7 Best Sights in Cavendish, Central Coastal Drive

Green Gables, ½ km (¼ mile) west of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home, is the green-and-white 19th-century farmhouse that served as the inspiration for the Cuthbert place in Anne of Green Gables. The house, outbuildings, and grounds, all of which belonged to cousins of the author's grandfather, re-create some of the settings found in the book. The same goes for short walking trails dubbed the Haunted Wood and Lovers Lane/Balsam Hollow. If you're well acquainted with the novel, you'll spy lots of evocative details on-site (say, a broken slate or amethyst brooch). An audiovisual presentation on Montgomery's life shares space with a café in the barn nearby. This National Historic Site has been part of Prince Edward Island National Park since 1937 and hosts daily events throughout July and August such as guided tours, cooking lessons of Avonlea recipes, and old-fashioned games.

Need a break from those Cavendish crowds? Gardens of Hope, part of the PEI Preserve Company property, is located about 8 km (5 miles) south of town in the Island's most beautiful river valley. The garden covers more than 12 acres and includes a butterfly house. With 2 km (1 mile) of walking trails that thread past fountains and groomed flower beds, then through natural woodland, it provides ample opportunity for quiet contemplation.

The cottage-y white house with green trim overlooking New London Harbour, 11 km (7 miles) southwest of Cavendish, is where the Anne author was born in 1874, and the interior has been furnished with antiques to conjure up that era. Among memorabilia on display are a replica of Montgomery's wedding gown and personal scrapbooks filled with many of her poems and stories.

Looking for a rainy-day activity? Kids can ogle the oddities and artifacts at the local Ripley's Believe It or Not! outpost from June to September.

The largest amusement park on PEI kicks things up a notch with midway rides and go-kart tracks that appeal to tots and tweens alike. Thrill rides include the Cyclone roller coaster, the longest in Atlantic Canada, and the Cliffhanger, with a 52-foot drop. Single-ride coupons, park passes, and multiattraction passes are available.

Topping the list of irresistibly cheesy amusements operating seasonally along the Route 6 tourist corridor, Shining Waters Family Fun Park is aimed at younger children, with a waterpark with pools and slides, a kiddy splash pool, pirate pedal boats, petting zoo, and small-scale rides. Weekly and season passes, and multiattraction passes, are available.

The Site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home is where the writer lived with her maternal grandparents after the untimely death of her mother. Though the foundation of the house where Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables is all that remains, the homestead's fields and old apple-tree gardens are lovely. A bookstore and small museum are also on the property, which is operated by descendants of the family and, together with neighbouring Green Gables, is a National Historic Site of Canada.