Ingonish Beach

Managed by Re-imagining Atlantic Harbours in 2050

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Ingonish Beach is unique beacuse it offers both freshwater and saltwater swimming. The saltwater swimming is off of a long and beautiful white sand beach. The freshwater swimming hole was created by the waves piling up rocks, to create a barrier called a barachois, which cornered off a cove from the ocean that has since filled in with freshwater. Both swimming areas have lifeguards on duty. The beach has lots of places to get active: tennis courts, a soccer field, and a playground all offer fun entertainment. There are washrooms, parking and a canteen. Ingonish is in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Please note: Water quality samples are collected twice per summer by the beach operators at Ingonish Beach and not by the Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service as cited in the Source Information.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on July 13th, 2021. Re-imagining Atlantic Harbours in 2050 updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on July 13th, 2021 at 1:07 PM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Current Weather

10°C

Mostly clear

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service collects samples at designated beaches from mid-May to Labour Day. All designated beaches are tested for E. coli and some saltwater beaches are tested for Enterococci. When bacteria counts exceed the provincial standard, the beach is considered to be unsafe for swimming and warning signs are posted at the beach.

Beaches sampled on 3 schedules based on the risk of bacteria contamination due to location. Level A beaches are tested weekly, Level B beaches are tested 3 times per summer, and level C beaches are tested twice per summer. Swim Guide checks the NSLS website daily from Monday - Friday for water quality news releases.

For more information on beach openings and closures, call the Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service Beach Information Line at 902-477-6168 or visit www.nsls.ns.ca.

The Nova Scotia Life Saving Society follows the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality. A beach is considered to meet guidelines when test results are below 200 E.Coli per 100 ml for freshwater, and 35 Enterococci per 100 ml for marine water.

Swim Guide is not able to directly share monitoring data for these beaches on an ongoing basis as test dates are not available. Therefore, the swim icon will display the historical status unless a posted advisory is issued, in which case the beach will be marked red until re-testing results show bacteria levels have met the Canadian standard.

Water Quality Graph