the Greenwich Dunes Trail on Prince Edward Island

We've been going to Prince Edward Island for years now, as we try to make it an annual trip to visit family there. However, this year was the first time that we tried out the Greenwich Dunes Trail, and it has turned into one of the coolest sights I've experienced - not just on Prince Edward Island, but, like ever. And I like to think that's saying something for my travel blog.

When we first were trying to figure out whether we wanted to try out the Greenwich Dunes Trail, we watched a few Youtube videos where other hikers exclaimed how they had never seen anything like this in their life. I thought at first they were exaggerating or maybe they hadn't traveled very much before. But they were right - it was really cool!

Even if you're not a science eco-system fan and don't know what parabolic sand dunes mean, this place will totally blow your mind. Picture this: You've got the Atlantic Ocean. You've got beaches surrounded by sand dunes. So far, cool but nothing too unusual - there's a lot of ocean shoreline on Prince Edward Island.

But, just on the other side of those sand dunes, you've got freshwater wetlands. What, really? I mean there are lots of wetlands in Canada, including in Ontario, but it's rather unusual to see it pretty much in the same place as an ocean beach. And on top of it all, the tall cat tails and grass growing out of the marshes have spread to grow over the sand dunes, which is for me the most original site. I've seen my fair share of sand dunes, after all - a large chunk of this travel blog is dedicated to my time living in Namibia, which has one of the most popularly photographed Subsaharan sand dunes in the world. But I've never seen sand dunes covered in grass, forming around both the ocean and wetlands. It's such a unique landscape, right here in Canada.

The most fun way to get to Greenwich sand dunes is by taking the Greenwich Dunes Trail, a relatively easy trail that's about 4.4 kilometres as a loop. It's also mostly accessible by wheelchair and stroller up until the very last part where you trek over the sand dunes, but thanks to the convenient board walk they've laid down right through the marshes, you still can go pretty far and get pretty close to the grass-covered dunes without getting your shoes filled with sand climbing through the dunes at the end.

There are plenty of other lovely sights along the trail, including the windswept trees in the small forest that the trail cuts through.

 

  

My friends sometimes ask me what they should check out when they visit Prince Edward Island for a vacation. It's already so hard to figure out how to filter the many lovely things that the Island has to offer, from the delicious culinary scene in Charlottetown to the various local art studios in the most random tiny town, but the Greenwich Dunes Trail has now made the top of my list.  Ocean, sand dunes, marshes, all in one place - definitely check it out!

 

My extremely specific Prince Edward Island self-care wellness retreat guide

Sleep for, like, ten hours. Whatever you need to feel rested. Wake up to the sounds of birds that are really excited that you are now awake too. 

Eat a healthy yummy breakfast of yogurt, fruit, Island honey, and locally baked bread from the farmers' market, while watching the alpacas also eating breakfast on the lawn outside. 

start your day right with alpaca kisses

Go for a run. Discover a new running route every day, down a different red dirt path. Make it an easy jog, with lots of breaks to take pictures of the countryside, but cardio-intensive enough to take long deep breaths of the fresh country air. 

Now that you're all sweaty and warmed up, cool off with a refreshing swim in the ocean or a local river or creek. 

Go for a long drive to a cute little village. The island is full of them. Have a seafood chowder lunch on a cafe on the wharf. Check out a local art gallery. The Island is full of them. Buy some artwork or crafts for someone you care about. 

 Go for a walk on a beach. Any beach will do; the Island is full of them. 

Take an afternoon siesta nap. 

It's 5PM, why not have a beer. 

Have dinner, whether at the farm or on a patio in lively Charlottetown. Eat fish and/or mussels/oysters/lobsters with a side of potatoes. 

Victoria Row

Have ice cream for dessert. Cows' Creamery or whatever random roadside ice cream stand. The Island is full of them. A glass of Matos' strawberry chardonnay pairs well with most ice cream flavours. 

 Do some stargazing. Appreciate the beautiful night sky of the countryside. Meditate on: how vast the universe is; how small your stresses are (in relation to the size of the universe); how you are connected to this vast universe. How short your life is, and how therefore it is imperative to take the time you have to appreciate what you have, and who you have. Contemplate this perspective shift, and be grateful for it. 

Leave your work phone at home. Do not make plans. Minimize social media. Turn off news alerts. Shut off the lights.

The Dunes Studio Gallery & Cafe - Brackley Beach

North Rustico

The famous Blue Mussel Cafe - North Rustico Harbour

Around the Sea - Canada's Rotating House

North Rustico Beach

Victoria-by-the-Sea

Kite surfing at Victoria-by-the-Sea

Victoria-by-the-Sea

"Red Island Baked Potato" baked potato themed restaurant in Cornwall

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference, so the whole island was buzzing full of activities and tourists. July and August are always the busiest months; the whole island comes alive, and there are so many things to see and do.

Driving on the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island

For dinner, we ate at our favourite restaurant in Charlotteown, Sim's Corner Steakhouse and Oyster Bar. Steaks and oyster...two of favourite things!

For lunch the next day, we visited the Prince Edward Island Preserve Co., which was filled with noon-time diners. There were more jellies and marmalade for sale than you could ever ever ask for, and a tasty menu featuring the Island's fresh dishes...once you eventually got a table, that is.

The setting outside the Preserve Company was beautiful too. Also, there were these random goats.

For dinner we picked up fresh lobsters and mussels from the Water Prince Corner Shop and cooked them at my in-laws' home.

That is a really big lobster.  The store clerk said that he was probably around 40 years old.

I don't usually eat seafood much on a regular basis, and the main reason is because generally nothing can possibly taste as fresh and delicious as caught-that-day seafood in Prince Edward Island.  Life is tough when you don't live near an ocean.  Actually, I do live near an ocean...but it's frozen most of the time. But in PEI, I eat lots of seafood.

a delicious, messy meal

"Can I come over for dinner?"

We did other things besides eat in Prince Edward Island. 

For example, visiting the local winery (Matos)

We checked out Cavendish Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park.

In the evening, we checked out the open mic night that was happening at Baba's Lounge. There was a big crowd out for a Wednesday night at close to midnight.  One musician in particular appeared to be intoxicated but surprised us all with a beautiful song about the Halifax explosion.   "I don't know if it has anything to do with the Halifax Pop Explosion, or if it's just a coincidence that the music festival happened to have that name," he slurred, "but yeah, the Halifax Explosion was bad. We should not do that again."

And then of course there were the alpacas.

What's that I see in the window?

Yup, definitely alpacas

Rob's parents raise alpacas on their 200 year old farmhouse. They also have a pair of birds.

My sister, looking like Snow White and the singing birds.

The farm house

My husband's parents' farm house was once in a movie called Looking for Anne. We watched some of the movie...in the house where it was shot.  It was a trippy moment.

We also got to visit the old cottage property on the ocean.  The cottage recently burned down, but the view is still fantastic, and hopefully they will be building a new one soon enough.

red cliffs

wild thyme

Leaving Prince Edward Island for Nova Scotia on the ferry