Covehead Lighthouse in Prince Edward Island National Park

#4 of 19 sights in Prince Edward Island

Sight · Prince Edward Island National Park

Covehead Lighthouse

Small red-and-white heritage tower rising from the dunes at Covehead Bay

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
3.9 km
Audio stories
7 nearby
  • Parking

Hear the audio tour

Covehead Lighthouse and Harbour

Overview

About Covehead Lighthouse

Why stop

  • Iconic lighthouse-and-dune setting
  • Easy stop on the coastal drive

Heads up

  • Tower closed to interior visits
  • Exposed, windy shore
This is one of the signature images of Prince Edward Island's north shore: a squat wooden lighthouse in the classic red-and-white colour scheme, standing among sand dunes just east of the entrance to Covehead Bay. It is a quick roadside stop, not a long outing, and it delivers a lot of picture for very little effort. The tower still works as a guiding light for the harbour and reads as a plain, honest piece of the Island's maritime story.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightCovehead Lighthouse46.43005, -63.14312
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Plan your stop

Before you go

Best time to go

Sunset is the standout, with warm light hitting the red trim and long shadows across the dune grass. Midday works fine for a fast photo but flattens the scene. Crowds vary: you may share the spot with a tour group or have it largely to yourself, and it changes through the day and season.

3 active Prince Edward Island alerts

  • ClosureOceanview cliff area closed beyond signs and fencingStay out of all unmown areas beyond the signs or fencing at Oceanview (46.49951N 63.38272W), including the rocks and cliff edges.Official details
  • ClosureHomestead trails closed because bridges are outDo not use Homestead Long Loop or Homestead Trail Short loop: both trails are closed because bridges are out. - Respect all posted warnings, closures, notices and signs while using other park trails.Official details
See all 3 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Prince Edward Island Tour Guide

Your drive to Covehead Lighthouse, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Prince Edward Island National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this place

Covehead Lighthouse and Harbour
0:00 / 0:31
“You're coming up on Covehead Lighthouse, the little red-and-white tower in the dunes at the mouth of Covehead Bay.”

Plays as you drive up to Covehead Lighthouse in the Parkwolf Prince Edward Island Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Stanhope Cape Beach
  • The Hawk That Hunts Low
  • The Birds in the Bank
  • Ross Lane Beach
  • 29 audio storiesacross Prince Edward Island’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Bald Eagle, Osprey, Great Blue Heron, and 12 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 15 trails, 25 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Covehead Lighthouse

What you'll seeA square, tapered tower about 8.
  • A square, tapered tower about 8.2 metres tall, one of the smallest on the Island, with white cedar siding, red-trimmed windows and door, red railings, and a maple leaf on the lantern.
  • The current tower dates from 1975, replacing the original light on this stretch of coast.
  • Dunes, beach and open water on three sides, with Covehead Bay behind you and the gulf in front, which is exactly the composition most people come for.
  • Room for a short beach walk along the sand once you have your photos.
Practical accessThe Gulf Shore Parkway passes close by, so the lighthouse is highly visible and easy to reach…

The Gulf Shore Parkway passes close by, so the lighthouse is highly visible and easy to reach by car; the parallel Gulf Shore Way cycling and walking route also runs along this coast. The Google listing notes a wheelchair accessible entrance and parking, though the surrounding ground is beach and dune terrain, so conditions underfoot change quickly away from paved and hard surfaces. No onsite visitor services were verified at the lighthouse itself; anything at the nearby harbour is separate.

Honest drawbacksThe tower is closed.
  • The tower is closed. The grounds are open and you can walk right up to it, but there is no interior visit, no climb, and no tour.
  • It is exposed and often windy, and the water here stays cool, so bring a layer even on warm days.
  • The dunes are fragile. Stay on established trails and the beach, and keep out of dune and closed areas.
  • If you want a full beach day with facilities, plan that around one of the park's main supervised beaches instead and treat this as the photo stop.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Prince Edward Island

All Prince Edward Island wildlife maps

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Prince Edward Island. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Parkwolf’s Prince Edward Island ranking

Top sights in Prince Edward Island

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  6. 7Dalvay-by-the-Sea National Historic SiteSight

Take Parkwolf to Prince Edward Island.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

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