McKanns Beach, Long Island, Bahamas - The Beaches of Long Island

DIRECTIONS:  Heading north:  As you leave Salt Pond you’ll pass the road to Indian Hole Point and then Thompson Bay Inn (closed as of this writing).  In 1.2 miles, there will be a school and ball field on the left and immediately opposite a paved road on the right.  Turn here.  After a bit, the road will make a sharp left and in about 0.3 miles there will be a road to the right.  Turn here.  The road will go down a hill and then pass between two ponds.  The beach roads, one heading north and the other south, will just be on the other side of these ponds.  The road does go straight, but this puts you on private property which is a ‘resort’.  If you go right, just make sure to park beyond the large blue house.  Now if you miss the turn off the QH at the school, you can continue until you reach Club Washington.  Turn right and in 0.3 miles you’ll now turn left.  Heading south:  Turn left at Club Washington.   If miss this turn you can continue to the ball field and school and then turn left.  Proceed as above.

The main beach consists of three nearly equal sections.  Getting to the water can be a bit difficult, particularly for section C, as the sand is quite fine and soft which makes for difficult walking.  However as with most beach sand, once you get to the wet line, the sand firms up and walking is reasonably easy.  We did snorkel section C and were amazed at the apparent health of the flora and were particularly struck by the large variety and colors of sea fans.  Because of the offshore rock outcroppings, section B should also make for some nice snorkeling.  There is a fourth section which I’ve attributed to McKanns.  Its about 700' directly across the point separating C from D.   However this would be a tough walk through the ocean side vegetation.   Potentially there are sand paths which although longer would be easier walking.  However, I haven’t explored these, so proceed at your own risk!

If you’re staying in the near north section of Long Island and are beyond novice snorkeler, I’d probably rank McKanns second behind Guana Cay for snorkeling.