Visiting Prince Edward Island

In the fall of 2016, I took a very quick trip from Chattanooga, TN to Prince Edward Island in Canada. And by quick, I mean I drove round trip in about a week. It was a little crazy. To start at the beginning click here to go to the introduction.

BREAKFAST IN CHARLOTTETOWN

Before leaving the capital city of Charlottetown, I visited a trendy coffee shop on Victoria Row for breakfast. Suggested by my Airbnb host, Receiver Coffee Company provides a super special breakfast before heading out for the day.

GREEN GABLES HERITAGE PLACE

My first stop after breakfast was to drive 40 minutes to the Green Gables Heritage Place. This is the actual farmhouse that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous book series about Anne Shirley. This house belonged to her cousins and she could walk to it from her own home nearby.

I would LOVE to come back here. First of all, it’s very cheap to get in, only $7.80 CAD/$5.86 USD for adults, FREE for kids 17 and under. Just like any national park, you enter through a visitor’s area and there’s an orientation video to watch. Then you walk through the barn to the house on the other side.

GREEN GABLES HOUSE

The house is perfectly kept and is a good cross between an extremely well-kept house museum and a shrine to all things Anne. Rooms are set up with authentic props suggesting this room is Marilla’s or that room is Anne’s. It’s much smaller than the house in the movie, but for someone who grew up with these books and movies, it is absolutely delightful.

WALKING TRAILS

But my favorite part of the park is the surrounding walking trails! There are two, and they are both very easy and only about a half mile each.

To the rear of the house is Lover’s Lane, leading into the Balsam Hollow Trail. Lover’s Lane is a wide lane with romantic overhanging trees on either side, just as you might think. This initial section leads to the circular Balsam Hollow loop, which was beautiful to see in the fall. Autumn color was everywhere and the footpath crisscrossed a little stream and past a little cabin in the woods. It couldn’t have been more perfect had it been a movie set.

Leaving down the lawn on the other side of the house is the Haunted Wood trail. The loop is a half mile, but you can walk this trail all the way to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Cavendish Home, which you can visit for an extra fee. I had, unfortunately, worn the wrong shoes–some stiff boots that would have been perfect for Anne’s wardrobe. By the time I had walked the Balsam Hollow Trail, I was hobbling like Anne did when she twisted her ankle in the Haunted Wood, so I thought I should turn around before I fell into an old well.

LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY BIRTHPLACE

After Green Gables, I stopped by Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Birthplace, a small house museum about 10 minutes from the park. It was closed on the Sunday I went, so sadly I did not go inside. But admission prices again are quite cheap, only $4 CAD/$3 for adults.

This is a very small house! I wonder how they can fit very many visitors in it at all. But there was a fun map on the back of the building that gave a colorful illustration of all the “Anne” attractions around the island.

LEAVING THE ISLAND

And, sadly, that’s all I did on Prince Edward Island! I am glad that I got to drive around some and see at least the interior of PEI. And of course, I will go back and do a more proper tour someday. I have a dream of driving across Canada someday, starting in the spring in Victoria BC and ending up back in PEI and New Brunswick in the fall.

Check out my next post for everything Anne to do on Prince Edward Island!