On Sunday we had tickets for the Indian River Festival to see Tracy Cantin and Ironwood Quartet.

“Praised for her “full, gleaming sound” (Chicago Tribune), PEI’s own soprano Tracy Cantin “has it all – agility, power and dazzling coloratura” (Chicago Sun-Times), not to mention “vocal and physical allure, with interpretive intelligence and stage presence to boot” (Chicago Tribune). A recent graduate of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cantin won magnificent critical acclaim at Lyric as Berta/Il barbiere di Siviglia, has appeared with the company in Elektra, Rigoletto, Parsifal, and most recently in the title role of Donizetti’s demanding Anna Bolena, in which she replaced ailing super-star soprano Sondra Radvanovsky. “

http://www.tracycantin.com/

“The Ironwood Quartet is made up of four dynamic and passionate Canadian musicians: Jessica Linnebach and Carissa Klopoushak (violins), David Marks (viola), and Julia MacLaine (cello) (also originally from PEI), a quartet of curious musicians whose home base is Canada’s National Arts Centre.“

https://www.ironwoodquartet.com/

Indian River Festival is a must see whether you live on PEI or are just visiting. The church is spectacular, as is their seasonal concert lineup.

Visit their site to discover more.

https://indianriverfestival.com/

But back to my beaches.

We decided to incorporate some beaches en route to the concert.

Chelton Beach Provincial Park

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelton_Beach_Provincial_Park

https://www.tourismpei.com/provincial-park/chelton-beach

https://welcomepei.com/beaches/chelton-beach/

Although this is not the best beach we’ve seen it is nice and it seems extremely good for families, especially those with young children. The waves are small, the water is warm, and it’s easy to watch them in or out of the water.

Here:

* washrooms

* showers and changing rooms

* ample grass parking

* supervised beach

* playground

* picnic tables

* picnic shelter

* metal stairs to the beach

* surf conditions are stated

After Chelton we went to Seacow Head (I’ve lived here for so long and have never been) but there’s no beach there. Plus it’s down a very bumpy dirt road.

My poor car😢

But there is a lighthouse.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seacow_Head_Light

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=977

After we left we saw a sign saying Sunset Beach but we couldn’t find a public beach so it must be just for those who have cottages.

Cabot Park Provincial Beach

Since we were headed to Indian River we decided to make time and drive a bit farther to see Cabot Beach.

My kids would remember it well. We spent a lot of summer days enjoying this beach. And I do mean a lot. Along with PB sandwiches, crackers, and Kool-Aid in a yellow Tupperware jug. Oh the memories.

It has it all. Love this beach. Plus there’s also a campground.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabot_Beach_Provincial_Park

https://www.tourismpei.com/provincial-park/cabot-beach

Beautiful white sand and it feels like you can walk forever.

I bet my kids remember these rocks. We always used to sit on this part of the beach. There were less people and the kids had a super time snorkeling and playing in the sand.

Here:

* washrooms

* changing rooms

* extreme amount of grass parking

* playground equipment including swings, climbing structures, and teeter totters

* picnic tables

* supervised beach

* surf conditions are stated

I love when we spend entire days exploring our beautiful beaches but Sunday was especially nice as we combined the love of beaches with the love of music.

⛱🏖❤️🎼🎶

Can’t beat that.

Today I’m posting about two special beaches in Borden-Carleton.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borden-Carleton

http://borden-carleton.ca/

I’ve heard them called Front Beach and Back Beach but I’ve also seen them called Front Shore and Back Shore. I’m not sure what their official names are or if these are names just used locally.

This time of year we see Blue Herons on the front beach every day.

I really wanted to do a post last weekend when this celebration was happening.

But, sad to say, we had a lot of rain and didn’t get any beach photos. The activities still took place and everyone had a good time.

Front Beach

We’re so lucky.

We get to look at this beach everyday as Richard’s house overlooks it.

Neighbours have told us that years ago (over 25 years ago) this was a very popular beach.

At Crossings Cafe– a super place in Borden with friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere, plus great food and coffee etc. (https://m.facebook.com/CrossingsPEI/) we saw a book about Borden-Carleton that mentions the beaches. About the front beach it states:

“For many kids the front shore was the most convenient swimming spot. Gerry Coyle, in the 90’s, made a beautiful huge wooden raft for the children to use…Many recall that the water was the perfect depth at high tide and so on the warm summer days it was a busy popular spot…”.

Nowadays we see very few people in the water but more can be seen walking along the beach.

It’s such a delight to sit on either of the two decks and look at this outstanding vista. Pure heaven. Sigh.

Looking off to the right we can see Fisherman’s Wharf and behind it Marine Rail Park

http://www.gov.pe.ca/newsroom/index.php?number=news&dept=&newsnumber=1760

https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/National-Park/MarineRail-Historical-Park-141510089230363/

and then The Confederation Bridge”.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederation_Bridge

https://www.confederationbridge.com/

Looking to the left we see more beach and the Borden-Carleton Jetty.

Back Beach

Breathtaking!

That Borden-Carleton book I previously mentioned also talks about the back beach.

” The back shore was, and still is a beautiful beach and at low tide it produces miles of sandbars to splash in the warm, sand heated, waters…At one point it had changing rooms and people would pack lunches and make the beach a full day event…”.

One last picture.

This is from a couple of years ago but I wanted to share it as it shows Abby (who died a year and a half ago) having a terrific time on her beach. Miss her.

As you can see Borden-Carleton has two beautiful beaches.

Come for a visit and see for yourself.

But first check the tide schedule as you’ll want a low tide.

Enjoy your week.

Wow. I can’t believe we visited 21 beaches in two days.

Here are the last of the beaches from our recent trip down/up east. But we’re not done.

Chad’s Road Beach

We saw this beach listed in the beach book and on the website (and it said it was a little gem) plus there was the beach sign on the road. i guess they were being quite literal when they said little. I have to say that it wasn’t much of a beach. Maybe that was due to it being high tide but to me it wasn’t great. Just my opinion.

Here:

* dirt road parking

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* small sandy beach

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/index.php?/things-to-do/entry/chads-road-beach

Fortune Beach

We found the Fortune Beach Road and decided to follow it to see where it would take us, assuming because of its name that we’d find a beach. We did. Yay. 🥳

So we called it Fortune Beach. Who knows if that’s its name?

It’s a small secluded white sandy beach. Sweet.

Here:

* small amount of dirt parking

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

Sheep Pond Beach

This beach has lovely white sand. Don’t you just love PEI’s white sand?

While we were there we could hear a whistle buoy. Neat.

According to dictionary.com a whistle buoy is a buoy having a whistle operated by air trapped and compressed in an open-bottomed chamber by the rising and falling water level caused by natural wave action.

Wikipedia states: The earliest use of Oscillating Water Columns was in whistling buoys. These buoys used the air pressure generated in the collecting chamber to power a PTO system that consisted of a whistle or foghorn. Rather than generating electricity, the PTO would generate sound, allowing the buoy to warn boats of dangerous water.

The sound here was quite prominent and continuous but I’m sure people eventually get used to it. We can occasionally hear the sound of a whistle buoy in Borden.

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/sheep-pond-beach

Here:

* small amt of parking

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* nice white sandy beach

Souris Beach

This is a well known beach for collecting sea glass but we’ve never had much luck.

An outstanding boardwalk overlooking the beach is used and loved by both tourists and locals. A beautiful spot to walk along or maybe sit on one of their lighted benches while enjoying the views.

There are restaurants, gift shops, and a large patio overlooking the beach. Simply smashing. We love it here.

The town of Souris is also the gateway to the Îles de-la-Madeleine ferry.

https://pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/souris-beach-gateway-park

https://sourispei.com/3-provincial-park-beaches-around-souris/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souris_Beach_Provincial_Park

Here:

* very large paved parking lots

* washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* beautiful boardwalk

* gift shops

* restaurants

* benches with lights

Little Harbour Beach

This is such a fabulous beach. Even in June there were people enjoying this stunning beach. We saw that strange bright green seaweed again. Thoughts on what it is?

Little Harbour Beach is located next to a bird sanctuary and we saw some very interesting birds while we were driving. Richard’s the one who’s really interested in birds. I’m not really a nature girl.

Here:

* lots of dirt parking

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* fabulous white sandy beach

* located next to a bird sanctuary

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/little-harbour-beach

That’s all the beaches from our recent trip to eastern PEI.

But we’ll definitely be back. There are so many more beaches here to discover and enjoy.

If we missed some of your favourites comment and let me know so we hit them next time.

Now off to other parts of PEI and their beautiful beaches.

See you soon.

Our eastern beach saga continues.

Sally’s Provincial Park Beach

A lovely white sandy beach is found in this park.

And is obviously enjoyed by others.

Love it when people are creative with nature.

This was another beach where I found great pieces of driftwood. Kathryn, my daughter, and I are hoping to do a summer project with driftwood. I’ll share when it’s done.

https://www.tourismpei.com/provincial-park/sallys-beach

https://www.tourismpei.com/search/OperatorDetails/op_id/5270

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/sallys-beach-provincial-park

Here:

* parking

* washrooms

* changing rooms

* unsupervised beach

* picnic tables

* boardwalk and stairs/ramp to the beach

Spry Point Beach

This beach is very close to Sally’s Beach and as lovely as Sally’s Beach is, we really liked this beach much better. It’s easy to locate as it’s at the end of Spry Point Road. Thus it’s name. (We’ve seen this a lot on our beach junkets.) It’s more secluded than Sally’s. Access to it is fairly easy but does require a short walk. You park here at the end of the road and then walk down that small hill to the beach.

When on the beach look to the right. Around that red cliff is where you’ll find Sally’s Beach. We couldn’t get there by walking.

I have to include more photos as it’s so beautiful.

Here:

* end of dirt road parking

* unusual entry

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* lovely white sandy beach

* secluded

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/spry-point-beach

There are so many beaches. Gotta love it. I have four more eastern beaches to show you from this journey before we head up west in search of more PEI beaches.

But we’ll be back here again so if you have a fav beach let me know and we’d love to visit it.

Happy Summer!

More eastern PEI beaches. Hope to do up west beaches very soon.

Georgetown Beach

I’m sure someone can tell me what he’s digging.

We had a short walk along the boardwalk and viewed the first harbour built on the eastern seaboard.

We were also here a few years ago during their Cloggeroo. They had lots of activities but if memory serves me right they also had lots of mosquitoes so if you attend bring insect repellent.

Here’s where you can find information about Cloggeroo 2019.

http://cloggeroo.com/home/

Georgetown also has a great little theatre. I’ve enjoyed many shows there in the past.

https://kingsplayhouse.com/

Here:

* gravel parking lot

* washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* boardwalk

* picnic area

* playground

* restaurant close by

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/georgetown-west-street-beach

https://www.tourismpei.com/points-east-pei/georgetown

Morrison’s Beach

I wonder who’s shadow?

Close to both Georgetown and Cardigan this beach is on Morrison Beach Road. Makes sense they call it Morrison’s Beach. 😉 There was a lot of seaweed when we were there. It seems it might be more of a beach for the cottage owners than for the public.

Here:

* very little road parking at the end of the road

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* cottages along the road

* more of a red soil beach than a white sandy beach

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/morrisons-beach

Brudenell River Provincial Park

The beach area had a lot of bright green seaweed. Anyone know what it is?

This is a large Provincial campground with many activities but I believe some of the activities are privately operated: kayaking, horseback riding, etc. We didn’t see washrooms but I would think they must have them.

This beach is also located next to the Rodd Brudenell Resort.

https://roddvacations.com/hotels/rodd-brudenell-river/

Here:

* large gravel parking lot

* unsure about washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* wooden stairs to the beach

* not a great beach area

* playground

* picnic tables

* lighted walking path

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/brudenell-river-provincial-park-beach-marina

https://www.tourismpei.com/provincial-park/brudenell-river

https://welcomepei.com/listing/brudenell-river-provincial-park/

https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11659

We walked over a connecting causeway to Brudenell Island and visited the pioneer cemetery. The cemetery consists of sandstone grave markers and a large commemorative monument which was erected in 1903. Beware of mosquitoes.

Annandale Beach

This is a small beach but I did find some nice pieces of driftwood. I’m not sure if people use it as a beach cause we were the only ones there but it’s always interesting to find small, unique beaches.

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/annandale-beach-and-wharf

Here:

* gravel parking at the wharf

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* small beach area

I’ll keep posting our beach adventures. Enjoy your day.

Seal Cove

Are there seals at Seal Cove?

You cannot imagine how excited we were to go to Seal Cove. We had been reading about this beach in a PEI Beaches book which said that seals could always be seen here.

Nope. I don’t think so.

I have no idea what the people who wrote the book saw but we didn’t see any seals.

We were so disappointed.

We did see lots of geese. We joked that maybe it’s name needs to be changed to Geese Cove. 😉 We had to be very careful where we stepped. Lots of geese you know what.

We did find one piece of white sea glass.

This is a campground but apparently they don’t mind if you go down to the beach.

Here:

* parking

* washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* playground area

* mini golf

* kids zip line

* campground

https://www.sealcovecampground.ca/

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/seal-cove-campground-beach

Poverty Beach

This is a nice long, white sandy beach. It’s on the other side of the harbour to Beach Point and is located at the end of Poverty Beach Road. That makes it a bit easier to find. We chose to relax here and enjoy our afternoon tea and cookies. Beautiful views. A few others were here also enjoying the beautiful sunny day.

Richard found a piece of green sea glass. 😊 A good day when you find sea glass.

Here:

* dirt road parking

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* long sandy beach

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/poverty-beach

St. Mary’s Beach

We didn’t think this was one of the better beaches on our travels but really, if you have a beach close to you, then go and enjoy it.

Here:

* road parking

* washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* campground

* swings

Panmure Island Provincial Park Beach

What a lovely long, white, sandy beach. Even in June there were over a dozen people enjoying the sun, sand, and surf.

https://welcomepei.com/beaches/panmure-island-beach/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panmure_Island_(Prince_Edward_Island)

https://www.tourismpei.com/provincial-park/panmure-island

Here:

* big parking lot

* unsupervised beach

* washrooms

* showers

* canteen

* little lookout to climb to view the beach

Panmure Island contains the oldest wooden lighthouse on PEI. Built in 1853 the 18 metre high lighthouse has four stories with a warning beacon on top.

http://panmureislandlighthouse.ca/

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=952

I should have gone to see it but I was tired after a long day of beach touring and decided to pass on it but I found this online for you.

One last beach look.

By now I just wanted to get back to Rodd Brudenell River Resort, have a hot bath, and relax. Oh and they have fresh homemade cookies fo4 their guests. Yummy.

I’ll have to return another day.

This beach is the second in our series Hidden Gems: beaches that seem hidden away (probably enjoyed mostly by local residents).

Launching Harbour and Beach

We first discovered this place a few years ago.

What an amazing find. Such a lovely harbour and so picturesque. A beautiful spot to walk around with many buildings and boats.

We saw quite a few boats fishing in the harbour plus we saw some returning and others leaving.

As we were walking around the wharf we decided to see what was at the front of the harbour.

Here’s a great picture I found online.

You can see where we drove in and where we walked. Walking around the harbour you can see the path we took towards our hidden gem.

Walking past the wetlands (seeing green herons and bald eagles) this was our view.

So lovely and so secluded. A true hidden gem.

Here:

* picturesque harbour

* portable potty

* unsupervised beach

* white sandy beach, not very long but very private

Simply loving our PEI beaches. Hope you are too.

A lovely spot we discovered near Summerside is Indian Head Lighthouse.

Standing on the shoreline it looks much farther away than it really is.

The first time we went there we realized that if you want to walk all the way to the lighthouse you need to go at a really low tide. We learned this the hard way. Lol. After walking partway we knew we weren’t going to make it to the lighthouse before the tide was back in. Lesson learned. It was windy with the waves crashing over the breakwater. Beautiful to watch but we did get wet. Not that we minded.

Another day we finally made it there at a proper low tide as Richard checked the tide tables and made sure we went during a very low tide.

We walked right to the lighthouse. Yay.

What a nice walk.

I guess one reason we enjoyed it there was because it’s such a unique experience.

But check the tide tables before you plan your walk.

Indian Head Lighthouse

From the boardwalk in Summerside you can see the lighthouse but you can’t get there by foot. You have to drive.

It’s a bit tricky getting there as there aren’t signs plus there’s a dirt road, but well worth it. Just google it and you’ll have no problems.

I did recently see that SUP Prince Edward Island has now added tours of Holman’s Island and Indian Head Lighthouse. Wow. How exciting. Such a great addition to Summerside. Check them out and see their other adventures and activities. Lots to do.

http://suppei.ca/

If you want more details regarding the lighthouse here’s some sites you might want to check out.

http://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=980

https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=19730

http://northcapedrive.com/individual/?id=5448

http://www.peilighthousesociety.ca/lighthouse.php?id=45

And yes, there is also a beach.

Here:

* field parking

* no washrooms

* unsupervised

* great walk

Just read this in today’s Journal Pioneer.

This is a unique experience. I think if you give it a try you’ll be glad you did. We were.

Yesterday’s post described how we’d gone on a two day trip to eastern PEI and that I’d be taking many days to post about all the beaches we visited. That was a well timed decision as today is quite a rainy day.

Beach Point Beach

https://www.pointseastcoastaldrive.com/things-to-do/entry/beach-point-beach

http://www.gov.pe.ca/placefinder/index.php3?city=Beach+Point

Nice, little secluded white and red sand beach that’s very close to Murray Harbour. We only saw two other people on the beach.

How lucky we were that we saw quite a few fishing boats returning while we were there. What a fantastic sight!

Here:

* dirt parking lot

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* sandy beach

Machon Point Beach

Here:

* road sign says there’s a beach here but there’s not much beach

* small amount of dirt parking

* no washrooms

* unsupervised beach

* small sandy area

There are signs that others must have also been here.

I don’t think this happened on its own.

Interesting.

Kings Castle Provincial Park Beach

https://www.tourismpei.com/provincial-park/kings-castle

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Castle_Provincial_Park

I remember reading in the May 31, 2019 newspaper that several large concrete animal figurines and other property were damaged at the park. How disgusting. Why would anyone want to damage this amazing place and ruin children’s fun.

https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/local/rcmp-investigating-damage-to-property-at-kings-castle-provincial-park-317092/

But

In typical PEI fashion people rally together to help. The concrete animal critters of Kings Castle Provincial Park are now on the mend. Way to go PEI. While we were we there we saw work being done. Good job.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-volunteer-repairing-kings-castle-provincial-park-animal-figurines-1.5161735

Families would delight in coming to this park. It is an extremely spacious green space with lots of unique and interesting play equipment and structures for kids. Such fun. And we saw several families enjoying them. Perfect

Here:

* parking

* washrooms

* playground paradise with many slides, swings, climbing apparatuses

* benches

* picnic tables

* picnic shelter

* canteen

* boardwalk to the beach

* small beach area

* mosquitoes (so bring your bug repellent)

We thought that their signage for parking and beach entrances could be improved. Having never been here before we were unsure where to park and which paths to take when leaving.

What a wonderful week. The weather was nice and warm but not extremely hot so we went up/down east and spent two days exploring beaches. Wow! Many interesting discoveries. Sometimes you find beaches by travelling down out of the way dirt roads. It’s super exciting to find these. But we discovered that sometimes beaches shown on PEI maps or on road signs aren’t there, have no access, or don’t appear to be a beach.

In just those two days we got to 21 beaches. Well, we actually got to more places than that but as I previously mentioned, not all turned out to be beaches.

I’ll be spreading these beaches over the next week.

BASIN HEAD PROVINCIAL PARK BEACH

Having been here before we were so excited to revisit.

What a huge disappointment.

I knew they were working on dredging the channel but it never dawned on me that the entire beach was closed. The only things open were the shops and the washrooms.😢 Having no desire to shop (I know. I know. That certainly doesn’t sound like me.) we didn’t remain here long.

Today I read this online, which explains the closure.

The wharf at Basin Head is closed temporarily for safety reasons.

While preparing for dredging the channel, bridge engineers noted structural damage beneath the wharf and deemed it currently unsafe for public access.

“Safety is the first priority and we will fix this issue now while we are dredging the channel,” said Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy Minister Steven Myers. “On Monday, engineers will develop the plan to fix the wharf. After that, we will have a better idea of how long the repairs will take and if a temporary passage to the east side of Basin Head is possible. We will do everything we can to fix this in the coming weeks.” 

http://www.basinhead.com/

https://welcomepei.com/beaches/basin-head-beach/

This is what we were expecting.

But this is what we got.

Hopefully they’ll be able to open sometime this summer.

Here:

* large dirt parking lots

* washrooms

* changing rooms

* shops

* picnic shelters

* lovely white beaches (hopefully open this summer)

RED POINT PROVINCIAL PARK BEACH

What an outstanding beach! One of our favs so far.

Families were enjoying the beach, the picnic shelters, the campground, and the playgrounds. That’s what you want. I imagine that during the high season this beach is full of many happy beach goers.

https://www.tourismpei.com/provincial-park/red-point

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Point_Provincial_Park

We took a leisurely walk on the beautiful white sandy beach (but around the corner you find nice red rocks ) with the sun beaming down on us. Another positive was the water. It was warm enough to walk in but cool enough to be refreshing on our tired feet. Soothing. And we weren’t the only ones enjoying the beach. People were walking and sunbathing. Gotta love the summer.

We saw a sign that said unsupervised beach but today on the news I heard that the government was hiring more lifeguards for this beach due to Basinhead being closed.

Here:

* grass parking

* washrooms

* changing rooms

* playgrounds

* picnic tables

* picnic shelters

* metal stairs to the beach

* outdoor showers/taps to rinse off sand

* beautiful white sandy beach

Stay tuned. More to come.