The Beach within the Anchorage Provincial Park is one of the most spectacular on Grand Manan. The turn off along Route 776 is clearly marked - if you want to stay at one of the camp sites, keep going straight to register; if you just want to walk the beach, take the first left turn. There is parking as well as change rooms. The road to the left of the parking lot leads to the start of several walking trails. Limited parking is available there too.

As you can see from the Google Map of the area, the walk along the beach is a long one, great for beach combing. Before you enter, the Bird Sanctuary portion of the beach, you do have to cross over the stream that runs out of Long Pond - only possible to do at low tide. As many as 275 different bird species can be seen on Grand Manan and the park has several blinds for better bird viewing.

The beach is terrific too for sitting and reading, and if it's VERY hot, even for a quick dip. The Bay of Fundy is deep, and cold - and this is the North Atlantic Ocean! Don't miss the little island off the coast - home to both harbour porpoises and sea gulls. Whales can occasionally be seen as well.

The inland lakes, Long Pond and Great Pond, are also surrounded by trails - and of course form a critical part of the Bird Sanctuary. And the boardwalk trail south to Red Point starts from the main Parking lot area. The picnic area west of the parking lot hosts three annual Rotary BBQ Chicken events, July 1, during Grand Manan Days (end of July, early August) and Labour Day. Fantastic community events for a good cause open to islanders and visitors alike.

We have yet to fully explore and photograph the sanctuary and the inland lakes - we will add more images in the summer of 2012.