I’ve long dreamed of cycling on PEI, Canada’s lovely island province. After all, Prince Edward Island is small and flat, so biking here would be a cinch, right? Well, not exactly, as it turns out.

I first contemplated a week of riding from tip to tip on the famed Confederation Trail, a decommissioned railway line that stretches for 273 km straight through the middle of the province from west to east.

Tempting, but what about all the picturesque coastal villages that are not to be missed? And what about the extensive web of quiet backcountry roads crisscrossing the island — wouldn’t they make for interesting explorations, too?

Then I heard about The Island Walk, a newish 700-km network of trails that loops around PEI.

Officially launched in 2019, The Island Walk has it all: it follows the ocean perimeter, hits parts of Confederation Trail and includes red dirt backroads, beaches and some sleepy secondary roads. The route’s been compared to Spain’s Camino de Santiago.

The Island Walk is neatly divided into 32 sections. Hardcore walkers can do the whole thing, at 20 to 25 km a day, in just over a month. Or they can complete it in sections over time. Less ambitious amblers can opt to do a few choice sections as part of a more leisurely holiday.

It’s a perfect destination for cyclists, too, who can cover more ground and ride several sections in the space of a day.

In the end, my husband Alex and I had only four days to cycle PEI last September. To maximize our time, Bill Kendrick — the owner of Go For A Walk, a trip-planning service specializing in The Island Walk — tailored a self-guided cycling loop for us in PEI’s central region.

Bill arranged logistics and bookings and put us in touch with George Larter Driving Services/PEI Cycling Tours, a family-run company that transferred our luggage between hotels.

Here then is my short, sweet, dream ride of PEI, fuelled by large quantities of abundant seafood. It’s but one sliver of so much more to see, do and taste on the island.

Ride 1: Dunedin to Victoria By The Sea

Charming Charlottetown is the nexus of The Island Walk, whether you’re headed north, south, east or west.

The night before we embark on our adventure, Alex and I land at the one-carousel Charlottetown Airport, a short cab ride from the city’s quaint downtown that traces its European roots back to 1720.

We check into the Sydney Boutique Inn & Suites, an elegant makeover of a former convent built in 1857, and immediately go hunting for PEI’s legendary lobster rolls, which we find at Sea Rocket Oyster House. Luscious.

The next day, we’re up early (three hours ahead for us Western Canadians!) to meet Dan Larter, the affable son of George Larter. Dan is our point man on this cycling trip as he transfers our luggage, and sometimes us and our bikes, too. We relish the time we have with him; he’s a font of local knowledge and his warm, kind manner is emblematic of the Islanders we meet.

After fitting us with hybrid rental bikes, panniers and helmets, Dan drives us about 20 km west of Charlottetown to the small agricultural area of Dunedin, which marks the start of Section 2 of The Island Walk.

The early fall day is warm and sunny, with a salty tang in the air. We cycle west past a tidal river, freshly painted clapboard homes, farms with red-roofed barns and the cutest black-and-white speckled cows.

Peaceful roads offer ocean views, while quiet red dirt lanes — namely Rebokary Lane and Ferguson Road — wind through forests and fields and feel like peak PEI.

I quickly discover that these lanes can be slow going and quite steep at times, with pockets of loose sand that test my bike-handling skills. The ride takes us 2½ hours, longer than anticipated.

We’d been gawping a lot but when we roll into Victoria By the Sea, a tiny oceanside village, we are doubly wowed. It’s a magical place that looks like a movie set: beautiful Victorian-era houses, a lovingly restored theatre, a chocolate factory, a pottery shop, a half-dozen good restaurants and big old trees lining the streets.

I want to linger, and vow to come back and stay in Victoria by the Sea, preferably in a B&B with a porch swing.

Distance: 24 km

Catch of the day: At the Lobster Barn Pub & Eatery on Victoria by the Sea’s pier, we split a large green salad along with heavenly lobster tacos and a buttery warm lobster roll, which come with thick French fries (PEI potatoes!) that are some of the best I’ve ever eaten.

Myth busted: PEI isn’t flat. It’s got lots of rolling hills, some pretty challenging. At one point, I have to hop off my bike and push it up a steep, rutted, red dirt road. Humbling for someone used to road riding in the Canadian Rockies, but I’m up for the challenge.

Clockwise from top left: speckled cows in a tidy farm field; a classic B&B in quaint Victoria by the Sea; lobster roll and PEI fries from Lobster Barn Pub & Eatery; a well-kept bungalow overlooks Northumberland Strait; cycling along a sunlit red-dirt road.

Ride 2: Prince Edward Island National Park

We’d planned to ride another 30-km segment after lunch — part of Section 17 and all of Section 18 — along The Island Walk on PEI’s North Coast, going from North Rustico to Dalvay by the Sea.

But once we pile into Dan’s car for the shuttle across the island, we realize that a) the drive is longer than we’d expected and b) why are we rushing? We opt to trim the ride and explore just one small part of Section 18: stunning Prince Edward Island National Park.

From a pull-out alongside a busy road, we bike to the western entrance of the park, picking up a paved bike/pedestrian trail called the Gulf Shore Way along the seaside. It’s a hot, windy afternoon and, after beachcombing on Brackley Beach, we go for a swim. In the Atlantic Ocean. In September.

The water is shallow and — eeep! — not too bracing. After a quick dip we towel off, brush away the dusky red sand and hop back on our bikes.

We don’t get far, stopping again and again to gulp in views of dunes, birds and seagrasses; to visit iconic Covehead Harbour Lighthouse, where I meet two young women in picture-perfect retro-red dresses; to explore Farmlands Bubbling Springs Trail with a settlers’ graveyard dating back to the 1600s.

Some of the surrounding trees have been sheared off mid-trunk, evidence of damage from successive hurricanes, including Fiona in 2021. The sand dunes proved their worth during this fierce storm by protecting the North Shore.

At the end of our lazy meandering awaits Dalvay by the Sea, a romantic inn that’s essentially a working historic site nestled within Prince Edward Island National Park.

Originally built as a lavish lakeside summer home in 1895 by a wealthy American oilman, the wide verandah and its squeaky screen door is a portal to the Victorian era. Inside, guests can bask by the huge fireplace, marvel at the rich wood interior and linger over a meal in the curved dining room.

Distance: 12 km

Myth busted: People think the Atlantic Ocean is too cold for swimming, but here the powerful Gulf Stream that originates in Florida warms the protected waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence.

Catch of the day: The inn’s MacMillan Dining Room serves succulent grilled halibut (in season) with corn pico de gallo, lime crema and herb-roasted fingerling potatoes.

Honourable eats mention: Sticky Date Pudding, topped with vanilla ice cream and a cream-stuffed profiterole, gilds our meal. Find the recipe on Tourism PEI’s website, courtesy of Flavours of Prince Edward Island.

Clockwise from left: red is best according to two visitors to Covehead Harbour Lighthouse; the author and her husband astride a rainbow crosswalk in PEI National Park; Dalvay By the Sea, a working inn and national historic site; interior of the Victorian-era inn; Richard’s Deep-Sea Fishing in Covehead Harbour.

Ride 3: Dalvay By the Sea to St. Peters Bay

The following morning we tear ourselves away from the grandeur of Dalvay By the Sea to follow Section 19 of the Island Walk.

We ride southeast, leaving behind the bike path and the national park to join Highway 6. It’s a quiet road, with only an intermittent paved shoulder. Still, we feel safe. Islanders are courteous toward cyclists, giving us a wide berth as they drive past.

Another plus from my experience pedalling around Canada’s tiniest province? There’s no garbage or broken glass littering the sides of the roads. Islanders seem to take a collective pride in the tidiness of their home.

Soon enough, we leave the sparse traffic behind and turn onto Confederation Trail — a wide, well-maintained, crushed gravel rail trail. Grass grows up the middle, with wild purple asters, Queen Anne’s Lace, goldenrod and ferns gracing the pathway’s edges.

We pedal past salt marshes and farm fields, where the potato harvest is underway, and it’s an easy-going, contemplative 23-km ride to the rural municipality of Mount Stewart.

Here, we hop off the rail trail and add a couple of km to our trip in order to track down lunch at Dreadnaught Eatery, a new chef-run food trailer that uses locally sourced ingredients for dishes such as hand-breaded haddock and chips.

Fortified, we tackle Section 20 of the Island Walk, all on Confederation Trail. One of the route’s most scenic stretches begins across a bridge over the Morrell River, then continues alongside the sea with views of tranquil St. Peters Bay.

The long inlet is dotted with rows of mussel buoys, evidence of the tasty blue shellfish that grow here year-round.

Our ride ends at Mysa Nordic Spa & Resort, a secluded slice of paradise perched on 18 acres of the north shore of St. Peters Bay. We drop our bags in one of the resort’s cozy, newly renovated cottages and immediately head to the huge indoor/outdoor thermal spa area overlooking the sea.

For the next three hours we follow a Scandinavian ritual: 10 to 15 minutes of heat in a sauna, hot pool or steam bath, a 10 to 15 second cold plunge and then 20 minutes of rest, sometimes beside a crackling fire pit.

There are several stations for each step of the ritual, but tucked into a corner of the property is my favourite: a small, intensely hot barrel sauna.

After roasting in the sauna, I step outside, pull a cord to tip a bucket of cold water over my steaming body and squeal at the shock.

Then, cocooned in a thick robe, I curl up in an Adirondack chair to gaze at St. Peters Bay, lulled by insect hum and bird call.

Distance: 55 km

Myth busted: When travellers imagine adventuring in Canada, big scary animals often come to mind. Well, that berry-studded poop on PEI trails isn’t what you think it is. There are no bears or moose here, but rather berry-eating coyotes, foxes and red squirrels — including the feisty one that dashes unscathed between my husband’s bike tires.

Catch of the day: The seared scallops in a sauce brimming with mussels and hickory tomatoes at Mysa’s onsite restaurant are exquisite. So is the halibut with cucumber, watermelon, pine nuts and tzatziki. The resort even grows some of its produce in an onsite greenhouse.

Clockwise from top: Mysa Nordic Spa & Resort at sunset; riding the wide, flat Confederation Trail en route to St. Peters Bay; halibut on the dinner menu at Mysa’s onsite restaurant; wild purple asters blooming along Confederation Trail.

Ride 4: St. Peters Bay to Georgetown

After a breakfast of smoked salmon eggs Benedict, we can no longer ignore the storm brewing outside.

This morning, we’re slated to leave The Island Walk and cycle south across the island to Georgetown. It’s the final leg of our trip but high winds and heavy rain are about to hit and the ride is on a rolling secondary road, with no shoulders and several blind hills.

After consulting with Dan and our contacts on the island, we opt to shuttle partway to our next destination and ride only a short section on the car-free Confederation Trail. We’re disappointed, but it’s the wise choice.

We blow into Georgetown in a driving downpour and quickly find the Georgetown Historic Inn, circa 1840, its handsome Maritime blue exterior hugged by showy white hydrangeas.

Innkeepers Chelsea Gotell and Bob Veenhoven, a 30-something couple, greet us warmly. She’s from Georgetown and he’s from Calgary, where they met. It turns out that Bob knows our son so we instantly feel at home. The pair worked in luxury retail in Toronto, before buying and refurbishing the inn two years ago.

After changing into dry clothes, we defy the weather and explore the historic little town. It’s a treasure trove of cool old buildings, including Kings Playhouse, one of the longest running theatres in Canada, built in 1887 then rebuilt in 2013 after it burned down.

We stop at the Wheelhouse Restaurant for a late lunch, and visit the Shoreline Design studio to buy a choice piece of sea-glass jewelry and to be regaled with tales from the gregarious owner, Peter Llewelyn.

On a cold, wet day, Georgetown — and PEI in general — feels like a very warm place to be.

Distance: 40 km, of which we ride about 10 or 15

Myth busted: PEI is small. Yes and no. My perception of it keeps shifting. At about 2,194 square miles, or a mere 0.1% of Canada, it’s geographically small. But we often feel as if we have the place to ourselves. And, believe it or not, given its size, PEI is the most densely populated province in Canada, with almost 180,000 people living here.

Catch of the day: Tucked inside the Wheelhouse Restaurant is Ethan’s Oyster Bar, where we thaw out with a bowl of hot chowder; it’s brimming with lobster tips, whitefish, mussels, potatoes, corn and roasted tomato, bathed in a creamy broth and topped with fresh herbs. Ah-mazing.

Clockwise from top left: innkeepers Bob Veenhoven and Chelsea Gotell; the handsome Georgetown Historic Inn; detail of the inn’s perennial gardens; afternoon dining at Ethan’s Oyster Bar; the Shoreline Design studio; our cycling correspondent Valerie Berenyi experiences a blustery soaking.

Editor’s note: Our writer was a guest of Tourism PEI, which did not review or edit this story before publication. Thanks, as always, to our partners in travel who keep us paddling forwards.

For more stories by T&C’s senior editor Valerie Berenyi, check out That’s Amore: A Love Letter to Calgary’s Italian Centre Shop, Backcountry Gourmet, Charming Charlevoix, Taking the waters: Hotsprings nirvana in B.C.’s Kootenays, Postcard perfect P’tit Train du Nord, Living life in rural Quebec: From maple body wraps to mouth-watering duck confit, Jasper in January, Wilderness City and Beyond, Puss ‘n (hiking) boots, From Juke Joint to Jazz Club and Cold land Warm Heart.

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