One of Parks Canada’s primary goals is to protect the ecology and culture representing 39 distinct natural regions across the country. Toward this end, Prince Edward Island National Park was established to include some of the most endangered and incredibly beautiful areas of the north coast of PEI. The park consists of three sections, each with controlled access points allowing for public access to these very popular attractions while minimizing stress on the fragile ecosystems that made them so incredible in the first place.
The north coast comprises cliffs made of mostly softer soils – sandstone, mudstone and sand dunes – which are naturally more susceptible to normal coastal activities like tides, winds, rains, and currents. Rising sea levels are exacerbating these normal phenomena and the reduction in sea ice, which protects the coastline when it is present, results in exposing the shore to these natural erosion phenomena for longer periods of time earlier and later each year. Severe storms are occurring more often and with greater intensity taking a toll on the sensitive environment. And development – agricultural, recreational and residential – close to the coast are destabilizing the soils which increases the risk of damage. Of course, large numbers of visitors to especially scenic and well known locations can also disturb sensitive areas – presumably these disturbances are easier to control if they are taking place within the park.
The PEI NP is split into 3 distinct sections, each protecting a separate, fragmented portion of the north coast while managing access for the many visitors. (PEI NP is relatively small, yet it is one of Canada’s top 5 NPs measured by attendance, attracting a large number of visitors.) The terrain is mostly flat to gently rolling and ideal for hiking and biking trails. Access to the reddish sandy beaches and areas of exposed cliffs often requires getting across or around the fragile sand dunes, and these sensitive areas are well protected with guiding boardwalks, stairways, and platforms that minimize impact to the dunes.
In addition to hiking and biking, suggested activities at PEI NP included relaxing on the beach, golf courses, and two amusement parks, none which held great appeal (at least for us), so we did a few of the mostly short hikes and took advantage of the bike paths. And each section presents visitors with a unique ‘signature’ feature, all of which we did visit.
The Cavendish section (westernmost) features the Green Gables Heritage Place, the actual farmhouse that served as the inspiration for author LM Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Canada’s favorite fictional character. We began to realize just how popular an attraction this was in the park when we entered the astonishingly huge parking lot at 10am to find just a few open spots.
I read Anne of Green Gables for the first time as an adult (technically, a senior). The book carries a child’s theme as well as a more mature perspective (kind of like the Pixar movies, though probably not for the same reasons). I enjoyed reading about this young orphaned girl who loved nature, learned from her observations and experiences, and gained the confidence to pleasantly assert herself to accomplish her goals. I can see the attraction this book (and its sequels) holds for little girls as the underlying theme is all about best friends. Anyone who was ever an 11-year-old girl should know exactly what I mean. Anyway, this explains the hundreds of excited little girls wearing straw hats with green bands and fake red pigtails running around at the Heritage Center (as well as their thoroughly bored dads). Seriously, it’s worth a read if you never have…
The actual house with the green gables and surrounding farmstead is preserved and restored to showcase the home of LM Montgomery’s real aunt and uncle, as it was in the late 1800’s. Montgomery, who grew up with her grandmother 1 km/0.6 mi away, used this house as inspiration for writing her novels.
The trail that inspired the Haunted Wood (in the book) is maintained by Parks Canada to handle the number of visitors and spread the crowd through a pretty forest (and perhaps give them something to do away from the beaches). The gardens are beautiful.
We left the Green Gables as the downpour began – one that lasted the remainder of the day and into the night, beating up on the sensitive sandstone cliffs… So we did a little shopping (I got a sweater, Doug got a new hat), then we drove over to Oceanview beach to take in the views through the rain. We hung out there for a while, along with a few other similarly hopeful would-be cyclists, waiting and hoping the rain would let up enough to allow a ride. Oh well, not today.
The central Brackley-Dalvay section of PEI NP features the historic Dalvay-by-the-Sea Hotel, which also houses an elegant restaurant that is open to the public. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner out. In no hurry thanks to the rain, we took back roads to get there, driving through the entirety of this section of the park to reach the hotel. Although the shore was beautiful with a mix of red cliffs and beaches, the rain was really coming down hard. We couldn’t see much of anything, so we put off the sightseeing for another day. Instead, we hung out in an empty parking lot near the hotel to work on blog posts and catch up on news and email. We did enjoy a pleasant dinner in the hotel’s ornate, round dining room with a view of the gardens and Dalvay Lake.
Fortunately, the skies cleared as we were leaving the park a few days later and we returned to bike the totally fun, single-track Robinsons Island trail. It served up optional technical trail features (teeter totters and log bridges) that we bypassed, seeing no direct dial 911 phone in the area. Scenic viewpoints along the way included Rustico Bay and its meeting with the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. We also added a portion of the Gulf Shore Way East trail, passing beaches, cliffs, the Covehead Lighthouse and an amazing display of colorful wild groundcover.
The easternmost Greenwich section of the park features an interpretive centre that helped us better understand the dire need to protect the north coast of PEI discussed earlier. A corner of the centre was dedicated to the Acadians who were deported from PEI. There were also exhibits on the Mi’kmak, the original inhabitants of PEI, including a musical presentation on the morning we visited. I chatted with the woman in the duo. She had been working with an international group that visited high schools in Quebec and the northeastern US introducing different cultures and diversity to high school kids. Sadly, the program was defunded. She and I hugged as we shared our hope that the funding and the program could be restored in the not-to-distant future.
Outside the interpretive centre, it wasn’t raining! And this section of the park had a series of scenic biking and hiking trails. Yay! We were off. The Havre Saint Pierre/Saint Peter’s Harbour trail was a short, flat circle along the harbour with pretty views of the towns of Saint Pierre and Morrel across the water. There were wild roses everywhere! The Tlaqatik trail used a clever series of curved and banked boardwalks to get us through immature dunes. As the coastline slowly erodes, the sand moves slowly inland, eventually killing the existing trees, and creating new dunes further inland. From the trail, this evolution was clear to see.
A conveniently located bike rack was waiting for us when we got to the hike only Greenwich Dunes trail. This trail included a long, floating boardwalk across Bowley Pond, to the top of the sand dune, and down to the beach. The views across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, stirred up after the prior day’s storm, demonstrated the power of water. We retraced our steps back to the bike rack and returned to the trailhead very happy with the PEI NP bike trails!
As a West Nile update, I was able to bike 2 hours, and a few days later 2.5 hours, on relatively flat terrain – without triggering the pain and fatigue that can still occur at this point in recovery. Yay! I continue to be careful and mindful of what my body’s telling me, though I’m now feeling cautiously optimistic.
For anyone interested, more Cavendish and Brackley-Dalvay and Greenwich pix…
