Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place

The carful of kids are spending the day immersed in the iconic Prince Edward Island setting of the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. We are surrounded by red-headed girls, young and old, of every nationality, dressed in green gingham dresses with braids, myself included.

The original book in the beloved series, Anne of Green Gables, was first published in 1908 and has millions of fans worldwide. For those who aren't familiar with the story, it is about Anne Shirley, a red-haired orphan who is mistakenly sent to Prince Edward Island to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister who own a farm, instead of the boy that they request. Through a series of good-hearted mishaps Anne endears herself to the Cuthberts, along with her schoolmates and neighbors of Avonlea.

The Green Gables Heritage Place is a popular national park so the carful of kids arrive when they open at 9 a.m. (family admission $19.60 CAN, or $7.80 adult and $3.90 youth). This includes a tour of the Green Gables house, the barn, the interpretive movie at the visitors center along with two trails--the Haunted Wood Trail and the Balsam Hollow Trail but not the Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home that is located nearby.

As we walk through the Green Gables house, the carful of kids look at all the details and I am especially enchanted; it is like being in a life-sized doll house. L.M. Montgomery didn't actually live in the house, it belonged to her grandfather's cousins; she lived nearby.

The carful of kids wander down the Balsam Hollow Trail to Lover's Lane before taking a break to sip on a Raspberry Cordial. Afterwards, we head to the site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home along the Haunted Wood trail.

As we walk along the woodland trail enjoying the scenery, the carful of kids run into Anne Shirley in the flesh. The kids tell Anne that they live in Texas and try to explain their life to the turn of the century character.

We arrive at the L. M. Montgomery's Cavendish Home ($3.00 CAN adults, $1.00 youth 16 & under) where she lived and wrote the first two books in the Anne of Green Gables series. All that remains is the foundation of the original home; there is a gift shop and artifacts of the Cavendish post office that was in her grandfather's home when L.M. Montgomery lived there.

The town of Cavendish is devoted to Anne of Green Gables, even the working post office has a museum dedicated to the series. After spending the day seeing the historic sites, the carful of kids are ready for some beach time.


Though we are fairly far north, the water at the Prince Edward Island National Park near Cavendish is warmer than I anticipated because of its protected location. In August, it reaches a high temperature of close to 70F, so it's great for splashing and wading.


As we call it a day, the carful of kids spot an actual Canadian Mountie riding around Cavendish.

Up next: Blueberries, Lobster and Acadia National Park