Prince Edward Island National Park is situated on the north shore of Prince Edward Island facing the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It encompasses an area of sand dunes, barrier islands, beaches, sandspits, and wetlands.
Prince Edward Island National Park spans 3 distinct regions:
Cavendish:
- sandy beaches
- rugged sandstone cliffs
- all things “Anne of Green Gables”.
Brackley- Dalvay:
- Covehead Lighthouse
- birdwatching
- Dalvay-by-the-Sea.
Greenwich:
- incredible dunescapes
- Mi’kmaw and Acadian heritage
- beautiful paths less travelled.
The 3 individual regions of Prince Edward Island National Park are not connected. You will need a vehicle to get from one to another. The driving distance between the Cavendish region and the Bracklay-Dalvay region is 40km. To go to the Greenwich region is significantly farther than that. Once you have arrived, however, the best way to enjoy the park is by foot or bike.
The Cavendish and Bracklay-Dalvay regions each have full-service campgrounds that have unserviced, 2 and 3-way sites. The Greenwich region does not have campground facilities.
Site Review:
We stayed at the Cavendish campground on site A85.
- Full-service site
- pull-thru
- large (could comfortably park the motorhome with the tow dolly attached and still park the car behind that)
- good space between sites
- visual privacy not great
- No RV sites have an ocean view (some tent sites do)
The comfort stations seem dated but they are clean.
There is a small amphitheatre for presentations.
There is a brand new check-in centre that has souvenirs for sale and a small selection of snack items.
Activities:
Biking:
There is a multi-use trail that is ideal for biking. It can be accessed from the Cavendish campground.
The portion of the trail from Cavendish Beach to North Rustico Beach is paved. It skirts the top of the red sandstone cliffs and affords magnificent views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The distance from Cavendish Beach to North Rustico Beach via the trail is 8.5 km.
The Homestead Trail is also accessible from the Cavendish campground. It offers more of a mountain biking experience. The 8.8 km trail passes through farmland, forest and meanders along the shore of New London Bay.
Beaches
Cavendish Beach:
Is located 1 km from the Cavendish campground. There is a washroom, showers, and canteen services. You can access the beach using a boardwalk.
Cavendish Campground Beach:
There is a supervised beach at the Cavendish campground as well. It is a nice beach walk between the 2 Cavendish beach areas.
North Rustico Beach:
Also in the Cavendish region is the North Rustico Beach area. There are washroom facilities, lifeguards, and parking.
Green Gables Heritage Place:
Anne of Green Gables is easily one of Canada’s best-selling novels of all time. It is the first of a series featuring Anne Shirley set on Prince Edward Island. Visitors come from around the world to immerse themselves in the storybook landscape. Green Gables Heritage Place has been restored and decorated to match the world Montgomery described in the story.
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island. The city has a population of about 40,000. It is a 30-minute drive from the Cavendish campground.
Golf
Prince Edward Island National Park manages the Green Gables Golf Course. It is located near the Cavendish campground. Prince Edward Island considers itself Canada’s #1 golf destination and claims to have the most golf courses in Canada per capita. There are 27 courses for all levels of play. More information
Cavendish
The village of Cavendish, located a short distance from the Cavendish campground entrance, is a tourist area. You will find mini-putt, a water park, go-carts and some restaurants.
Wildlife:
The park’s ecosystems support a variety of animal species. Although there are no deer or moose on the island, coyotes, red foxes, raccoons, beavers and mink are common. Prince Edward Island National Park is known for their red foxes. They can routinely be observed around dusk within the Cavendish campground and along the multi-use path.
Things to Know:
- Prince Edward Island National Park is divided into 3 regions that are not connected. Getting to each region would require travelling a minimum of 40 minutes by car. (It could be considerably longer depending on starting and ending points.)
- The Cavendish region is the most popular region.
- With the exception of wood and a few souvenir items, anything else you might wish to purchase would have to be bought outside the park. There is no store.
- You enter the province of Prince Edward Island via the Confederation Bridge. There is no entry fee, however, to leave you are required to pay a toll charge. For our motorhome and tow vehicle, we had to pay a minimum of $46.50 CAD plus an additional $8 CAD per axel for a total of $62.50 CAD
IMO:
I really enjoyed Prince Edward Island National Park. The beaches are natural, the amenities are nicely maintained and the views are spectacular. It is a beautiful, and relaxed area of the country. I highly recommend Prince Edward Island National Park as an RV Place to Go.