PEI 2026: Cavendish, Avonlea Village - Anne of Green Gables

In addition to red sand beaches and sand dunes, if there is one thing ubiquitous in Prince Edward Island, it is Lucy Maud Montgomery (LMM)’s beloved young adult novel’s titular character, Anne of Green Gables. Souvenirs and memorabilia of the iconic character are found everywhere, from shops in Charlottetown to tiny boutiques in North Rustico to Cavendish which is an entire community devoted to the freckle-faced redheaded Anne with an “E”. To get to Cavendish from North Rustico, we drove along the coast on the Gulf Shore Parkway, which is within the Cavendish to North Rustico section of the PEI National Park.

On our first two sunny days in PEI, we toured the coastline around Greenwich to the east and Malpeque Bay to the west and saw calm waters with waves gently lapping the sparkling sand. Things were totally different two days later when we ventured out again after hunkering down in our North Rustico home swap to wait out the massive storm that passed through the province. Although the heavy rain had subsided to a drizzle, and dark clouds remained in the sky, it was still quite windy (a mere 70km/hr gusts after the previous 90km), and the big, angry waves came crashing onto the shores. It was actually interesting to see the contrast.

Because our visit to PEI encompassed the days up to Labour Day, we were able to drive through all the sections of the national park for free (as part of Canada Strong summer program) as opposed to costing $10 per person. We stopped at the scenic Doyle’s Cove, which we had heard of previously when we saw the Doyle Curl Sweater, that was named after this location, at a wool store in North Rustico. In addition to the red sandstone cliffs and views of the St. Lawrence, the area is known for the Doyle Farmstead, settled by Captain Andrew Doyle in the 1840s, and Doyle’s Barn, built in 1953, which was given regional heritage status for its architectural construction, family history and visual prominence overlooking the cove.

The next scenic coastal lookout before reaching Cavendish was Mackenzies Brook which was famous for its striking natural rock formations including the much photographed “Sea Arch”. Unfortunately, just like the Teacup Stack at Malpeque Beach, the arch was pummeled by the 2022 Tropical Storm Fiona. But whereas the Teacup Stack was totally destroyed, only the top horizontal part of the arch collapsed at Mackenzies Brook, leaving an isolated red sandstone stack that the locals now call the “Cactus Pot”.

Cavendish is a premier summer resort community with a famous white sand beach backed by red sandstone cliffs, and the Dunesland Trail with a floating boardwalk similar to one that we walked on at Greenwich. But because of the inclement weather and constant intermittent rain, we decided to make this an “Anne of Green Gables” day and concentrate on visiting sites that were mostly indoors.

Although you can find references to her everywhere in PEI, Cavendish is the central hub of all things related to Anne of Green Gables. Author Lucy Maud Montgomery (LMM) grew up and wrote her novels here, using the location as the basis for the fictional setting of Avonlea in her books. Many heritage buildings frequented by Montgomery have been restored and several interpretation centres erected to give context to the life famous author and the eight books in her Anne of Green Gables series that have sold over 50 million copies.

The Cavendish Visitor Information Centre is a municipal tourism bureau providing physical maps and information about the area including restaurants, shops, attractions, hiking trails, and accommodations including hotels, B&Bs, cottage rentals, and campgrounds. You can buy a regional park pass here, during the months when access is not free. There is a small gift shop selling local and regional items, access to public bathrooms and free WIFI, and a small seating area where you can sit and rest. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful in recommending routes and points of interest.

A permanent exhibition space within the Cavendish Visitor’s Centre is currently set up to commemorate 150 years of Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) with photographs taken of her throughout her lifetime, as well as 18 photographs out of the thousands that she took herself as an avid and accomplished photographer. There is a replica of the Green Gables Heritage home, the white and green farmhouse belonging to LMM’s cousins David and Margaret Macneill, which she used as the inspiration for Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert’s home in her books.  We would tour the actual restored farmhouse on our next stop. Newspaper clippings and copies of her journal are also on display.

Open in 2019, the Green Gables Visitors Centre is the entrance and ticketing lobby to the Green Gables Heritage Place and grounds with access to small strolls referenced in the Anne books such as Lovers Lane, Balsam Hollow Trail, and the Haunted Woods. Once again, we were lucky to visit during the summer months when the Canada Strong program was in effect, so admission was free saving us another $10 per person. It is also a curated museum exhibition hall space for L.M.Montgomery with biographical displays tracing her life, historical scrapbooks, as well as books, diagrams and other references to Anne of Green Gables. Here we found another miniature replica of the Green Gable Heritage Place, this time made from Lego blocks, examples of covers of Anne of Green Gables novels which have been translated into 36 different languages, and the 1906 typewriter that LMM used to write her books.

A comprehensive timeline of the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery (LMM) traces her birth in New London, PEI in 1874 to her death in Toronto in 1942. At aged 21-months, after the death of her mother from tuberculosis, LMM was raised by her maternal grandparents Alexander and Lucy Macneill in Cavendish. After attending Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown and Dalhousie University in Halifax, LMM worked as a schoolteacher in rural schoolhouses between 1894-1898. She returned to Cavendish after the death of her grandfather. Having worked on a writing career since 1890 under pseudonyms including Maud Cavendish or L.M.Montgomery to hide her gender, LMM published Anne of Green Gables in 1907 and reached international fame. In 1911, she married Reverend Ewan Macdonald and moved to Ontario where she raised two sons and continued adding to the Anne Series until 1939.

Exiting the back of the Green Gables Visitor Centre, we walked towards the Green Gables Heritage Place, which is the restored 1.5-storey wood-frame Macneill farmhouse dating back to 1830s where L.M. Montgomery’s cousins lived. This is this house where she often frequented that became the inspiration for the home that Anne lived in after she was adopted by the Cuthberts. The white fence leading to the green-gabled building is engraved with the quote “It’s delightful when your imaginations come true, isn’t it?”

It is worth noting that while this site is run by Parks Canada, it is not Montgomery’s grandparents’ house where she grew up. Located 800 metres to the east, that house was torn down in the 1920s but the ruins of the original stone foundations plus the remnants of the old kitchen/ local post office, and the surrounding grounds with interpretive plaques are now part a privately owned attraction called “Site of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Cavendish Home”. You can tour that attraction for a separate fee, which we chose not to do.

The interior of the Green Gables Heritage Place has been refurbished to represent a functional 19th-century farm including the living and dining rooms, kitchen and pantry. There are a few nods to elements described in the Green Gables books. The room representing Anne’s bedroom includes a version of her puffy dress hanging on the door and Marilla’s bedroom has a reproduction of her amethyst broach on display on the dresser. Both of these objects are described in memorable and touching scenes in the first Anne of Green Gables book.

A reconstructed Victorian barn representative of ones found in late 19th century farms plus the vintage horse-drawn buggy reference back to Matthew Cuthbert’s buggy that he used to drive around. In another building, two actors dressed up as Anne and her friend Diana were role-playing the characters and ready to interact with the tourists. Back inside the interpretive centre were clothes that allowed visitors to dress up as their favourite characters from the books. While I borrowed the hat, braids and dress, I brought my own freckles.  On the way out, you could have your souvenirs stamped with LMM’s signature or an image of Green Gables.

Montgomery Park (formerly Cavendish Heritage Park) was once the site of Montgomery’s old schoolhouse which she attended as a child before it was removed to make way for the park. A beautiful life-sized bronze sculpture of Montgomery and her beloved cats can be found at the back while commemorative plaques encircling the park trace her history.  Walking trails lead to the Site of L.M.Montgomery’s Cavendish Home as well as the church that she attended. There is also a memorial dedicated to Reverend Albert Benjamin Simpson who was part of the founding families of Cavendish which include the Simpsons, Macneils and Clarks who settled in the area in 1790. Several plaques reference these original families.

As a child, L.M.Montgomery worshiped with her grandparents at Cavendish Presbyterian Church which resided at the site which is now the Cavendish Community Cemetery. By the beginning of 1900, the old church needed to be replaced and the new Cavendish United Church opened at its current location in September 1901. LMM served as organist here from 1903 to 1911, playing on an organ that she donated. Commemorative triple stained-glass windows were dedicated in her memory but unfortunately, we could not get in to see them. Although she died at her home in Toronto, her body was returned to Cavendish and her funeral service was held at this church.  She is buried at the Cavendish Community Cemetery where an iron arch at the entry to the cemetery reads “Resting Place of L.M.Montgomery, Cavendish”. Her grave features a red-granite headstone with engravings for herself and her husband Reverend Ewen Macdonald. Also buried in the cemetery is Lucy’s mother, maternal grand parents and the cousins whose home inspired the setting of Green Gables. The current post office has an exhibit that highlights Montgomery’s relationship with postal services since the Macneill family ran the local post office out of their family kitchen. Lucy served as assistant postmaster from 1898 to 1911.

Avonlea Village is a seasonal attraction in Cavendish, named after Anne Shirley’s fictional village of Avonlea.  It features a collection of heritage and replica buildings populated by local artisanal shops and fun eateries. The village is free to enter and acts as a vibrant shopping and culinary scene. The store called Artisan Market is located in the former Belmont School where L.M.Montgomery taught from 1896-1897. Cow’s Creamery has a prominent presence in Avonlea Village including its famous ice Cream Shop, the factory retail outlet for Cow’s hilariously punny, parody T-shirts and apparel, as well as two eateries.  At the outlet, most of the T-shirts were just $10 so I bought a “Born to Ride” T-shirt. I really wanted the “Alanis Mooisette” as well but it did not come in my size.

We grabbed a quick bite at “Moo Moo BBQ” which combines authentic slow-smoked meats with premium cheeses to offer gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, Texas slow-smoked beef brisket, pulled pork and smoked turkey sandwiches. We decided to share one grilled cheese and one pulled pork grilled sandwiches.

Although we didn’t eat there, we checked out “Moo Moo Burgers” which is situated in the former Long River Church which dates back to 1872. This is the Presbyterian church that L.M.Montgomery attended occasionally when visiting her Montgomery and Campbell relatives in Long River. The deteriorating church was moved to Avonlea Village for preservation, restoration and repurposing. It was very interesting to see burgers being hawked in the apse area of this church which still has all of its Gothic Revival multi-paned lancet windows and vaulted ceiling. Stairs lead to the second floor where the pews are still in place.