Big Shoal Beach

Big Shoal Bay Beach is a Township Park located on the southeastern end of Drummond Island. While overnight camping is not permitted, the park offers a relaxing day-use experience with a spacious parking lot, an outdoor restroom, picnic tables, and a narrow sandy beach with beautiful views across the islands of the sheltered cove.

A unique highlight of the beach is four enormous, flat limestone rocks along the shoreline. Their pitted surfaces make them especially fun for children to explore. The swimming area has a mostly sandy bottom with a few smooth, round pebbles. The water remains shallow for a good distance, making it inviting for families—though children should always be closely supervised while swimming.

For those looking to stretch their legs, two hiking trails begin directly from the parking lot: a 0.5-mile loop and a 1-mile loop, offering an easy way to explore the surrounding natural landscape before or after a visit to the beach.

Big Shoal Bay Beach is also an excellent launch point for kayaks and canoes. Intermediate paddlers can enjoy a scenic 3.5-mile (one-way) trip around the point to Scammon Cove. Along the way, you can paddle over the wreck of the schooner barge TROY, which sank after a fire in 1920. The wooden vessel, measuring 187 feet in length, rests in 5–10 feet of water, with portions of its ribs still visible—making it a fascinating spot for snorkelers as well.
Just ¼ to ½ mile west and south of Meade Island lies another historic wreck, the tug SILVER SPRAY, also in shallow water. Believed to have sunk in the 1920s, this site adds to a full day of on-the-water exploration. Paddlers should use caution, as this area is exposed to prevailing south winds.