Prince Edward Island National Park: Curated Collection of Focused Geographic Guides

Red sand beaches, coastal dunes and the literary legacy of Anne of Green Gables

Prince Edward Island National Park

Prince Edward Island National Park occupies a unique position in Canada's national park system as a linear coastal reserve that follows the arc of the island's north shore along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The park's establishment in 1937 marked the recognition of this coastline's exceptional natural and cultural value, and its subsequent expansion, particularly the 1998 addition of the Greenwich sand dune system, has strengthened protection of the most sensitive coastal habitats within its boundaries. The park's long, narrow configuration reflects the nature of the coastline it protects, a landscape shaped by wind, waves, and the gradual shifting of sands that have created extensive dune formations over millennia. Visitors to the park experience a landscape quite distinct from other Canadian national parks, where the absence of dramatic mountain terrain is replaced by the subtle beauty of coastal dunes, tidal marshes, and the warm glow of the island's famous red sand beaches. The park serves not only as a protected area but as a living cultural landscape where the rhythms of island life, agricultural heritage, and literary imagination converge.