Unhurried and easy means total relaxation

Story and photography by Shelley Cameron-McCarron

I’m not sure what’s more enticing: waking up in an active lighthouse to the sound of waves caressing PEI’s ruddy shores or the smell of fresh baked cranberry and cinnamon muffins wafting up from the kitchen below.

Either way, I’m counting myself lucky to be road-tripping Prince Edward Island: spending a night at the West Point Lighthouse Inn & Museum, rolling down Canada’s oyster coast (do step into a dory with Valley Pearl Oysters), learning about Stompin’ Tom’s legacy in Skinner’s Pond (for all you karaoke singers), falling (once again) under the spell of Cavendish’s jagged cliffs, and sinking into another era with a stay at the ever-elegant Dalvay-by-the-Sea.

Here’s a four-day itinerary on how to take the ultimate PEI road trip, exploring the Central Coast and North Cape Coastal Drive. 

Day one

Road-tripping around PEI is relaxed vacation at its best. Starting in Charlottetown, the island’s genteel capital city, set your sights on Victoria-by-the-Sea, a fishing-village-slash-charming-tourist-mecca-slash-storybook-village on the Island’s south shore, where the beaches are redder and the water is warmer than the north shore’s equally enchanting white sand beaches. At low tide, expect to see clam diggers busy.

Victoria has that slow down and savour feeling, with galleries, studios, a theatre and a chocolate factory lining its streets. When we arrive, a group of stand-up paddleboarders are working their way across the water and the village’s lanes are full of people wandering into artisan shops, walking the wharf, checking what’s on the playbill at the Victoria Playhouse and making dinner plans. Book reservations at the Landmark Oyster House where you can start your PEI oyster tasting exploits with flourish.

Though you’ll be tempted to linger, it’s worth hitting the road for the 90-minute drive west to the small community of West Point to catch the sunset (it’s stunning) at tonight’s accommodations, the West Point Lighthouse Museum & Inn. The lighthouse, with its black and white stripes, is one of PEI’s most distinctive, and happiness is going to bed with the sound of crashing waves as your background track. All the rooms overlook the Northumberland Strait, with “the Tower” on the second floor of the lighthouse, its most popular room. Leave a window open and let the waves lull you to sleep.

Day two

Come morning, you too may wake to the soothing sounds of waves and the aroma of freshly made muffins. After breakfast (my stay included a pleasing breakfast buffet with plenty of fresh, in-season berries) wander into the extensive onsite lighthouse museum (admission is free with a stay), climbing up the light tower, PEI’s tallest at just over 67 feet. Then head out to stroll interpretive trails onsite and wander down to the shoreline to walk the beach. With that constant hypnotic sound of the sea, a slight breeze in the air and the sun coming up, I wonder why anyone would ever leave this place.   

After check-out, make the 40-minute drive along Route 14 to Skinners Pond and the toe tappin’ tales at the Stompin’ Tom Centre. The road map of the life of this Canadian icon is fascinating. Immerse yourself in this history, see the one-room schoolhouse he once attended, and sing karaoke (will it be Bud the Spud or Sudbury Saturday Night?) There’s live music daily from 1 to 2 p.m. and it’s recommended to pre-book dinner theatre tickets. It’s popular and does sell out.

With a song in your heart, continue the journey, driving to North Cape, PEI’s most northwesterly tip, to discover the colliding of the tides, where the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait meet. Interestingly, because it borders two waterways, the area has two fishing seasons. Visit North Cape Interpretive Centre which houses a gift shop, marine aquarium, and interpretive centre. The Wind and Reef Restaurant in the centre, serves a satisfying lobster roll: good mussels too.

Back in the car, it’s about a 35-minute drive to tonight’s accommodations: Mill River Resort, recently renovated and a popular golf destination, that offers amenities from spa services to a tennis court on site.  

Enjoy the property before driving to Alberton, 15 minutes away, for dinner at Northport Pier Restaurant. Housed in a former boat shop with big airy windows looking out on herons and the wharf beyond, its view is outstanding, letting diners sit and enjoy watching the fishing boats and pleasure craft steam in. Try the crab cakes (snow crab, PEI potatoes, onions and herbs pan fried and topped with roasted red pepper aioli with a choice of side) polished off with a slice of very good coconut cream pie.

Day three

Oyster fishing hasn’t changed much in 150 years. It’s not a fancy operation, but it’s a real one, and it’s also about the kind of great lifestyle you live. Those are gems you learn along Canada’s oyster coast, from Jeff Noye, co-owner of Valley Pearl Oysters, mayor of Tyne Valley, and former long-time chairman of the Tyne Valley Oyster Festival. Valley Pearl offers tours that take visitors through the process of oyster farming on Prince Edward Island, from touring their production facility, to getting out on Malpeque Bay and coming back to feast on fresh shellfish. It’s all kinds of wonderful.

Or order a late lunch at Malpeque Oyster Barn where you can get the freshest oysters possible coupled with even more beautiful views.

Spend the afternoon chasing peace, quiet and painted panoramas as you explore the Central Coastal Drive, home to sandstone cliffs and some of PEI’s most incredible ocean vistas.

French River offers a great photo opportunities en route to Cavendish where it truly is awe-inspiring to visit the National Park to drink in the world-famous views.

Soul replenished, step back to the days of author Lucy Maud Montgomery and what inspired her to write Anne of Green Gables. At Green Gables Heritage Place, visitors step into the house that inspired the work, walk the Haunted Woods and Lovers Lane, dress up in period clothes for selfies, and meet characters from Avonlea skipping along. A new, expanded interpretive centre opened on site last May. Particularly appealing are the visual biography walls that include stages important in Maud’s life.

When finished, drive through gorgeous PEI National Park from Cavendish toward Dalvey-by-the-Sea, near Stanhope, to check into the Queen Anne revival-style estate turned hotel, a National Historic Site, that wows with period furniture and sandstone fireplace, and was once a summer home owned by an oil tycoon. 

A five-minute walk down the pleasing grounds, and across the road, will put you on the beach, listening to the ocean, a symphony that plays to the heart. During my visit I wanted to jump in the waves, but I could not knowing, I must arrive soon at Dalvay’s sweeping MacMillan Dining Room for dinner with friends. Still, I was momentarily powerless, lingering at the shore, listening to the laughs and watching the dewy blue pink of the sky on the horizon.

Day four

After a memorable dinner and a blissful sleep in historic Dalvay, spend the morning cycling the Gulf Shore Parkway and exploring PEI National Park, relaxing at the beach or simply enjoying the charms of Dalvay’s grounds.

Plan to stop at Richard’s Seafood, a  well-known fish shack on nearby Covehead Wharf, for a lobster roll or fish and chips (when it closes each season, locals have been known to weep) before making your way back to Charlottetown. 

Header caption: French River is a perfect photo stop with its colourful painted panoramas.
Intro caption: The Cavendish cliffs.