Life is better at the beach
Canoe Cove Beach, on the balmy Northumberland Strait, is so named because it is where Mi’kmaq brought European explorers ashore by canoe. It forms part of the Lloyd Inman Memorial Park. The popular beach boasts breathtaking scenery, warm waters and beautiful views. The low, low tides mean the sandy beach with countless tidal pools stretches forever and provides safe entertainment for wee folks with buckets and shovels. An on-site canteen, playground, shower facilities and picnic areas make it a perfect site for a day at the shore.
Historic places for all
The former Canoe Cove School was built in about 1850. The school is significant because of its association with Island artist, Robert Harris (1849-1919). Harris used the school as the theme of his 1880 painting School House at Canoe Cove which provides a rare glimpse into the interior of a typical 19th century PEI schoolhouse. Another of Harris' famous works, The Meeting of the Trustees, was based on an event at nearby Long Creek School nearby. The school building has survived remarkably intact and is operated today as a community centre (Source: historicplaces.ca).
![Canoe Cove School Exterior of Canoe Cove School in summer with insert of Robert Harris oil painting](png/canoe%20cove%20school1782.png)
Explore the site. Learn the history. Walk the trails
Nearby Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst National Historic Site commemorates the four cultures that converged there: Mi’kmaq, French, Acadian and British. It also highlights the friendships, conflicts and alliances that were forged there. In 1720, Port-La-Joye was established by the French, the first permanent European settlement on the Island. A strong alliance developed between the Mi’kmaq and French settlers. The island fell to the British forces four decades later and the area, renamed Fort Amherst, was the deportation site of French and Acadian settlers. Skmaqn, a Mi’kmaq term meaning “the waiting place,” was added to the official name in 2018.
![Port la Joye, wooden chairs, ocean view, forest Port la Joye, wooden chairs, ocean view, forest](jpg/%c2%a9tpei017_pb_port%20la%20joye_84473482.jpg)
![Rocky Point, water, lighthouse, shoreline, trees Rocky Point, water, lighthouse, shoreline, trees](jpg/%c2%a9tpei018_pb_rocky-point_7075_tbe146.jpg)
Skmaqn—Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst is a spectacular place to spend the day. The fort’s grassy ruins are still visible and interpretive panels explore its rich history.
![Skmaqn-Fort-Amherst-Port-la-Joye Walking trails at Skmaqn-Fort-Amherst-Port-la-Joye toward Charlottetown Harbour](jpg/%c2%a9tpei018_hk_skmaqn-fort-amherst-port-la-joye_05_f62b2.jpg)