Confederation Trail

The Prince Edward Island Railway was built from 1871 and became notorious for its route: contractors were paid by the mile, and the line wandered around the island in a series of curves and detours that made it far longer than the distance required, a debt that helped push the colony into Confederation in 1873. Rail service ended in 1989 and the corridor became a trail, running two hundred and seventy-three kilometres from Tignish to Elmira with branches, surfaced in rolled stone dust and almost flat throughout since the grade never exceeds two per cent. Old stations along it serve as shelters and information points.

What you actually see

• The tip-to-tip route - 273 kilometres from one end of the island to the other.
• The gentle grade - a railway alignment never steeper than two per cent.
• The old stations - depots converted to shelters and interpretation.
• The farmland and shore - potato fields, woodlots and coastal glimpses.

When to go

June to October for cycling and walking; the trail becomes a groomed snowmobile route in winter, which rules out other use on those sections. Autumn colour is good.

Honest expectations

The trail is groomed for snowmobiles in winter and shared accordingly. Services along it are in the villages, sometimes kilometres apart. It is flat but long and exposed to wind.

Nearby

Charlottetown is on a branch; Basin Head lies near the eastern end.