Prince Edward Island Points East Coastal Drive from Charlottetown

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Charlottetown

   Charlottetown is the smallest provincial capital in Canada, and it has a very large claim on the country's history. In September 1864, delegates from the Maritime colonies met here in a stone building called Province House to talk about uniting, and when representatives from Quebec and Ontario joined them, the discussion that followed led to Confederation three years later. The town has called itself the birthplace of Confederation ever since, and the old building, with its tall pillars and neat lawn, still serves as the provincial legislature.

   Read the complete Charlottetown write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Charlottetown is where the day begins. Next is St Peters Bay.

2. 2. St Peters Bay

   St Peters Bay is a village on the north side of Prince Edward Island, at the head of a narrow inlet, and it has the calm of a place that does little but fish for oysters and mussels. The water of the bay is shallow, pale and still on a quiet day, with boats pulled up at small wharves and long lines of buoys marking the mussel farms. The island's soil is a deep rusty red, from iron in the sandstone, and in early summer the red banks, green fields and blue water make a landscape that looks painted in three colours.

   Read the complete St Peters Bay write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   St Peters Bay comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is East Point.

3. 3. East Point

   East Point is the last bit of Prince Edward Island before the sea takes over, and a red lighthouse marks the spot. The tower, built in 1867, stands on a low cliff of crumbling sandstone at the place where the Gulf of St Lawrence meets the Northumberland Strait, and on a windy day you can watch two different seas fight each other, with a line of choppy water marking the meeting. It is a bare, exposed and slightly melancholy place, and I find it a great deal more attractive for that.

   Read the complete East Point write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 107 km into the recorded legs you reach East Point. Next is Souris.

4. 4. Souris

   Souris is a small fishing port on the eastern end of Prince Edward Island, and its name is French for mouse. The story goes that early French settlers, in the eighteenth century, were plagued by mice that devoured their crops, and the name stuck. Today the town has no such troubles. It has a working harbour, a handful of shops and restaurants, a red sandstone cliff, a sandy beach, and one thing that none of the island's other towns can offer, a ferry to another province.

   Read the complete Souris write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Souris, late in the day. Next is Charlottetown.

5. 5. Charlottetown

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Charlottetown write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Charlottetown. That is the ride.