The Gulf Shore Parkway West - PEI
After wandering the grounds of Green Gables in September 2014 we took a slow drive along highway 13 (the gulf shore parkway west) to see some of the beaches of PEI. The road is a short (9km) scenic route to the small town of North Rustico Harbour and has numerous pull outs to enable tourists to stop at the north shore beaches.
The red sandstone is ever present in PEI, all of the exposed rock and ground has the deep red colour and being sandstone it erodes relatively easily leaving arches, small caves and peninsulas all along the shoreline
The waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence were calm and made for comfortable paddling, it was unsurprisingly, not the warmest water we've ever splashed around in.
We spent some time picking up sea glass and found 3 nice pieces which made their way back to Calgary with us. The Gulf Shore Parkway (both east and west) are 'must see' areas on the island and are separated by the PEI National Park.
After a leisurely drive along the road we arrived at North Rustico Harbour and were greeted by the lighthouse originally built in 1876 but demolished by a storm in 1899, it was designated a coastal light and moved further inland to its current location.
The harbour is wonderfully dilapidated and yet still fully functioning with gift shops, a cafe, bike and canoe rentals
After North Rustico Harbour we set out for our hotel in Charlottesville on the opposite coast but only 30 minutes away thanks to the tiny nature of Prince Edward Island