Where best dig clams

Hello Amanda,

Thank you for your question to Ask an Islander.

I love clam digging. 

If you are looking to go on a clam experience, I highly recommend Tranquility Cove Adventures Giant Clam Dig and Cook-Out. Along the Edge is also a great clam-digging experience.  

If you are looking to take the task on yourself, I prefer the bays for clam digging, but anywhere along the red sand shores is wonderful. If you are in the Points East Coastal Drive area, I love the bay side of the Panmure Island Beach. In the bay at Tea Hill Beach and anywhere along the Three Rivers (Cardigan, Georgetown, and Montague rivers). In the Central Coastal Drive, I head to Argyle Shore. In the North Cape Coastal Drive area, many dig around Maximeville and Cap-Egmont.

The first thing you need to do is make sure you have all of the correct gear for clam digging. Two buckets, pointed nose shovel/spade, and old shoes are recommended, have a tide chart showing when the tide is heading out. Find a red beach and as the tide heads out, look for the holes! Put the spade in the ground 4-6 inches behind the hole and pull up the sand. Then get your hands in there and dig around for the clams! You should be able to find two or more in one dig. Make sure to know the rules, sizes, and amounts for digging for clams on Prince Edward Island.

Once you have dug and gathered all of the clams, the rest test is knowing how to clean/purge them. If you steamed them without properly cleaning them, they are gritty and full of sand and will ruin your experience. Follow the directions for cleaning them in a bucket of water, but pick them out and set them in another bucket of water after 30 minutes. You should see lots of sand in the bottom of the bucket the clams had been in. I will keep swapping them, every 30 minutes, until the bottom of the bucket is free of sand.

Either way, if you decide to do it, enjoy!!

Erin Davis