Camping on Grand Manan Island: A Maritime Paradise on Canada’s East Coast

I spent four days camping on Grand Manan Island, a traditional and beautiful fishing island in New Brunswick, Canada. Read on to find out about my experience…

After the 1.5 hour ferry crossing from Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, we arrived on Grand Manan Island, and we loved the island from the very beginning. Grand Manan Island is truly stunning.

Making our way past houses draped in colorful buoys and fields of wildflowers, we arrived at the North Head Park and Campground, about 1km from the Ferry Terminal, where we had booked to stay for the next four nights.

Camping at Hole in the Wall on Grand Manan Island

We reserved one of the cliff-top sites which were about ten minutes walk from the reception. The receptionist felt sorry for us once she saw all of our stuff and kindly drove us up to the site in her car.

To say we were amazed by the view from our campsite would be an understatement. It was the best view I have ever had from anywhere I have stayed. High up on a cliff, we overlooked an expanse of sea with a view along the cliffs to the iconic Swallowtail Lighthouse, jutting out into the ocean on a small, rugged peninsula.

We set up camp and then went exploring in the small town of North Head.

North Head, Grand Manan Island

We had delicious homemade sandwiches and pastries at The Old Well House Cafe. As it was early in the season, we didn’t really see any other tourists. We lingered in the café for a couple of hours using their WiFi. Everyone who came in was a local and stopped for a chat with the waitress.

I love small communities where people actually know each other. I have been living in big cities for so long now that this familiarity is such a novelty to me, although I did live in a small community like this when I was younger for a few years.

Everyone on Grand Manan Island is so friendly. Walking along the road to get some supplies from the grocery store, everyone we saw greeted us and we even got waves from passing cars.

Talking to the guy in the bike shop, he told us about an alternative route back to our campsite, along a smaller road to peaceful Whale Cove then on a hiking trail along the coast, past the hole in the wall (a natural hole in the rocky cliffside) that our campsite is named after, and back to our picture-perfect campsite.

We cooked on our little camping stove and watched Minke whales from our clifftop perch. The only noise we could hear was the whales blowing water out of their blowholes when they surfaced.

When the sun was setting the sky glowed a bright pink purple and a giant rainbow pierced the sky beside the lighthouse. We made a fire and watched the sky slowly darken.

Most perfect camping experience ever.

Over the next few days, we visited the Old Well House Cafe for a few more lunches, drank coffee and read local travel mags by the rowing pond at our campsite, and watched more whales and seals gliding through the sea from our campsite.

We visited the beautiful Swallowtail Lighthouse, hiked out to a waterfall spilling onto the rocky shore around from Whale Cove, watched lobstermen hauling in their catches surrounded by swarms of birds, and marveled at how clear the water is at serene Pette’s Cove.

A Grand Manan Adventure

One day we decided to visit Seal Cove, which we had heard was one of the most beautiful spots on the island.

Grand Manan Island is 30km long and North Head, the village nearest to our campsite, is at the very north of the island.

With no public transportation and bike hire being out of our budget, we decided to try hitching. As soon as I put my thumb out, a car stopped. Our timing couldn’t have been better as it turned out to be the Mayor of Grand Manan Island, Dennis.

Dennis wasn’t content with just dropping us in Seal Cove. He is very proud of his island and wanted to show us the best of it. We drove around for 2 ½ hours and visited pretty much everywhere accessible by car.

Firstly we drove to South West Head where we got out for some photos of the windswept cliffs and lighthouse.

Along the way, Dennis pointed out houses and told us about the people who lived there, he really does know most people on the island! We drove to different coastal views along the east coast and saw some beautiful, rugged beaches.

Seal Cove is a cute little place with a great sea view as you climb a hill and drive down to the village. It has a snug little harbor with some small boats.

Grand Harbour, where Dennis lives, is one of the main island centres, on the main road halfway down the island. There is a museum there and a handful of stores.

We drove to the small airport where Dennis and friends had drag raced before it was opened and to Dark Harbour, the only point accessible by car on the west coast of the island.

Fishermen used to have to hike into Dark Harbour and stay in small basic huts for weeks at a time to fish before the road was built; you can still see their huts now on a narrow, exposed manmade gravel bar.

Grand Manan Island is known for its dulse, a red seaweed that is dried and then eaten as is, or ground into a seasoning. Dark Harbour has the best in the world because of the geography of this part of the island. We saw lots of it drying in the sun off the main road.

Our last stop was Long Eddy Point, the northernmost point of Grand Manan Island. Dennis told us about a man who, having made quite a lot of money in his career, bought his dream house on Grand Manan Island.

The man’s parents also live on the island and his Dad was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The son wanted to make his father’s lifelong dream come true and surprised him with a Model T Ford, which he had always wanted to own. Dennis said the father is so proud of his car and you can see him driving it around the island a lot.

Our tour ended back at North Head, where we thanked Dennis so much for his kindness. He said he was just happy to show off his island and wouldn’t accept any petrol money.

We only spent four nights camping on Grand Manan Island but it felt like home by the time we left and we will always remember the openness and kindness of the islanders. It is one of the most special and unique islands I have visited.

Where To Stay on Grand Manan Island

I loved camping on Grand Manan Island at the North Head Park & Campground – you can’t get better coastal views than this! It is a great budget option.

If you are not into roughing it, stay at the historic and palatial Marathon Hotel, or the Compass Rose Heritage Inn – both in North Head. If you prefer a vacation rental, stay at this cozy two-bedroom in peaceful Seal Cove.

The Best Insurance For Your Grand Manan Trip

Make sure you get travel and health insurance before your trip. Safety Wing is my go-to and they are cheap and easy to claim with.

Safety Wing also allows you to sign up when you are already traveling, unlike a lot of other travel insurance providers.

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