, picnic spaces, and well–supervised beach and swimming areas.
1.4.1) Hiking
Three hiking routes in Greenwich range in altitude from 1.25 km to 4.5 km. Secluded forested regions, complete, deserted farm fields, and breathtaking views over Bowley Pond all make up the scenery. Interpretive signs explaining the region’s distinguishing environment and rich history are available on all paths.
1.5) Brackley Beach
One of the most well-liked holiday destinations in the region, Brackley Beach is only 15 minutes from Charlottetown, the well-liked capital of Prince Edward Island.
This beautiful beach is a favorite of Prince Edward Island National Park and the perfect place to unwind in true PEI style appreciation to its expansive stretches of white sand and charming, towering dunes.
Kayaking, the many hiking trails and nature trails, paddle boarding, and adjacent to Brackley beach attractions including mini-golf, drive-in theatres, and Dunes Gallery are well-known.
1.5.1) Insider’s Tip
Do you need to rapidly wipe off the salt and sand before going to dinner? It’s simple to swiftly change from your beachwear to your dinner clothes thankfulness to the beach complex’s spacious showers and switching spaces.
Day usage fees are charged at all locations in the PEI National Park to support the infrastructure, educational initiatives, and preservation of these incredible places.
Have you had a chance to eat? The lobster roll at Richard’s Fish & Chips in Covehead Harbour is to die for.
1.6) King’s Castle Beach
King’s Castle Beach is a lesser-known treasure among PEI beaches where youngsters may hang out with their favorite book characters, and photographers can fulfill their fantasies.
King’s Castle is a provincial day-use park with campers close by that is well-known for its fairytale sculptures and its beach’s vividly red sand.
1.6.1) Facilities
King’s Castle Beach has restrooms, changing rooms, picnic tables, and concessions even though it isn’t quite as large as some of the beaches in PEI or gratis other famous beaches in PEI we mentioned in this article and there isn’t a lifeguard on duty there.
1.7) Panmure Island Beach
Panmure Island Beach is a white sandy beach that can be found quite near the island’s oldest wooden lighthouse along Prince Edward Island’s Points East Coastal Drive.
The beach is renowned for its protected bathing area, a full harbor beach, and a sheltered swimming area that makes swimming enjoyable and restful while having fantastic views of the harbor beach and the vast open ocean.
This beach includes campsites (both serviced and unserviced), restrooms, changing rooms, and a summer lifeguard on duty.
1.7.1) Panmure Event
Every year in August, the First Nations people have a Pow Wow on Panmure Island. This two-day cultural event features drum bands, a therapeutic sweat tent, and regional crafts.
1.8) Chelton Beach
On the Red Sands Shore of Prince Edward Island, Chelton Beach is a summertime-guarded beach located within the same-named provincial park.
Chelton’s waters are renowned for being warm in the summer and are ideal for swimming, kayaking, or stand-up paddleboarding. The distance is filled with soft sand.
Additionally, there are amenities, including fishing boats and a playground for children at the quiet provincial park.
What, though, is the highlight of the best beaches in PEI, beach? The Confederation Bridge will be seen from the beach point there.
1.8.1) Perfect for Skim Boarding
Skimboarding and standup paddleboarding are ideal here because of the modest waves. It’s great to play pickup soccer on the grassy field overlooking the shore, but take caution when you’re close to the cliff’s edge.
Underfoot, the red sandstone cliffs and red mud that make up the ground beneath the grass are unpredictable and subject to erosion.
1.9) Stanhope Beach
Stanhope Beach, a third beach in the Prince Edward Island National Park ecosystem, stretches three kilometers from Ross Lane Beach to the north coast of Dalvay-By-The-Sea.
The Covehead Harbour Lighthouse, a popular photograph location erected in 1975, is the major draw in this area in expansion to the stunning coastline.
Warm shallow seas, lavatories, supervised swimming areas, and accessible mobility mats are available at this beach.
1.9.1) Important Things to Keep in Mind
As a way to preserve the critically endangered Piping Plovers that breed in the beach sand and dunes, it is necessary to remember that pets are not allowed on the beaches of National Parks.
1.10) Argyle Beach
Scottish immigrants gave the serene and calm Argyle Shore its name after the region of Argyllshire in Western Scotland. The beach has a view of the Northumberland Strait and is situated on the southern tip of the island, 25 minutes drive from Charlottetown.
Unincorporated Argyle Shore has a playground, picnic tables, restrooms, and an unsupervised swimming area—perfect for a relaxing afternoon at the shore.
1.10.1) Admire the Calmness of the Beach
Argyle Shore Provincial Park beach is the place to be whether you’re a solitary traveler, an ardent photographer, or on a family vacation since it boasts a broad red sand beach with breathtaking vistas of the Northumberland Strait.
In addition to a playground, restrooms, showers supervised swimming, and a picnic area, this PEI beach is well known for clam digging and seeing hermit crabs.
Despite not having a lifeguard on duty, the beach is rarely busy.
1.11) Jacques Cartier Beach
Jacques Cartier, the first European to explore Prince Edward Island, arrived in 1534.
The region was hailed by Cartier as “the fairest land ’tis possible to see!” He also made a valid argument. The sand of Jacques Cartier Beach is smooth red, and it is surrounded by vegetation and a peaceful road.
A controlled area of the beach, a campsite in a provincial park, and a statue of Jacques Cartier are all nearby. We located a parking space a little further along the road. The favorite beach in Western PEI is Jacques Cartier.
1.11.1) Accommodation
Jacques Cartier Beach may be reached by car in 20 minutes from the well-regarded Mill River Resort. On-site amenities include a restaurant, spa, and 18-hole golf course.
2) Tips for Visiting PEI Beaches
Before entering the water, check the surf conditions. It’s necessary to inspect the surf conditions yourself at all unsupervised beaches and supervised surf during the summer months when surf conditions are posted.
Watch out for kids in the water, as you should at any beach.
Sun safety is necessary. Carry a beach umbrella and wear a cap. Use of sunscreen, rash guards, or other UV-protective clothing is advised.
Inflatables should not be used and are even prohibited on some beaches.
The sand on several of PEI’s beaches is crimson. This is because there is a lot of iron in it, which stains clothes, especially white ones, and becomes red when exposed to air.
3) Frequently Asked Questions
3.1) In PEI, is Swimming in the Ocean Permitted?
In PEI, you may go swimming in the ocean. Panmure Beach, Cavendish Beach, and Argyle Shore Provincial Park are a few of the most renowned beaches for swimming in the sea.
3.2) In PEI, are the Beaches Free?
While some beaches on Prince Edward Island are unrestrained, others are National Parks and require a fee to utilize.
3.3) Which Beach in PEI is the Best?
Although Brackley Beach, Thunder Cove Beach, and Basin Head Beach are contenders, Cavendish Beach is the most visited beach on Prince Edward Island.
4) Bottom Line
We appreciate you taking the time to read about the top PEI beaches on Prince Edward Island. Some of Canada’s nicest beaches may be found on Prince Edward Island.
So What you’re waiting for? Get yourself ready to enjoy and explore the best beaches IN PEI with your favorite ones.
We hope this article helps you out.
Read more from us here.