Basin Head Provincial Park

Basin Head Provincial Park, about 8 km east of Souris, has one of PEI's most famous beaches and the natural phenomenon that gave it its nickname: singing sands. The white sand here, when dry, produces a distinct squeaking or singing sound when you walk across it or let it run through your fingers. The beach stretches along a barachois — a coastal lagoon separated from the sea by a sandbar — creating a sheltered swimming area behind the dunes.

The park also has a Fisheries Museum dedicated to the inshore fishing traditions of eastern PEI, housed in former fish-processing buildings above the beach. The museum is small and specific — it covers nets, traps, boats, and the seasonal rhythms of fishing families — in the way that local heritage museums do best when they know their subject. Admission to the park is free; there is a small fee for the museum.

things to do sight nature
A story
The singing — or more precisely squeaking — of the sand at Basin Head comes from the high quartz content in the grains combined with the way they are rounded from wave action and dried by the sun. The sound is only produced when the sand is dry and you drag your foot across it or press down. Scientists call it "singing sand" or "musical sand" and have studied it extensively; what causes it in some beaches and not others remains partly understood. The sand at Basin Head is considered among the finest examples of the phenomenon in Canada.