Our top 20 picks for Atlantic Canada’s best beaches

Atlantic Canada is home to long stretches of dreamy shorelines, perfect for sand castles, sunset strolls, and playing in the surf. Here (in no particular order) are 20 super spots worth visiting.

Island paradise

Prince Edward Island is well-known for its spectacular beaches. A few of the perennial favorites that should make any beach blanket list for Island-goers include Basin Head, off route 16, east of Souris. This is a gorgeous stretch of shoreline—one that has a truly unique quality: squish your toes into the sand and you may hear the sand “sing” due to the quartz found in the dunes.

Cedar Dunes Provincial Parkon the North Cape Coastal Drive is a hit for its supervised swimming, children’s activities, and a staff naturalist who offers guided nature walks. Bonus: You can tour the West Point Lighthouse (it’s also an inn).

Panmure Island Provincial Park in eastern PEI is one of the Island’s most popular white sand beaches. It has supervised swimming and is located along a causeway that offers sheltered St. Marys Bay on one side and an ocean beach with secluded sand dunes on the other.

Of course, no visit to PEI is complete without a stop at Cavendish Beach, on the North Shore of PEI. The beach is part of Prince Edward Island National Park, which offers walking trails and interpretive programs on beach ecology, geology, evolution, wildlife, and archaeology. Supervised beach and swimming area.

Scenic sands of New Brunswick

New Brunswick’s most popular beach, Parlee Beach, is in Pointe-du-Chêne, near Shediac, 25 minutes from downtown Moncton. It boasts the warmest salt water north of Virginia, and hosts numerous activities including supervised swimming, volleyball, football and a sand sculpture competition.

Nearby, and not as crowded, is the 2.5-kilometre (1.5-mile) unsupervised white sand stretch of Aboiteau Beach in Cap-Pelé. Boardwalks offer access to the beach, where you can climb a tower that offers an extraordinary view of Prince Edward Island on a clear day—or an illuminated view at night.

Mactaquac Provincial Park has a lovely inland beach, created by the Mactaquac hydroelectric dam. This beach’s waters are on the warm St. John River.

New River Beach, in the community of New River Beach on the Bay of Fundy, is a 20-minute drive from Saint John and hosts a fantastic sand sculpture contest each summer.

Rugged Newfoundland

If you think Newfoundland, known affectionately as “The Rock,” doesn’t immediately scream sandy shorelines, perhaps you haven’t seen or heard of the spectacular Sandbanks Provincial Park near Burgeo, splendid with long expanses of flat, sandy beaches, sand dunes, uncrowded shores and hiking and kayaking opportunities.

In central Newfoundland, the Eastport Beaches is a series of three white, sandy beaches, connected by boardwalks. Extras include gazebos, change rooms, picnic and park benches, barbecues and beach volleyball.

And if you’re near the northern tip of Gros Morne National Park, Shallow Bay, outside the town of Cow Head, has a great 10-kilometre (6.6-mile) sandy beach. Camping is available nearby at the Shallow Bay Campsite; nearby Cow Head provides shops, accommodation and restaurants and is home to the Gros Morne Theatre Festival.

She's called Nova Scotia

There are plenty of hangouts for beach bums within easy driving distance of Halifax; heading west from Halifax, you’ll find Crystal Crescent Beach, which features beautiful white sand, tropical-looking blue waters and a hiking trail past dramatic ocean views; there’s also a fairly secluded “naturist” (nudist) beach on one of the small coves. In central Nova Scotia, beautiful Rissers Beach, near Petite Rivière, features two adjacent campgrounds; the beach itself is a kilometre of white sand, and the property has an onsite interpretation centre, and a boardwalk along an inland marsh.

East of Halifax, Rainbow Haven Beach Park features grassy dunes and a boardwalk; washrooms and a canteen are open through the summer; supervised swimming makes it a popular destination for families. Farther along, Lawrencetown Beach is internationally known for its great waves for surfing—in both winter and summer. Martinique Beach, on the Eastern Shore in East Petpeswick, offers 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) of gorgeous sand; excellent surf draws surfers and boogie-boarders of all skill levels. The area is also a protected area for the piping plover.

Superb salt and freshwater beaches await visitors to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. At Ingonish Beach and Freshwater Lake, visitors can jump from the salt water at Ingonish Beach to the fresh waters of the lake by taking just a few steps across the barachois. There are change houses, washrooms and a hiking trail onsite. North Bay Beach, located a few kilometres north of the park entrance at Ingonish, offers a secluded beach experience; perfect for a quiet getaway. Black Brook Beach, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) south of Neils Harbour, is one of Highlands National Park’s most popular beaches, bordered by a gentle waterfall and intersected by a freshwater brook. Change houses, washrooms, playground, picnic tables, fire pits and hiking trailheads complete the deal.

Elsewhere in Cape Breton, Point Michaud Beach, located not far from St. Peters, offers great surf in its gorgeous crystal-clear blue and green—but very cold—ocean waters. Surf lessons are offered through the summer.