New London Range Rear Lighthouse and Beach, French River, Cavendish Beach and Dunelands Trail, North Rustico, Greenwich Dunes and Beach, Shipwreck Point Lighthouse, North Lake Harbour, East Point Lighthouse, Basin Head Provincial Park, Red Point Provincial Park and Beach

After a night of rain in my campsite at Cabot Beach, I set off to explore more of PEI’s beautiful countryside and glorious seascapes. My first destination was to visit the scenic Cape Tryon Lighthouse which is located atop red cliffs at the end of a narrow point, but the access road of red soil was wet with the night’s rain and I had read that drivers can get stuck in the slippery sticky mud of those roads. So, I carried on to the end of the paved Cape Road to visit my second planned stop, the New London Range Rear Lighthouse. I was thrilled to arrive at this surprising view!

Built in 1876, this historic wooden lighthouse was one of the few on PEI to have had a female keeper. Although it is sadly in need of a coat of fresh paint, it has a unique tapered design and is beautifully situated behind low dunes in an oasis of green meadow and adjacent marsh plants.

From there, I followed a trail over the dunes to arrive at a stunning beach with not another soul anywhere in sight.

There was a fresh breeze as I walked to a small point of sand where I stepped out for views of the luminous sea and sky, and then of red cliffs in the distance.

The cliffs beckoned so I continued on, curious about what there was to see around the corner. But, as I neared the point, tens of cliff swallows started to emerge from their nests and swirl about in the air, complaining loudly about my presence.

I respected their wishes and turned back,

but I was not unhappy as I had the pleasure of the return walk along that magnificent beach, now looking in towards New London Bay,

and then repeat views of the lighthouse in its beautiful meadowy setting.

A short drive later, I stopped at the colourful harbour of French River,

and I enjoyed the views from the hillside above the harbour where a riot of wildflowers stole my attention for a time.

I continued on to visit Cavendish Beach and to walk the Dunelands trail in Prince Edward Island’s National Park. This park encompasses a narrow strip, over 65 km long, of PEI’s northern shores and features red and white sand beaches, red sea cliffs, rolling dunes topped with marram grasses, streams, fresh water ponds, salt water marshes, and areas of forest. There are two campgrounds and many visitor facilities including over 50 kilometres of walking and biking trails. The nearby town of Cavendish, famous for its associations with Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “Anne of Green Gables” is tourist-central for the island. Fans of the book visit Green Gables Heritage Place, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Cavendish Homestead, Avonlea Village, and other Anne-themed attractions. The town and nearby area also feature all kinds of family amusements like a waterpark, go-cart races, arcades, miniature golf, and plenty of gift shops and places to eat. But, I avoided all of that! On a sunny day, Cavendish Beach is usually crowded with visitors, but on this cool and overcast morning it was relatively quiet. I walked out onto the wide boardwalk that crosses over the dunes and stopped to take in views of the long sandy beach.

I’d already had an amazing morning beach walk, so I retraced my steps and made my way to the Dunelands Trail and its boardwalk that floats over a freshwater pond.

I loved this view, at the foot of the boardwalk, looking out towards the dunes,

and halfway across the boardwalk I stopped for views back towards the attractive grey-shingled buildings of the Cavendish Beach Complex.

Beyond the boardwalk there was a pleasant wide path that was lined with fireweed, wild rose, and conifers, and it led to yet another boardwalk that crossed over a grassy expanse of clifftops to views of the eroding red sandstone cliffs to the west and east. Interpretive panels provided information about the geological and ecological history of the area, and about management strategies that are being implemented to help protect the dunes and slow the erosion of these northern shores.

I then drove east along the coast on the surprisingly very quiet Gulf Shores Parkway, a favourite with cyclists,

and I stopped randomly at one of its many pullouts to descend onto a long red-sand beach that was completely empty of visitors. There was a clear goal in sight at the far eastern end of the beach – a small sea stack. It was time for another walk!

Afterwards, I continued on to the town and harbour of North Rustico. Settled by Acadians in the late 1700s, this fishing village has several small museums and popular seafood restaurants, but I was attracted by yet another boardwalk that led for a kilometre along the edge of a placid bay from the town’s pier to the North Rustico Harbour Lighthouse.

Nearby was the Seagull’s Nest gift shop and I was drawn there by the wonderful sound of Celtic-inspired music. Brendon Peters, a retired fisherman and very talented spoons player, was playing his spoons while accompanied by instrumental versions of traditional tunes on a speaker. He was really good! My dad used to play the spoons, so I sat and enjoyed several songs and then we struck up a conversation, my first of the day. He later played another tune, “Ode to the North Rustico Fisherman” that was written by his mother and tells of the hard work and sacrifices made by he and his brothers as they earned their livings from fishing. I was hooked (pun intended), and so I decided to buy his CD as my souvenir of PEI. As well as Brendon’s spoons, the CD features local musicians, friends of his, who added their talents on piano, vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, and fiddle.

As I walked back along the bay towards town, the rain that had been threatening all day slowly started to fall so I decided to end my explorations and head back to camp. I greatly enjoyed the drive, back along the parkway and then on scenic Highways 6 and 20 where I loved crossing over the wide rivers at Bayview and Stanley Bridge and New London. Brendon’s music played on my CD player as I travelled west, and I didn’t mind the rain and grey skies at all. By the time I reached camp, though, the skies had darkened, the wind had picked up, and sounds of thunder could be heard so, sadly, no late-afternoon swim at Cabot Beach for me. I cooked my dinner in a campground shelter because of the wind, and now-heavy rain, and then I had a really early night which was fine because the next morning I woke early to decamp and begin my drive to the eastern end of PEI. The roads were nearly empty, under still-grey skies, with small smatterings of rain, and after some ninety minutes of driving I was the first car to arrive at the Greenwich Dunes parking lot. Part of the National Park, the Greenwich Dunes Trail is definitely a “must do” on PEI, and I was lucky to have the trail all to myself as I began the walk along a country road through what was once a farm owned for four generations by the Sanderson Family. Fields and forest, an expanse of bright pink fireweed, and dunes to my left between the land and the sea. – I loved it here!

Later, the trail led into the forest where interpretive panels described the local flora and fauna, and then it led onto a curving boardwalk through the forest and over “Grey Dunes” which are low and stable inland sand dunes where large mats of delicate lichens grow.

Beyond that, the boardwalk led out into the open and across an area of marsh that was packed thick with cattails as far as the eye could see. It was a thrill to step down and onto the 700 metre-long floating boardwalk that curves its way across Bowley Pond towards tall sand dunes.

What a place!

Here is a view back down over the beautifully-sinuous boardwalk after I’d climbed halfway up the dune.

And here was the beach after I’d crossed over the dune! Yet again I was on a spectacular long beach, with dramatic skies and the invigorating wind, and there was not a single person in sight! I decided to walk towards the east,

and after about a kilometre or two I turned for this view back, with my footprints the only ones visible on the sand.

Further on, I found a colourful kite, noisily rippling in the wind atop the dunes, that was trapped among plants, and I took some time to free it and about 20 metres of string so that it wouldn’t end up in the ocean. I continued to have the beach entirely to myself for the return walk, and then I climbed the staircase back up onto the dune where I couldn’t resist taking another photo of the floating boardwalk. As I crossed the boardwalk, I finally encountered another party, a family of three, from Quebec, and the son of about eight years old was very excited to accept the kite. I passed more walkers on the trail through the forest, and again along the fields of Sanderson’s Farm where some were stopping to take selfies amongst the fireweed as I had done. The last great and unexpected pleasure of my morning walk was finding an excellent patch of tasty wild raspberries. Joy!

From Greenwich Dunes, I made my way to Highway 16 to continue my journey towards the eastern end of PEI. En route, I stopped to visit the lighthouse at Shipwreck Point, but wind and a sweep of oncoming rain sent me scurrying back to my car after just a few quick pics.

I made another quick stop at the nearby Naufrage Harbour,

and I just had to stop here, by the side of the road at Priest Pond Creek, for these gorgeous and inspiring views.

I stopped again at North Lake Harbour,

and then I reached East Point Lighthouse with its excellent interior museum that provided information about the lighthouse’s history from 1867 to 1989 when it became automated. The last lighthouse keeper, Harry Harris, worked here from 1961-1989, and his family were direct descendants of shipwreck survivors aboard the San Domingo which foundered on the reef at East Point in 1822!

From East Point I made my way to Basin Head Provincial Park where I explored the facilities and walked a short distance on the beach. Normally busy with beachgoers on sunny days, the park was very quiet, with some visitors electing to visit the Fisheries Museum here, or to browse in the gift shop which I did for a few minutes. Others were placing their orders at the take out cafe and here I finally decided to order my first-ever lobster roll, planning to eat it under a picnic shelter in view of the sea. But, by the time the order was ready, the wind had decided to pick up and blow cold, and the clouds had finally decided to unleash all of their rain in a heavy downpour rather than in small fits and starts. I retreated to my car, post-haste, and drove just a few minutes away to park with a water view over the Basin Harbour as the rain lashed down on my Toyota.

It was fun! I was happy, dry, and protected, and the roll was delicious! Then, only a short time later, the squall was over and all was relatively calm as I settled into my campsite at the nearby Red Point Provincial Park. I had a fabulous site, with epic views of the sea and sky, and of the narrow beach below that stretched to the north and south.

As evening drew near, I was happy to take yet one more walk to end another wonderful day of PEI beaches and boardwalks and sky.

P.S. On the following day I would make a return trip to Basin Head Provincial Park (and explore other local attractions) under quite different conditions – bright sun and bright blue skies! Here’s the link to that post: https://christineswalkabout.com/2025/07/25/skipping-ahead-im-going-to-les-iles-de-la-madeleine/