Onward and upward. Two more beach postings.
In Cavendish we first went onto the road leading to the Cavendish National Park Campground. It had been a very long time since I’d been down this road. I was super disappointed that we couldn’t find the road that my family used to take when my children were young. There used to be a dirt road that would take us to a beach called The Sandspit. I remember it so fondly. It was an amazing beach and we had such great times there. We’d pack a cooler with peanut butter sandwiches, (peanut butter and crackers for my daughter who didn’t like sandwiches), a box of Ritz crackers, a jug of Koolaid, and any other snacks we could find at home. We’d often be there several times a week.
One occasion stands out in my memory. We were at this beach on a very hot summer day. My daughter was probably 3 or 4 and followed her brothers everywhere. They went running up the sand dunes so of course she followed. Then we heard her screaming. And I do mean screaming! The sand was so hot it was hurting her feet. David took off, scooped her up, and carried her back down. She was ok. Funny the things you remember.
Sad I couldn’t find that beach.😢
We did find a beach in the campground.
Cavendish National Park Campground Beach
We found this beach in Section D of the campground. You could get to the beach from two locations. One part was supervised
and the other part wasn’t.
The campground seemed to have lots of campers. Great to see so many people enjoying a PEI summer visit. As there was a bit of public parking I’m assuming people can just come and enjoy the beach. Just remember you do have to pay to get into the National Park.
https://www.tourismpei.com/search/OperatorDetails/name/CavendishCampgroundPrinceEdwardIslandNationalPark/op_id/2186/
Here:
◦ Dirt roads
◦ Dirt parking lot
◦ Short walk to the beach
◦ White sand and red rocks
◦ Washrooms
◦ Supervised beach (and an unsupervised one)
◦ Picnic shelters
◦ Picnic tables
◦ Water Stations
Our next stop was the main beach at Cavendish but I’ll post about it tomorrow as there’s a lot to tell.
Instead I’ll pop to our last stop that day on the way back home.
The Swimming Rock
https://centralcoastalpei.com/listing/731/Swimming-Rock
This is located in Stanley Bridge. I remember it well.
When I was young I’d spend a week every summer with my grandmother in Margate, PEI. I’m smiling as I remember running around with the baby pigs, trying to catch the barn cats (they were very shy), collecting eggs from the chicken coop, cooking toast over the kitchen stove (the best tasting toast ever), and sleeping in one of my grandmother’s magnificent feather beds. 🥰 Now I was not a farm type girl. My mother used to tell the story of me getting my socks wet when I was there and I wouldn’t wear the socks my grandmother gave me because they didn’t match. Hmmmm. Guess I was a little fussy?
During those weeks I took Red Cross swimming lessons with my cousins at the Swimming Rock.
Of course things have changed a lot since those days.
A lot of stairs down to the beach.
More red sand than white.
Here:
◦ Dirt gravel parking lot
◦ No washrooms
◦ Unsupervised beach
◦ Benches
◦ Picnic tables
◦ Gazebo
◦ Wooden stairs to beach
◦ Red sand and rocky beach
Coming from Cavendish to here there is no advance sign indicating that this beach is up ahead – just the sign right at the entrance. Therefore you have to slow down very quickly to make the turn into the entrance. This can cause problems if there is traffic behind you. The truck behind me was not happy and let me know it. Beeeeep Beeeeep
Another issue that I think should be corrected is again about signage. If you’re driving towards Cavendish from Stanley Bridge there’s no sign indicating this beach. Again just the one at the entrance and it faces the opposite direction. Strange, but an easy fix.
I’ll be back tomorrow with the main beach at Cavendish.
Cheers.
I mentioned this is my last session of “up west” beaches posts and I promise this will be my last time.
Debi's Junket Journal 