Cavendish Beach has found its way on a list of the top 50 North American beaches.
But being ranked 33rd wasn’t good enough to beat out Hopwell Cape, N.B. along the Bay of Fundy, which is better known for its high tides and “flower pot” rock formations than a place to put down a beach towel and catch a few rays.
“It’s nice to be able to walk on the floor when the (Bay of Fundy) tide is out, but you’ve got to be paying attention to when that tide is coming back in,” said Matthew Jelley, mayor of the Resort Municipality of Cavendish.
Hopewell Rocks is ranked 27th and scored high in the categories of sheer untouched beauty (9/10), remoteness (8/10) and sand and water quality (9/10). By comparison, Cavendish Beach scored six out of 10, four out of 10 and eight out of 10 in those same categories. The other categories used to score each place are “annual days of sunshine” and “annual average temperature.”
“Any particular list, there’s a certain amount of subjectivity in there. But we know that our beaches are very popular, and we hope they will continue to be along into the future,” said Jelley.
“We certainly wouldn’t trade places with Hopewell Rocks for tourism activity.”
He added that the success of Cavendish as a tourist destination is linked to the beach and other surrounding attractions.
“We’re coming off four successive years of growth in this market, and this past season was a good one as well,” he said. “We certainly know that Cavendish Beach is one of the most popular ones in Canada.”
The top-50 list was published by Flight Network, a Canadian-owned online travel agency. According to the company’s website, the list is based on input from travel journalists, editors, bloggers and agencies.
Tulum Beach (Quintana Roo) in Mexico tops the list, followed by Playa Norte (Isla Mujeres, Cancun), Balandra Beach (California), Honokalani Beach (Maui) and Lanikai Beach (Oahu).
Other Maritime beaches to make the list are Meat Cove, N.S. (14), Crystal Crescent Beach, N.S. (16), Ingonish Beach, N.S. (35) and Carters Beach, N.S. (38).
