Greenwich Dunes Beach

This is the beach end of the Greenwich peninsula, and the draw is the dune system rather than the crowd. The sand hills here are the biggest on Prince Edward Island, and they are unusually large, mobile parabolic dunes with counter ridges behind them, a formation that is rare in North America. The beach itself is typically quieter than the park's other beaches, so it suits anyone who wants white sand without the busier main-beach feel.

From the beach facility, a roughly 300 m wooden boardwalk runs out toward the shore, generally flat and easy underfoot. Visitors consistently rate the boardwalk itself as the highlight, floating you out across wetland and dune terrain before the shoreline opens up. It ends at a beach hut with stairs down to the sand.

On the beach, the sand above the waterline is soft and white. At low tide, hard-packed sand is exposed and wide sandbars and tide pools can open up, which makes for the easiest walking and the best shallow wading. Supervised swimming is offered from early July to early September.

Water, a hat and sunscreen are worth packing, especially if you walk in on the trail, where there is little shade once you leave the wooded section. Snacks help too, since this is a facility with toilets and picnic tables rather than services. Footwear you do not mind getting sandy makes the stairs and soft upper beach easier.

• The access road from the visitor information centre is gravel and can be bumpy.
• Stairs, not a ramp, connect the boardwalk to the sand.
• Facilities are basic: composting toilets and outdoor showers, no more.
• Signs and fences protect Piping Plover nesting areas, dune vegetation, wetlands and rare plants, so parts of the dunes are off limits and detours around them are expected.

The peninsula carries Mi'kmaq and Acadian connections, and archaeological work here has turned up evidence of habitation and shifting land use spanning roughly 10,000 years. Worth knowing as you walk the boardwalk over ground that has been used for a very long time.