Coastline at Beaumont Marine Park

Boats behind Skull Islet, Beaumont Marine Park

The park totals 58 hectares of beach and bluff, offering 11 campsites, pit toilets, good anchorage, mooring buoys, and a sandy beach for kayakers to land. Note that there is no fresh water available at the campsite (the hand pump is not working). Fees for camping and mooring are charged May 15 to September 30. Excellent anchorage and 15 mooring buoys are available east of Skull Islet, but the islets and surrounding reefs, while interesting to explore, do not offer good anchorage.

Nearby marinas offer full facilities. There is a shopping centre within walking distance of Port Browning, and a customs office operates at Poets Cove Marina in Bedwell Harbour during the summer months.

There are various recreational opportunities at Beaumont, including boat-in and walk-in camping at the beautiful shoreside campsite, picnicking, fishing, paddling, swimming and hiking. Walking trails connect the park with Mount Norman, the highest point on Pender Island (800 feet / 244 metres), offering panoramic views of nearby Gulf Islands and the distant San Juan Islands. Exploring highlights that are well worth the effort include Ainslie Point, Razor Point, Peter Cove, and the fantastic beaches around the Skull Islets.

Campsite and camp pads at Beaumont Park

Fees for overnight use of mooring buoys and campsites are payable at Poets Cove Marina, or the self-registration red deposit vault located at the campsite. Campers and boaters should select a vacant site or buoy, complete the permit provided, detach the stub and receipt, place the fee in the envelope (GST is included in the fee), seal the envelope, and deposit the envelope in the deposit vault. The receipt should be placed on the clip at the campsite.

Mink and River Otters can be seen in the surrounding waters, and watch for Surf Scoters and Harlequin Ducks while you explore the fascinating sandstone formations on the shoreline. Rock formations on the shoreline include ancient sedimentary rock subjected to such extreme earth forces that the rock is now orientated at 90 degrees to its original plane. This can be dramatically viewed at most of the beaches on the Pender Islands.

Beaumont Park is located on South Pender Island in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. BC Ferries provides a service to Otter Bay Ferry Terminal on North Pender Island. A wooden single-lane bridge connects North and South Pender Islands.

Beach in the distance at Beaumont Marine Park

To reach Beaumont by land, start up the Mount Norman trail from Ainslie Point Road (no overnight parking), then take the turnoff to Beaumont. It's a fairly steep 2.5-km trail, and while it only takes about 30 to 40 minutes to walk down, it's a challenging hike to come back up. Kayaks and canoes can be launched at Bedwell Harbour's government dock in Egeria Bay, or from Medicine Beach on North Pender Island - a 1.5-km paddle to the park from either destination (one way).

Beaumont Park is a part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, one of Canada’s newest national parks. The park protects a portion of British Columbia’s beautiful Southern Gulf Islands - a landscape of rocky headlands, forested hills and shorelines studded with colourful tidepools. The Gulf Islands National Park resembles a patchwork quilt of protected lands scattered over 15 larger islands, and many smaller islets and reefs.

Parks Canada - British Columbia
Box 129, 23433 Mavis Avenue
Fort Langley, BC, V1M 2R5
Phone: (604) 513-4777

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
2220 Harbour Road
Sidney, BC, V8L 2P6
Phone: (250) 654-4000