The Best Beaches in PEI

Red Sands, White Sands & Singing Sands on Canada's Smallest Province

Barefoot visitors running and walking across PEI's distinctive rippled red sand flats at low tide, with shallow tidal pools reflecting the sky and red sandstone cliffs visible along the shoreline — introducing a guide to five of Prince Edward Island's best beaches along its 1,100 kilometres of coastline.

Quick Summary

In summer, there are 23 supervised beaches on Prince Edward Island — impressive for Canada's smallest province. Even more remarkable— the entire island has 1,100 km of shoreline to wander and explore. For beach lovers, PEI is like a candy store — your choice of sand and surf, supervised or solo, without ever driving more than a couple of hours. Whether you want to dip a toe in the water or sprawl out on the sand, here are five great PEI beaches that guarantee a good time.

Quick Facts

Supervised Beaches: 23 in summer
Shoreline: 1,100 km to explore
PEI National Park: 60-km (37-mile) park with multiple beaches
Water Temperature: Warmest waters north of Florida (exceeding 70°F)

Bare footprints trailing across smooth, warm golden sand at the water's edge on the Singing Sands beach at Basin Head Provincial Park, PEI — a nine-mile stretch said to have some of the warmest waters north of Florida, where the beach's high silica and quartz content makes the fine sand squeak underfoot as you walk.

Basin Head's red sand is PEI's most tactile beach experience—the fine silica grains squeak underfoot, the lagoon water runs warm, and the footprints you leave behind are the whole point. Credit: Heather Ogg

1. The Singing Sands — Basin Head Provincial Park

Often called the best beach in Canada

A 14.5-km (nine-mile) white sand beach with some of the warmest water in the province — said to have some of the warmest waters north of Florida, occasionally exceeding 70°F. The beach's unique name comes from its fine sand, which squeaks as your feet press into it — the result of high silica and quartz concentration.

Local tradition: Jump off a small bridge into a water channel that divides the beach
Nearby: Basin Head Fisheries Museum — history of local fisheries

A wide, gently curving PEI beach at sunset with a small red and white striped lifeguard hut on the sand dunes, a handful of beachgoers scattered along the shoreline, and beach chairs in the foreground beneath a dramatic orange and blue evening sky — Cavendish Beach, the most popular stretch of Prince Edward Island National Park's 37-mile coastline.

Cavendish Beach at sunset—dunes, a red-and-white change hut, and a wide Gulf shoreline with lifeguards and park amenities make this PEI's most family-ready stretch of sand. Credit: Tourism PEI/Carrie Gregory

2. Cavendish Beach — PEI National Park

The most popular beach in the 37-mile Prince Edward Island National Park

Home to several picturesque white and red-sand beaches. Rent a chair, park it in the red sand, soak up the sun, or go for a long walk enjoying beautiful views of the red cliffs.

Activities: Easy access to hiking, cycling, golfing, geocaching in PEI National Park
Camping: Pitch your tent, relax by a campfire, and return for round two in the morning

A quiet stretch of soft pink-red sand beach at dusk, edged by a low grassy dune bank dropping sharply to the shore, with calm water and a pale sunset sky stretching to the horizon — Greenwich Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park, a less-crowded alternative to Cavendish that borders the province's largest and rarest sand dune ecosystem.

Greenwich Beach's parabolic dunes meet the Gulf at dusk; the boardwalk trail through this protected ecosystem is part of the experience, making it PEI's quietest and most ecologically striking beach approach.

3. Greenwich Beach — PEI National Park

Biggest sand dunes in the province — rare North American ecosystem

Sits on the edge of the province's largest sand dunes — a delicate ecosystem extremely uncommon in North America. An extensive trail system and floating boardwalk allow you to explore 900 acres of dunes at your own pace. Soft white sand beaches, less crowded than Cavendish, with the same beautiful scenery and great swimming.

A man and child laughing and splashing each other with water on a warm, sun-drenched red sand beach, with PEI's characteristic rust-coloured sand dunes and grassy banks glowing in golden evening light behind them — Brackley Beach, a beloved family destination just 15 minutes from Charlottetown where summer days end at a classic drive-in theatre.

A man and child splash through golden-hour surf at Brackley Beach; red dunes behind them, Charlottetown twenty minutes up the road, and nothing on the agenda but this. Credit: Tourism PEI/Stephen Harris

4. Brackley Beach

Only 15 minutes from Charlottetown

Oddly named after a provincial clerk who drowned in the bay in the 18th century, this beach has been a popular vacation destination for generations. White sand beaches with dunes at your back.

Evening activities: Drive-in theatre, mini golf, local art at Dunes Studio Gallery and Cafe

The tall black and white horizontally striped West Point Lighthouse glowing in warm golden sunset light above PEI's red sand beach, with a wooden inn built directly into its base and a few visitors relaxing on the shore below — Cedar Dunes Provincial Park's iconic landmark, where guests can spend the night inside an active working lighthouse with uninterrupted views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence sunset.

West Point Lighthouse glows at sunset on Cedar Dunes Provincial Park beach. PEI's only lighthouse inn turns the shoreline into an overnight destination, where the beacon lights up your room window after dark. Credit: Tourism PEI/Heather Ogg

5. Cedar Dunes — West Point

Tucked away in PEI's northwest corner

Found in Cedar Dunes Provincial Park, this secluded beach offers shell hunting on pristine sand, volleyball, and seal watching offshore. Camp just feet from the sand.

West Point Lighthouse: Stay in an inn built into an active lighthouse — incomparable sunset views, standing tall above the shoreline.

Visit the Tourism PEI website

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