Discovering Anne of Green Gables in PEI, Canada
Did you know that you can step inside the world of Anne of Green Gables in PEI (Prince Edward Island), Canada?
With this Anne of Green Gables PEI road trip itinerary, it's all possible!
Even though it's been at least 18 years since I first read the Anne of Green Gables series, it seems as if all of the details are still pressed into my brain.
My older child is now reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time, and I am back there in that first glorious moment when I met Anne Shirley.
If you’re fascinated by all things Lucy Maud Montgomery, you’ll want to explore my Anne of Green Gabels road trip to PEI!
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Updated 7/2022 | Written 2/2015
Getting to Prince Edward Island
Several years ago, my parents, my sister and I went on a road trip to Prince Edward Island.
We wanted to see the places that inspired the writer of the Anne series, Lucy Maud Montgomery, to write down those beloved stories of mine.
My mom and sister were equally big fans of the novels and the 1985 miniseries, and my dad was along for the ride.
Thankfully, we didn't drive the entire way to Canada from South Carolina. We flew from Charleston to LaGuardia, and then we picked up our rental car in New York City.
From there, we visited Boston, Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia before our final destination on Prince Edward Island.
If you're planning to do the Anne of Green Gables road trip through PEI, I'd suggest something similar. The first portion of our trip (the pre-PEI road trip through NYC, Boston, and Maine) could be eliminated by flying into Halifax International Airport (YHZ), the closest big airport to Prince Edward Island.
From there, you could catch a commuter plane to Charlottetown (YYG).
Anne of Green Gables Locations in Prince Edward Island
Here are the spots you must see on your Anne of Green Gables road trip around Prince Edward Island, the smallest but one of the prettiest Canadian provinces!
*Note: I know there are several pieces of Anne media out there, so I've done my best to focus solely on locations that were the original inspiration for Lucy Maud Montgomery.
I'll have to do another post on where to find Anne of Green Gables filming locations!
As you'll see, there's no singular Anne of Green Gables Museum on Prince Edward Island: instead, fans of L.M. Montgomery's work are spoiled for choice.
Montgomery pulled directly from her life experiences on the island to construct the world of Avonlea and beyond, so there are multiple homes, properties, and experiences that were memorialized in her fiction.
Green Gables
Yes, the titular house actually exists!
Green Gables in PEI, Canada
The Green Gables Visitors Center is a great place to orient yourself to Montgomery's characters and visions in preparation for walking through the house itself.
'I think an old, deserted house is such a sad sight,' said Anne dreamily. 'It always seems to me to be thinking about its past and mourning for its old-time joys. Marilla says that a large family was raised in that old house long ago, and that it was a real pretty place, with a lovely garden and roses climbing all over it.' -Anne of Avonlea
History of the Museum
Located inside L.M. Montgomery Cavandish National Historic Site, this homestead is a protected part of the Parks Canada system.
Once a favorite place of Montgomery's to visit as a child, the house is now run by the descendants of her cousins, the original owners.
When she began to write her 1908 novel, her imagination went straight to the Green Gables farmhouse.
Interestingly, the museum's interior has been decorated to match what Montgomery describes in the novel series instead of what it would actually looked like while the Macneill family lived there.
Since the house is laid out exactly as it is described in the book, you'll get to see the kitchen, Anne's small room, and Matthew and Marilla's larger ones on your tour.
Hiking near Green Gables
Don't forget to brave the Haunted Woods, which are just behind the house; access is included in the house admission fee.
Trail this way! | source
The trail through the Haunted Woods (900 m/ 0.5 miles) is clearly marked and will take hikers to the other historic home on this same property, Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavandish Home.
The second trail on the Green Gables property is the Balsam Hollow Trail and Lover's Lane (800 m/ 0.49 miles).
Anne went back to Green Gables by way of the Birch Path, shadowy, rustling, fern-scented, through Violet Vale and past Willowmere, where dark and light kissed each other under the firs, and down through Lover's Lane--places she and Diana had named long ago. - Anne of Avonlea
This area was one of Montgomery's favorite places, and it's easy to see from the area's descriptions in her novels!
Xplorers Program at Green Gables
For those doing the Anne of Green Gables road trip with little kids, check out the Parks Canada Xplorers program at this location. Xplorers is the Canadian version of the U.S. National Parks Junior Rangers program, and it's free with admission.
Phone: (902) 963-7874
Address: 8619 Cavandish Road, New Glasgow, PEI C0A 1N0
Admission: $8.50 CAD/adults, $7/seniors, free for children 17 and under
Hours: May through October, 9 AM-5 PM daily. Special tours available in April and November: email greengables@pc.gc.ca for reservations and pricing.
NOTE: I recommend the Shining Waters Ingleside Cottages for those looking to stay near Green Gables and the Cavendish House.
There are a variety of cabin/cottages with simple, rustic, and clean decor, and they're great for family travel!
Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish House and Bookstore
Sharing a historic site with Green Gables (above), the Cavendish House is where Lucy Maud Montgomery spent the majority of her childhood and young adulthood.
Montgomery was raised by her maternal grandparents after her young mother's untimely demise from tuberculosis. Her dad was grief-stricken and unable to care for the then toddler, so he felt that her grandparents were the better guardians for her.
(Lucy Maud Montgomery's dad lived nearby, so she was still able to keep contact.)
This little house, while not as striking as the nearby Green Gables, was home to L.M. Montgomery, and where she served as assistant postmaster to her grandmother's post master.
This place is also where she wrote Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, The Story Girl, and others.
The great-great-grandson of the original Macneills--and Montgomery's cousin--now runs the property.
Although the property is connected to Green Gables, there is a separate entrance fee as this is a privately owned site.
Phone: (902) 963-7874
Address: 8619 Cavandish Road, New Glasgow, PEI C0A 1N0
Admission: $6 CAD/adult, $5 seniors
Hours: May-October, 10 AM-5 PM daily; July and August, 9:30 AM-5 PM daily
The Anne Museum
Originally owned by Montgomery's aunt and uncle, the Anne Museum house was another location that Lucy visited often with her maternal grandparents.
She and her cousins were close, and they (confusingly) called her "Aunt Maud."
Visitors might recognize some famous items from Montgomery's stories, including the Blue Chest from The Story Girl (it's not part of the Anne series, but it's so much fun!):
'I am sitting on a tragedy,' said the Story Girl suddenly. Felix and I stared. We were not quite sure what a tragedy was, but we did not think it was the old blue wooden chest, such as the Story Girl was undoubtedly sitting on...
This house is also where Montgomery got the idea for the Enchanted Bookcase that keeps the lonely Anne Shirley company before she comes to Green Gables:
When I lived with Mrs. Thomas she had a bookcase in her sitting room with glass doors. There weren't any books in it; Mrs. Thomas kept her best china and preserves in there--when she had preserves to keep. One of the doors was broken. Mr. Thomas smashed it one night when he was slightly intoxicated. But the other was whole and I used to pretend that my reflection in it was another girl who lived in it.
Today, it's still owned by her aunt and uncle's descendants.
For fans of the novel, the Lake of Shining Waters is on the property.
It may inspire some to recreate Anne's reading of "The Lady of Shalott," though, hopefully, without the near drowning!
Phone: (800) 665-2663
Address: 4542 Route 20, Park Corner, Prince Edward Island C0B 1M0
Hours: Currently by appointment only. Call to confirm availability.
Lucy Maud Montgomery's Birthplace
L.M. Montgomery’s Birthplace | source
Although Lucy didn't live in the L.M. Montgomery Birthplace for long--only 21 months--it is still a major attraction among fans of her novels.
Like many (most?) people in the 19th century, Lucy was born at home in the small upstairs bedroom.
She spent her infancy at this house, but had to move when her mother, Clara Woolner Macneill Montgomery, succumbed to tuberculosis.
She spend the next 3 decades of her life at her Cavendish home (above).
Here, you can see a replica of her gown from her wedding to Reverend Ewan MacDonald. The original is onsite, but had to be put into storage since it had yellowed badly from sunlight.
The birthplace also has furniture and household items dating to the time when the young Montgomery family would've lived here.
Visitors can see Montgomery's scrapbooks that she kept of her time at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown. She was committed to her remembrances and also made scrapbooks of her teaching years, which are also on display.
Phone: (902) 886-2099
Address: #6461 at the intersection of Routes 6 and 20, New London, PE
Hours: TBD for Spring 2022. Check website.
L.M. Montgomery's Burial Plot
Although Montgomery eventually left the island after she was married and did not return other than for occasional visits, her final wish was to be buried on Prince Edward Island, not far from where she'd grown up.
She ended her own life at the age of 68 in 1942 after a long struggle with depression.
You can find her grave and that of her husband, Reverend Ewan MacDonald, in Cavendish Cemetery, Cavendish. The path from the front gate to her grave is well trodden and is easy to find.
*Note: I've also seen her husband's name spelled as Ewin and Ewen in various places.
Address: PE-13, Cavandish, PE C0A 1M0
Hours: sunrise to sunset, year round
Admission: free (be respectful to the families who have loved ones there)
Avonlea
PIN ME!
In order to disguise Cavendish in her novels, she called it "Avonlea." While that wasn't a real place for a long time, Avonlea Village has now come to life!
You can now visit a recreation of the village described in the novels here, where there are shops, a general store, an old school house, shops and more.
Don't forget to grab a scoop of Cow's Ice Cream: it's famous on PEI, and it's delicious. (It's not historically accurate for the fictional village of Avonlea, but even Anne of Green Gables had a treat now and then!)
Phone: (902) 963-3111
Address: 8779 Route 6, Cavandish, PE, C0A 1N0
Enjoyed this post? Check out my other road trip itineraries!
The Montgomery Inn at Ingleside
If you want the ultimate Anne of Green Gables vacation, plan a stay at this themed Prince Edward Island bed and breakfast, run by a first cousin (a few times removed) of Lucy Maud Montgomery.
When I visited this property, it was still being run as Montgomery Manor, and the proprietor, Mr. Montgomery himself, gave my family a private tour of the place, even letting my sister and I play with some of the antique toys.
We also got to visit the famous Gog and Magog, two porcelain spaniels that sat by the fireplace, and which Montgomery adored.
These little china figures are famous as they're featured in the Anne series!
'I shall leave the dogs where they are if you promise to be very careful of them,' she said. 'Their names are Gog and Magog. Gog looks to the right and Magog looks to the left.'
A few years ago, the proprietor's son took over Montgomery Manor, gave it a full refurbishing, and renamed it The Montgomery Inn at Ingleside.
Named after the second marital home of Anne and Gilbert, it's no longer a museum, but a beautiful bed and breakfast.
Anne of Green Gables Musical
For the truly committed, there's an annual run of the Anne of Green Gables play at the Confederation Centre for the Arts in Charlottetown.
From June to August each year, you can attend a musical interpretation of Montgomery's first novel, which is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's longest running theatrical production.
Would you like to experience Anne of Green Gables locations on PEI?
Let’s explore 3 of my favorite spooky church ruins in South Carolina! All of these ruins are open to the public and free, making this a low cost day trip from Charleston.