By SHANNON KELLY
Kelly’s Beach, Kouchibouguac Park, NB (Photo: Tourism New Brunswick)
Last week the west coast got all the beachy glory. Now we head east to focus on the top beaches in the east: sandy Maritime playgrounds, windswept dunes, surfer spots and crystalline beauties on eastern Canada’s ocean- and lake-fronts.
Explore Canada’s top beaches in New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland »
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- <small>SALMON COVE, NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR</small><br /> <br /> Most of Newfoundland's beaches are of the rocky-shore variety. A white-sand beach like the Salmon Cove Sands is a rarity. The 1/2-kilometre-long beach on the eastern coast of the Avalon Peninsula has a boardwalk and lookout point. There's even a concession stand. Hiking rails wind up along the cliffs backing the beach.
- Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottch/6176157949/" target="_blank">Scott Howse</a>
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- Photo: Scott Howse
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- <small>CAPE BRETON ISLAND, NOVA SCOTIA</small><br /> <br /> Ingonish is the most popular beach in <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ns/cbreton/index.aspx" target="_blank">Cape Breton Highlands National Park</a>. It has a canteen and lifeguards on duty in July and August. Take a dip in Freshwater Lake (more accurately a lagoon) across a narrow strip of sand from the eastward-facing oceanfront beach.
- Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22490717@N02/6333164332" target="_blank">Dennis Jarvis</a>
- Ingonish Beach
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- Photo: Dennis Jarvis
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- <small>CAPE BRETON ISLAND, NOVA SCOTIA</small><br /> <br /> A gorgeous oceanfront beach sheltered from rough ocean surf by a promontory at one end and backed by pine trees, Black Brook Beach is a quiet strip without lifeguards. It's on the eastern side of <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ns/cbreton/index.aspx" target="_blank">Cape Breton Highlands National Park</a> with an excellent <a href="http://www.novascotia.com/en/home/thingstoseeanddo/listingdetails.aspx/jack-pine-trail-cape-breton-highlands-national-park/2777" target="_blank">hiking trail</a> a short walk from the sand.
- Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77483134@N00/42511462" target="_blank">Bobcatnorth</a>
- Black Brook Beach
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- Photo: Bobcatnorth
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- <small>PICTOU, NOVA SCOTIA</small><br /> <br /> A safe beach for swimming, Melmerby, on the Northumberland Shore, is a family-friendly, lifeguard-supervised beach backed by sand dunes and wispy patches of marram grass.
- (Photo: <a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8204949" target="_blank">Ralph MacAdam</a>)
- Melmerby Beach
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- (Photo: Ralph MacAdam)
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- <small>MUSQUODOBOIT HARBOUR, NOVA SCOTIA</small><br /> <br /> The province's longest white-sand beach (about 5 km) is about an hour south of Halifax. It's a popular surfing spot and has boardwalks and hiking paths. It's also part of a protected bird sanctuary.
- Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/96976831@N00/4938093848" target="_blank">Jenn Calder</a>
- Martinique Beach
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- Photo: Jenn Calder
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- <small>SOURIS, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND</small><br /> <br /> This South Shore beach is known for its pristine beauty, peaceful atmosphere and its "singing sand", that squeaks as you walk through it (no one is entirely sure why, though it may have to do with quartz content or the uniform roundness of the sand granules). Many consider it the best beach not only in PEI but in eastern Canada.
- Photo: Tourism PEI/John Sylvester
- Basin Head Beach
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- Photo: Tourism PEI/John Sylvester
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- <small>GREENWICH, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND</small><br /> <br /> At the far eastern reaches of <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/index.aspx" target="_blank">Prince Edward Island National Park</a>, Greenwich Beach is a somewhat off-the-beaten path protected waterfront area with a floating boardwalk, visitor facilities and the main attraction: 900 acres of sand dunes. It's a great beach for long walks or a hike on the 4.5-km Greenwich Dunes Trail.
- Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/49021451@N00/7618394512/" target="_blank">Andrea Shaffer</a>
- Greenwich Beach
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- Photo: Andrea Shaffer
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- <small>CAVENDISH, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND</small><br /> <br /> PEI's most popular beach (despite an entry fee), Cavendish Beach is part of <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/index.aspx" target="_blank">Prince Edward Island National Park</a>. It has a long shoreline, white sand, beautiful dunes, and comparatively warm North Shore waters.
- Photo: Tourism PEI/John Sylvester
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- Photo: Tourism PEI/John Sylvester
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- <small>BRACKLEY BEACH, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND</small><br /> <br /> A family attraction since the 1930s, Brackley is a wide North Shore strand with rolling sand dunes and a boardwalk. It's just a 30-minute drive from downtown Charlottetown and is part of <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/index.aspx" target="_blank">Prince Edward Island National Park</a> and has facilities for kayking, canoeing, deep-sea fishing, biking and horseback riding, plus excellent nearby restaurants and snack shops.
- Photo: Tourism PEI/Barrett & MacKay
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- Photo: Tourism PEI/Barrett & MacKay
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- <small>KOUCHIBOUGUAC NATIONAL PARK, NEW BRUNSWICK</small><br /> <br /> This secluded beach in <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/nb/kouchibouguac/index.aspx" target="_blank">Kouchibouguac National Park</a> is created by a long sand dune. It's accessed via a well-maintained 1/2-km boardwalk nature trail and has hiking and biking trails nearby.
- Photo: David Madison/Tourism New Brunswick
- Kelly's Beach
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- Photo: David Madison/Tourism New Brunswick
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- <small>CAP-PELÉ, NEW BRUNSWICK</small><br /> <br /> A unique place for an overnight getaway, Aboiteau has a collection of <a href="http://www.chaletsaboiteau.ca/" target="_blank">contemporary chalets</a> a short walk from the 5-km of sandy shoreline. The sand is backed by marshy dunes and a restaurant serves waterfront seafood dinners. On clear days you can see Prince Edward Island across the Northumberland Strait.
- Photo: Tourism New Brunswick
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- Photo: Tourism New Brunswick
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- <small>SHEDIAC, NEW BRUSNWICK</small><br /> <br /> <br /> New Brunswick's protected bays and straits hold the warmest salt water in Canada, making its beaches some of the most pleasant for swimming and Parlee Beach, a 3-km, white-sand, lifeguard-manned strand that's popular with families, may be the favourite swimming beach in the province. It has a canteen, showers and volleyball nets.
- Photo: Tourism New Brunswick
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- Photo: Tourism New Brunswick
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