McIntyre Bay — Haida Gwaii North Shore Driftwood Beach and Tow Hill Approach

McIntyre Bay is the broad, exposed beach that stretches east from the base of Tow Hill along Haida Gwaii’s northern shoreline. The sand here is dark and coarse, backed by massive drift logs piled by winter swells, and the horizon runs unbroken to the Alaska panhandle across Hecate Strait. At low tide the beach flattens out for hundreds of metres — a dramatic, windswept edge-of-the-world feel that hits hard the first time you step out of the rig. It’s also the launch point for the Blow Hole trail and the Tow Hill basalt column scramble, both short walks with serious payoff.

Access is via the paved North Beach Road out of Masset, with parking at the Naikoon Provincial Park day-use area adjacent to Agate Beach. No vehicle access onto the beach itself — park and walk. Wind exposure is severe year-round; bring a shell even in August. Cell signal is non-existent. The road is accessible to any vehicle in dry conditions.

Edge of the world on Haida Gwaii's north shore.