In 2025, over the May long weekend, we made a trip to Îles-de-la-Madeleine otherwise known as the Magdalen Islands. Planted perfectly in the center of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the archipelago consists of 15 islands, six of which make up the majority of the island each connected by world-renowned sandy beaches. This makes it a popular tourism spot, but its beaches are just the beginning of what can be explored along the islands. The Madelinots have a unique culture and traditions that separate them from the rest of Quebec and Canada. These characteristics are combined this with the island’s beautiful landscapes, shipwrecks, and dramatic coastlines, making it one of the most beautiful places we have visited in Atlantic Canada.
Day 1: Îles-de-la-Madeleine – Travel to the Island & Our Campsite
Our first day consisted of simply getting there, which involved a drive to Souris, Prince Edward Island where we took a 4.5-hour ferry north to the islands themselves.
From here we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Au p’tit Capitaine, before venturing to Parc de Gros-Cap, a campground on a small headland surrounded by caves, sea stacks, and collapsed sinkholes.
We had originally planned on staying here, but fun fact, most of the island’s campgrounds don’t open until after the May long weekend and with many tourism sites not opening until well into June. So, instead we camped at La Salicorne, a campground, hotel, restaurant, and adventure tourism place located on the northern most island.
Day 2: Beaches, Shipwrecks & Beer
Our second day on the island’s looked like the only time we would have a chance at Kayaking and so with the wind still questionable, we had an early morning before heading to the leeward or less-windy side of the island in hopes of finding calm water.
With a sprinkle of rain, we held off kayaking and instead explored some of the roadside rock formations around Belle-Anse.
Our sprinkle of rain soon turned into a downpour and to wait it out we drove to the southern most island of Île du Havre Aubert and specifically to the town of La Grave where many arts and crafts stores can be found.
Next, we continued to Sandy Hook Dunes; a five-kilometer-long white sand beach that stretches northward into Baie-de-Plaisance.
As the rain finally stopped, we drove back to L’Étang-du-Nord, launched our kayaks from a small fishing harbour and paddled out to the Duke of Connaught, an enormous floating drydock that was shipwrecked here after it’s tow line broke during a storm.
After this we travelled south to West Dune Beach where the shipwreck of the SS Corfu Island can still be seen along the beach. While just the rusty skeleton of the ship remains, it is a spectacular site to stumble across. A beer lovers’ bonus, because the island’s only brewery, À l’abri de la Tempête, is located at the trailhead.
Day 3: Hiking in the Wind
The weather took a turn with high winds, cold temps, and rain in the forecast, we gave up the idea of kayaking and decided to check out the incredible coastal hikes Îles-de-la-Madeleine has to offer.
Behind the campground and hotel we stayed at, is Bassin aux Huîtres and La Plage du Bassin Est. Here, we hiked along a short trail to a small headland. While difficult to get to without the wind blowing you over, the pounding surf on the dynamic coastline only complimented the already beautiful landscape.
Our next stop was at Old Harry Point, the start of La Plage de la Grande Echourie, one of the island’s most well-known beaches. At its southern end, the community of Old Harry is surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal trails.
Grosse-Île-Nord is known as the Scottish island, as the majority of people living here are of Scottish decent. While the first language of most of the island’s are French, Grosse-Île-Nord is mostly English speaking which is reflected in the names of their businesses and streets.
We continued to Île du Havre aux Maisons, where the fierce wind and rain kept us inside the car for some sightseeing along Cape Alright and the towering cliffs found along the east side of the island.
Not confident in our tent’s ability to survive the 70 km winds and borderline freezing rain, we grabbed a pizza at Pizza D’La Pointe and booked ourselves into Château Madelinot for the next few nights.
Day 4: Sinkholes, Sea caves, Foxes, & Crafts
The wind and rain temporarily died down on Day 4 and so we took advantage of the calm weather to hike Cap à Maquereaux between the communities of Fatima and L’Étang-du-Nord.
Cap à Maquereaux hike: Departing the “trailhead” near Camping Barachois, we hiked south along the coast towards Bell-Anse. The trail was more of an ATV trail than, dedicated hiking but it is one of the best hikes to do on the islands. Following the edge of the coastal cliffs, the trail offers an incredible collection of sea stacks, arches, sinkholes, and caves. While every part of this 6-kilometer round trip hike was beautiful, it’s most impressive site was a large sinkhole known as La Cathédrale.
After spotting one of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine’s many resident foxes, we drove south once again to the lighthouse at Cape Lighthouse. The rain once again began to move in and so we headed back to La Grave for some indoor exploring at the many stores and artist studios stretched along the narrow strip of land.
Day 5: Our Last Day
On our last day, the sun finally showed itself and while it remained windy, we were able to see the island in a new light.
Our day started back at Cape Alright, where we hiked to the lighthouse admiring the sea birds, seals, and even a fox playing in the fields nearby. Lobster season was in full swing at the time, so in addition to the amazing views, we were treated to a continuous parade of fishing vessels coming and going from a nearby port.
Having not spent much time in the island’s central hub of Cap-aux-Meules, we parked downtown and walked along the waterfront trail first visiting the harbours observation site, situated on a large hill overlooking the towns harbour before continuing along the towns main road, periodically dipping into its many stores.
Picking up some groceries and beer for what would be our last night on the island, we headed back to La Salicorne, setup the Forester for sleeping once again, and made supper.
The temperatures plummeted that night and so we ventured inside to the pub and restaurant, where we were greeted to live music, great company, and warmth. While the hotel’s operators, Josee and Robert, very kindly offered to let us stay on the couch to escape the cold, we decided to take our chances and turned in for what would be a very short sleep.
Day 6: Island Hopping
The following morning, we woke up at 5:00 AM to ensure we make it to our boat which was schedule to depart at 7:00 AM. Getting up was difficult but as we walked over the hill to the campsite bathrooms, we were greeted to the spectacular site of dozens and dozens of lights dotting the ocean. Each of the twinkling lights belonged to lobster boats, which had left the nearby harbour of Grande-Entrée a couple hours before we woke up.
Packing up our things, we watched the sun rise as we drove the length of the islands one last time, before reaching the ferry waiting for us.
